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Laguna Hills
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
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Panera Bakery-Cafe Expands Homey Concept to Irvine

The opening of Irvine’s Panera Bakery-Cafe in Crossroads Center is drawing in a lot of my neighbors. We keep running into people we know,the only problem is finding a table large enough for all of us to sit together.

This is the third Panera that Ted and Sheri Hoover have opened in Orange County. The first launched last fall in Newport Beach and the second in Orange a few months ago. We’ve been fans of Panera’s quality breads, pastries and menu items since the outset.

Feedback from those I’ve sent has been positive.

A warm and inviting palette of colors bathes the restaurant. Blond wood, stainless steel and lots of windows are featured. The aroma and sight of freshly baked breads and pastries is Panera’s welcoming note.

The bakery is producing nearly all the time. Eleven artisan breads, six house specialty breads and four with low carbohydrates are baked.

Those with lower carbs are Italian herb bread (with hints of garlic, basil and sesame seed) at six net carbs per slice, Italian breadsticks and pumpkin seed bread at five net carbs per slice and rosemary walnut bread with four net carbs per slice.

Artisan breads include Italian focaccia with olive oil and asiago cheese, and ciabatta, the chewy country bread of Italy. Some breads have grains and seeds, sourdough (plain or flecked with tomato, basil and walnut streusel topping that’s one of my favorites), country loaves, stone-milled rye, French baguettes and croissants.

Two others keep coming home with me: moist cinnamon raisin bread that is perfect for breakfast toast and raisin pecan bread that adds finesse to my sandwiches. About a dozen kinds of bagels are made daily.

Five homemade soups keep you warm in this cool weather. Soup comes in a bowl or in a hollowed out loaf of sourdough.

I’d suggest you settle in and order the latter and eat your saturated “bowl” along with your soup.

For $6.55 you can choose any two of soup, half sandwich or half salad. It’s a fine casual meal with generous portions.

Salads feature mixed greens and can include steak filet strips, Asian-style sesame chicken, various cheeses including fresh mozzarella and even nuts. They give carb counts for many of the salads,six to 15 net carbs per salad in that group.

There are four classically grilled paninis: turkey, bacon, smoked cheddar with sun-dried tomato; smoked and pulled white chicken meat, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and seasoned mayonnaise; turkey, spinach and artichoke spread, two cheeses and caramelized onions; and roasted Portobello mushroom with fresh mozzarella, caramelized onions and fresh basil. Regular sandwiches also are nicely done.

The pastries are a dream. Eight of us finished one meal by ordering brownie “cake,” which was as moist, chocolaty and nostalgic as any brownie.

I’m addicted to the cherry strudel pastry that is as delicate and finely flavored as those I’ve demolished in Austria.

The mini bundt cakes (my favorite is carrot-walnut), muffins, cookies, scones and Danish-style pastries also deliver lots of flavor.

Panera also serves as a coffeehouse. Hot chocolate, tea and chai tea lattes join espresso and coffee drinks of all kinds. Most hot drinks can be turned into iced beverages. Interesting sodas, juices and citrus drinks also are on the menu.

For businesses or groups of five or more, ask for the Via Panera coordinator.

Operation Dough-Nation, Panera’s community and charity unit, is worth noting. Cash donations made at the bakery-cafes are matched and donated to local hunger relief and other charitable groups. All unsold bread is donated at day’s end to local hunger relief agencies.

Fund-raising groups can sell special coupons for Panera products and keep half the proceeds.

Panera is hard to beat from a friendly neighborhood stance. Warmth is served with low prices. The food is terrific, and the bakery products not only are delicious but healthy. With three locations, everyone in the county is getting better access to Panera.

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