Want to know one of my favorite places to eat? Panera. Yup… love it! I think that it’s because it’s a carb lovers dream and there is nothing that I like more than bread.

I’m pretty sure that I could make a diet out of bread alone and then I’d spend the time I’m not eating bread at the gym running off all of the calories from it. It’s a good thing that the closest Panera is like 30 minutes away from me!

For us, my daughter and I, it’s tradition to eat at Panera and then head to our favorite Target store just down the road. Our latest trip was to celebrate her birthday… I know, I know…. it’s not that exciting of a place to celebrate your 17th birthday. But we went out to eat at one of her other favorites the weekend before and I did buy her tickets to see Lady Gaga. So, it’s okay that we had soup & sandwiches on her birthday.

See, she’s fully enjoying her sandwich while using their free wifi! I think she was Tweeting a pic of her dinner… She got that from me! LOL… like mother like daughter!

I don’t think that it matters what time of year we go because we always get their soup. It is absolutely amazing!  Warm, comforting, and full of fresh veggies. It’s nothing like the canned soups that get at the store or some other restaurants.

Normally, I get the black bean soup which is thick & smoky but this time I thought I’d try something new and got their french onion soup. I have to say that it was pretty good but I could have used a bit more cheese…. I mean who doesn’t like melty cheese? Caitlin tried the vegetarian garden vegetable with pesto of course she didn’t offer to let me try it so I’m going to assume that since she ate it all that it had to be pretty good.

Our birthday dinner couldn’t be complete without dessert! I mean how could we go to Panera and not try one of those delicious desserts that they have? We opted for the red velvet cookies… I knew that I should have gone for that thick, gooey, brownie they had. Red velvet cookies aren’t all that good.

It was a good thing that we went shopping after the soup… bread… cookies… We would have fallen asleep driving home after all that food.

Have you been to Panera lately? What’s your favorite thing there?

I was provided with a $10 gift card to check out the delicious soups at Panera & a stipend for writing about my experiences from DailyBuzz Food. But all thoughts, opinions, and weight gain from the cookie are mine.