Review: Panera Bread - Steak & White Cheddar Panini

Panera Bread's new Steak & White Cheddar Panini features seared top sirloin, caramelized onions, Vermont white Cheddar and horseradish spread served on French baguette.

It's one of the priciest items on the menu at $8.99 with your choice of a side.

I'd never been to a Panera before and was surprised to find that a chunk of baguette is one of the side options with your sandwich. In fact, when the cashier listed the various sides to choose (chips, apple or baguette), I had her repeat herself to make sure I was hearing correctly. A neighboring customer assured me that the cashier was, in fact, offering me a baguette with my baguette sandwich. I opted to the chips.

Unwrapping my sandwich, I noted that the ingredients were of pretty good quality especially the steak which is thinly sliced into sizeable pieces rather than the chopped little bits you might get elsewhere. The white Cheddar had a good amount of flavor and balanced well with the steak.

The steak could have stood a bit more seasoning; just a bit more pepper or what not. I would have liked a little more steak; I think they could have gotten away with a London broil in a larger quantity.

I think my particular panini was missing the horseradish spread but it was still good and for a light eater as myself, each half was good for a meal. I did wish the baguette was crustier though; there was the requisite texture and chew but I wanted a crisper crust.

Interestingly, it's Panera's French baguette which contains most of the salt in this sandwich at 1200mg.

Overall, a pretty good but also pretty pricey steak sandwich. One that I'm not sure is worth the cost.

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Nutritional Info - Panera Bread - Steak & White Cheddar Panini - 13oz (367g)
Calories - 950 (from Fat - 320)
Fat - 35g (Saturated Fat - 15g)
Sodium - 1790mg
Carbs - 112g (Sugar - 3g)
Protein - 43g