Review: Corner Bakery - Chicken Pomodori Panini

Corner Bakery Cafe's Chicken Pomodori Panini features slices of roasted chicken, fresh basil and spinach, oven-roasted tomatoes, and provolone cheese with pesto mayo on grilled sourdough bread.

It normally costs $8.29 but I received this courtesy of Corner Bakery. The sandwich comes with a side (chips, baby carrots, or salad) and a pickle spear.

The bread was grilled/pressed beautifully for a crispy, buttery crust. There's not much in the way of sourness though.

The chicken was super tender, juicy, and just very lightly seasoned.

Somehow, they managed to buffer the greens enough so that they didn't wilt and still gave a fresh flavor to the sandwich. The oven-roasted tomatoes added a full ripened flavor.

The pesto mayo combines with the provolone for a savory, creamy base. There were four slices of provolone; the bottom ones were thoroughly melted, while the others on top were just slightly so (you can figure out why by reading the recipe below). You still get that melty texture but it's not going to be on the level of an oozing slice of American (but then again, that's a key difference between actual cheese and the processed stuff).

Overall, Corner Bakery's Chicken Pomodori Panini makes for an excellent grilled sandwich with distinct and balanced flavors/ingredients. It gives a grilled cheese feeling but with a few enjoyable twists.

Just in case you don't live near a Corner Bakery, are trying to save money, or just want to try making the sandwich, I got the company's recipe for you:

Ingredients:

- 2 slices of Sourdough bread
- Butter
- Garlic butter
- 4 slices of Provolone cheese
- 3 oz. of sliced chicken
- 1 oz. of roasted tomatoes
- 3-4 leaves of fresh basil
- 5 oz. of fresh spinach
- 5 oz. of pesto mayo

Directions:

1. Butter both slices of bread on the outside and brush the inside of the bottom slice of bread with garlic butter.

2. Layer two slices of cheese, chicken, roasted tomatoes, and fresh basil and spinach.

3. Add the last two slices of cheese and top with the second slice of bread.

4. Grill to golden perfection on panini grill, adding the pesto mayo just before removing from the grill.

In case you don't have a panini grill, you can use a cast iron pan (skillet) and prepare the panini like a grilled cheese. If it has grill marks, which skillets sometimes do because they’re used for cooking steaks, then your panini will look just like Corner Bakery Cafe’s. Or, you can prepare the panini on an actual grill with low to medium hit.

Nutritional Info - Corner Bakery Cafe Chicken Pomodori Panini
Calories - 760 (from Fat - 270)
Fat - 29g (Saturated Fat - 8g)
Sodium - 1300mg
Carbs - 56g (Sugar - 8g)
Protein - 26g