Eileen's Special Cheesecake, NYC

If you ask New Yorker's the best cheesecake, you'll get a variety of answers.  My personal favorite has been Veniero's, the tourists will all flock to Junior's, and there is a loooong tail of other places that people will swear by.  New York is known for cheesecake after all.  But one place that does come up frequently on best cheesecake lists is Eileen's Special Cheesecake.  Food & Wine named it the best cheesecake in America in 2019.

Like many great stories, Eileen's started by a baker, Eileen, who got talked into selling her cheesecake to friend and neighbors, and eventually as a real bakery in 1975. Her daughters now run the business with her, all family run, all women.  

They make, well, cheesecake of course, in 6", 10", or individual tart sizes.  They offer a few other items like chocolate covered strawberries (random!), cannoli, and chocolate mousse too, but, cheesecake is obviously the focus.  Cheesecakes can be topped with different glazed fruits (strawberry, blueberry, cherry, pineapple, raspberry), or come in specialty flavors like salted caramel, chocolate, cookies n' cream, dulce de leche, banana, chocolate raspberry, birthday cake, and more.  They also do make a gluten-free version, a low sugar version, and even a tofu based vegan one. Special flavors like lemon, lemon with raspberry swirl, key lime, mango, coconut, Bailey's, marble, pina colada, red velvet, pumpkin spice, or heart shaped varieties are available with advance order too.

I finally got a chance to try it when we had a party at the office with the individual tarts.

Individual Cheesecake Tarts

The individual tarts do not have tart shells, so not really what I think of as tarts, but rather are cheesecakes in little cupcake style wrappers, individual sized.

Strawberry. $6.

"A creamy cheesecake filling topped with a sweet strawberry glaze and a whole strawberry, nestled in a crisp tart crust."

The first I tried was strawberry, which is the traditional cheesecake with strawberry topping.

This was a very good traditional cheesecake.  Dense, NY style, very cream cheese forward, but still fairly fluffy.   No hint of lemon, nor touch of vanilla, just, plain, but the sweetness level was good, and it shined in its simplicity.  The crust was fairly average compressed crumb crust.  The topping was extremely good - it looked like fairly standard strawberry goo from a can, but it was really quite flavorful and the perfect level of sweetness that complimented the plain cheesecake well.

****.

Blueberry. $6.

"A creamy cheesecake filling topped with a generous layer of blueberry compote, nestled in a crisp tart shell."

The blueberry was much the same, same base cheesecake, this time with a thick blueberry compote on top.  Again, it looked kinda generic, but I found the sweetness level really ideal, and the thick nature of the compote worked well with the cheesecake.  ****.

Mango. $6.

"Creamy cheesecake infused with mango atop a buttery tart crust."

Another dense, NY style cheesecake, but still somewhat fluffy.  Strong cream cheese flavor.  Mild mango flavor that was light and tropical.  Standard crumb crust (I think a missed opportunity to do something like a coconut crust that would go so well with the mango).  Quite good, although I do generally go for non-fruity flavors of base cheesecake. ***+.

Chocolate Cappuccino. $6.

"A single-serving cheesecake with a cappuccino-flavored chocolate filling, garnished with a coffee bean."

And finally, a chocolate based one.

This was the most unique of the cheesecakes.  The menu description didn't say it, but it had a chocolate crumb crust rather than standard blond graham crust.  I greatly preferred this compressed chocolate soil style.  The cheesecake itself was much like the others - dense NY style, strong cream cheese flavor, etc, etc.  But this one stood out due to how strong the coffee flavor was.  Really quite a strong intense coffee flavor, which I really enjoyed, but definitely not one for those who are lukewarm on coffee flavors.  ****.

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Thai Diner, NYC

Update Review, August 2024

When I returned to NY this summer, Thai Diner was high on my list of places to repeat order from.  I was very tempted by their newest brunch offerings too (think: Thai tea French toast!), and by their lunchtime Thai style philly cheese steak that gets all the raves, but, in the end, my eating agenda wound up too packed, and I was only able to sneak in a small order my second to last day in town.

Snacks: Boiled Octopus. $17.

"Broiled Octopus served with Spicy Seafood Nam Prik."

I opted for just a dish from the "snacks" (e.g. appetizers) menu, as I had other food at home to finish up.  I was really craving octopus, so was quite excited when I saw this was still on the menu.

The octopus was really nicely prepared.  It was broiled I guess, but I think it was finished on the grill, as it was nicely crisp and a bit smoky.  The pieces were chopped up to perfect bite size, and were remarkably tender.  So simple, but some of the best octopus I've had in the past few years.

It came with a lime to drizzle over it, perhaps the first element that actually screamed out "Thai" rather than Mediterranean/Italian/etc, which did add a hit of acidity and brightness.  The spicy seafood Nam Prik I had the first time I ordered from Thai Diner when I just got extra sauces to play with, so I knew what to expect from that.  It was indeed spicy, and it had all the signature elements of Thai cuisine you'd expect: heat, sour notes, acidity, a touch of sweetness, some funk from fish sauce ... it had a ton going on, and was a flavorful (and spicy) powerhouse.  I gladly used the leftovers drizzled on other dishes, and it added instant next level flavor.  I think I almost liked it more on other things than on the octopus, as the octopus was so good I kinda didn't want anything to mask it.

Loved this, highly recommend, and would get again no question. ****+.

Original Review, March 2024

New York has no shortage of great options for dining, no matter what cuisine you are interested in.  When I visited this past summer, I was craving good thai food, as we just don't really have great thai in San Francisco.  I had numerous options of course My first thai craving lead me to order from the well regarded Fish Cheeks, which I did enjoy, and would gladly get again, but, I wanted to try something different.  Somehow my searched lead me to Thai Diner, a concept that sounded great to me - thai food, served all day (including breakfast), in a diner-like setting. The menu sounded fairly authentic, had some great sounding dishes, and used proteins I enjoy like octopus, liver, and skate.  It has a Michelin bib gourmand too, so, some credibility.

Packaging.

I ordered for delivery on DoorDash, so I didn't get to see the diner decor, but, reviews I read all really do laud the decorations and vibe.  

My items all came nicely labeled with the contents, and a vibrant Thai Diner sticker was used to seal for both security and practicality.  My items came in a variety of containers: this cardboard box for the salad, an aluminum tray with plastic lid for another, and a cardboard bowl for another.  All disposable, no re-usable.

Food

So, the menu.   I wanted much of it.  If I was there at breakfast or brunch, I'd certainly be tempted by the thai tea babka french toast (think: thai tea butter, salty condensed milk, babka base!!!) or even the well lauded breakfast sandwiches (wrapped in roti of course).  But I wanted dinner food, and was alone, so, I couldn't order too much.  I went for a salad, a "snack", and a dessert, so I skipped the main dishes entirely, including the sandwiches & platters section (diner inspired here, but, thai), the "House specilaities" (everything from curries to lobster omelettes to one of my favorites, khao soi), and the "From our woks" (noodle dishes, which can be made with standard tofu, chicken, or vegetarian, but also fried chicken (!), beef shortrib, or large prawns).  I also skipped the sides and the raw bar, so I could order two dishes (salad and snack) and not have too much leftover.

They also have an extensive drink menu, with tons of teas, espresso drinks, wine, and fun sounding cocktails or herbal elixir shots.

Soup & Salad

Soup & Salad Menu.

To start, I got a salad.  Not what I'd ever normally order from a Thai restaurant, but I read so many rave reviews of their baan salad (and also, I have had some fantastic crispy rice salads in the past).  They also had a standard papaya salad.  To the salads you can add a variety of proteins: a fried egg ($2), fried tofu ($5), chicken ($7), fried chicken ($8), beef ($9), prawns ($10), snow crab claw ($13), or even a half chilled lobster ($15).

Baan Salad (No Avocado). $15.

"House salad with Crispy Red Curry Rice, Romaine, Watercress, Avocado, Red Onion & Thai Herbs.  Served with Sweet Chili Dressing."

I was ordering it as a light side salad, so I did not add any protein, although I did ask to have the avocado omitted as I'm allergic. Luckily, it was a built-in option when ordering online to have no avocado (same with red onion).

I was fairly underwhelmed by the salad.  The base was as promised, romaine and watercress, both quite fresh and crisp, along with some herbs mixed in.  There were also some slices of watermelon radish, which along with the thinly sliced red onion, added a pop of color.  But besides the crispy rice, there wasn't anything else to this.  The crispy rice added great texture, but it was more like the crispy rice topping from Sweetgreen (which I do adore), than the mind blowing creation that was the crispy rice salad at Mumu in Sydney.  Just individual bits of dry crispy rice.  A garnish, not a focal point.  I had to leave off the avocado that is normally included due to my allergy.

So, a kinda boring salad.  That said, my salad was also missing the dressing.  They had an option to have the dressing on the side, rather than pre-dressed, which I selected.  However, my dressing was nowhere to be found.  The sweet chili dressing sounded unique, but, alas, I had none.  And thus, no dressing, and no avocado (that part was my choice), and an interesting salad it was not.  *** as it was all fresh. 

This also happens to be vegan.

Snacks

Snack Menu

The next dish I got was from the "Snacks" portion of the menu, essentially the appetizers.   This section had so many heavy hitters, like spicy stuffed clams, octopus with seafood nam prik that people rave about (and I do love octopus!), betal leaf wraps (always something I enjoy), Thai "disco fries" with massaman curry and other toppings, and so on.  Picking just one was very, very hard.  If I were to return, I'd love to try more from here.

Snack: Spicy Chopped Chicken Liver. $16.

"with Pineapple, Thai Herbs & 2 Rotis."

I settled on just one, the spicy chicken liver, as it definitely sounded the most unique, and is one of the most well regarded items on the menu.  Plus, I love chicken liver!

It was just as fascinating, and delicious, as people had said it would be.  It hit all the notes of great Thai cuisine: spicy, sour, sweet, salty, bitter.  The chopped chicken liver mix was well seasoned, and properly funky.  It reminded me a bit of some fermented pork Thai dishes I've had, with all that umami in it.  Very good chicken liver.  The crispy fried onion bits on top added crunch and salt, the cubes of pineapple added a balancing sweetness, the thin sliced red onion and lime to squeeze over provided the acid and sour notes, and the fresh herbs brightened it all up.  They really nailed the balance of all the things, in a very unexpected dish.  I've had various types of liver or pate with a fruit component many times, but this was hands down the most unique prep I've had in years.  ****, unique, and very well thought out.

It came with 2 fresh roti, each packaged in a metallic bag to keep warm.  The roti was very good - flaky, buttery/oily, lightly decadent.  As good of roti as I've had, particularly as I wasn't having it quite fresh.  ****.  Additional roti can be added to any order for $3.

Making wraps with the liver and other ingredients made for really quite taste bites, particularly when I drizzled the spicy sauce in as well.  Speaking of that sauce, it was definitely spicy, and full of unique flavor.  Again, properly funky, nice umami and spice, just, everything.   **** sauce too.

So, overall, a unique dish, very tasty, and fun to eat as well.  **** all around, and I highly recommend.

Roasted Chili Nam Jim / Spicy Seafood Nam Prik. $1.75 each.

I couldn't resist adding extra sauces to my order, as I'm a sauce girl through and through.

First up was the roasted chili nam jim. It was fairly similar to the sauce that came with the liver, capturing all the classic Thai goodness of sweet, sour, spicy, and pungent.  Funky yet balanced, and would be fabulous on just about anythin.  ****.

And lastly, the spicy seafood nam prik, which normally comes with the octopus appetizer, and gets rave reviews.  This truly was spicy as advertised, and overall very flavorful.  I detected lime juice and fish sauce, which both gave it a balanced complexity.  I absolutely see how it would make for a great dip for grilled octopus or calamari, or really, any seafood.  Or even something like yucca fries.  ****.

Dessert

Dessert Menu.

And then of course, dessert.  The entire dessert lineup was tempting too, with a "thai coffee monster" (a monster shaped thai coffee cake with condensed milk frosting) that I would have ordered if it was earlier in the day for caffeine, or a play on the signature New York black & white cookie with a "green & white", featuring pandan and salty coconut (!), and, for dine-in, an epic sundae.  But, if I had to pick one, the banana rum pudding it was, as I adore puddings.   

Banana Rum Pudding. $10.

"Banana Pudding with Uncle Boons Rum topped with Whipped Cream, Caramelized Bananas & Thai Lotus Sesame Tuile. "

I love all pudding, but I really love banana pudding, and I certainly bought in to the idea of adding both rum and a tuile on top.  I was so excited for this.

When you dine-in, the tuile is a topper on the big pudding bowl.  I asked to have it on the side so it would stay crispy.  I'm not sure if they normally stuff it in with the pudding.

The pudding base was ... fine.  It had a strong banana flavor.  This wasn't just vanilla pudding layered with sliced bananas, it was actually banana pudding.  I did not taste any rum.  It was however really quite sweet, and a fairly thin style, not a rich and creamy pudding.  ***.

On top was whipped cream, thicker.  It helped balanced the sweet pudding a bit.  ***.

Then, the caramelized bananas, which were a notch above standard just plain sliced bananas for sure.  They were lightly bruleed on the top.

And finally, the beautiful crispy sesame tuile.  This was not only awesome to eat (so crunchy!), it was loaded with sesame flavor.  Such intense sesame.  Sweet too, as it was glazed in some way.  Delightful.  You could definitely just eat these as a snack and be quite happy.  ****+.

Overall, this was good, but not amazing.  The pudding a bit too thin and too sweet, but the other elements somewhat made up for it.  In a city of such great banana pudding though (I'm looking at you Magnolia!), this didn't really measure up.  ***+.

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Pastries from Panera

Update Review, 2024 Visit

Panera added a few new menu items in summer 2024, and most were a bit over the top.  Clearly trying to get attention.  Like the CinnaTops product line, that is full cinnamon rolls, topped with standard icing, and then either cookies (chocolate chip or candy chip, your choice) and more icing.  I'm all for mashups, but this didn't really seem like one that made sense.  They don't get particularly great reviews, but I still wanted to try.

Fudgy Brownie CinnaTop. $4.99.

"A deliciously crafted cinnamon roll made with our sweet dough, stuffed with cinnamon-sugar filling and topped with decadent icing, brownie chunks and finished with an icing drizzle."

Reviewers all say the brownie is the best of the bunch, and, since I never liked Panera's chocolate chip nor candy cookie as standalone treats anyway, that seemed like the best choice for me given the 3 options.

It was even more ridiculous when I saw it in person.  Yes, the base was an extremely large cinnamon roll, and it had 8 large hunks of brownie on top.

This was my first time trying a Panera brownie.  I believe this is the regular brownie, just chopped up.  Mine had 8 well arranged hunks on top.   The brownie was fairly moist, and pretty generic.  Rich and fudgey, and probably what I'd like better warm and a la mode, but I'm not generally one for brownies (I prefer blondies, or if I'm going for warm chocolate carb dessert a la mode, I prefer a nice chocolate cake as my base).  But nothing wrong with it.  Low ***.

Fudgy Brownie CinnaTop: Side View.

The amount of icing was ... um, over the top.  Er, over the sides?

Marketing Images.

For context, the marketing images show the icing on top, but not fully extending over the edges, still revealing a bit of cinnamon roll, which mine did not.  I think someone was over-zealous with the icing application on mine.

Now, getting to the base roll itself, which I was assuming was just the regular cinnamon roll I've had before a few times, however the moment I saw it I realized something had changed.  

Cinnamon Rolls: Old (left), New (right).

Yes, the base looked totally different from what I expected, and it turns out, about 5 months prior, in March 2024, Panera reformulated the cinnamon rolls, to be far less lofty and doughy.  The old ones (above, left) required proofing overnight, were baked in a pan and cut out, and were far more work for the bakers.  Now, they just bake from frozen (right).  My sources (e.g. Panera staff members on Reddit) say the icing is unchanged, which made me hopeful, as I liked the icing before.  I definitely prefer the more lofty style, but I was always let down by that element previously, so, hey, maybe this is a better change?

Fudgy Brownie CinnaTop: Cross Section.

I dug in first at room temperature, as served, but fully intended to warm it up too.

The pastry part was pretty lackluster, more of a danish/croissant dough than the puffy dough I prefer in a cinnamon roll.  It did not taste particularly fresh, even though I picked this up at 10am.   It did have plenty of cinnamon between the folds.  But, a pretty mediocre pastry really.  ** base.

The icing was the best part, it was sweet but not crazy cloying, and seemed to have light lemon notes to it?  I actually quite enjoyed the icing, comical quantity and all.  It was however quite hard.  *** icing.

So, what do you get when you put together a mediocre danish-style cinnamon roll, decent icing, and a generic brownie?  Yeah, this.  I wasn't particularly compelled to finish it, nor to get another.  **+ overall.

The regular cinnamon roll is 520 calories, and the brownie 470, so I guess it isn't a full size brownie, as this is "only" 790 calories, so I guess ~60% of a brownie?

Update Review, 2021 Visit

Vanilla Cinnamon Roll. $3.89.

"A freshly baked roll made with our sweet dough, stuffed with cinnamon-sugar filling and topped with decadent vanilla icing."

For my birthday freebie this year, I was in the mood for sweet, and was thrilled to see Panera still had cinnamon rolls when I visited in late afternoon (I got the last one!).  But uh ... I didn't like it very much.

I took a bite at room temp, and felt fairly "meh" about it, just like before - the dough was just boring, and yes it had plenty of cinnamon sugar filling between the folds, but it was just ... eh.  And the very very plentiful icing was just too sweet.

Still, I remembered liking it better heated, so I heated it up.  It looked great, the icing slightly melty.  But ... it still was just ... ok.  Not bad, but not very good, and not something worth nearly $4, or 650 calories ... (that said, now that I read my past review, I think I felt pretty similar, I just "saved" it that time by adding ice cream.

I probably wouldn't get this again. **+.

Update Review, Early 2020

Yup, yup, yet another update review of the pastries from Panera, as I continue to work my way through their reformulated offerings.  See below for all my prior reviews.

Chocolate Croissant. $3.29. (Sept 2019)

"A freshly baked, perfectly flaky butter croissant stuffed with chocolate flavored cream cheese and topped with a chocolate flavored drizzle and powdered sugar."

When Panera re-vamped the bakery goods last year, they *radically* changed the chocolate croissant.  In very non-traditional ways.

Just looking at it, and reading the description, you can tell this is not a standard chocolate croissant.  Most chocolate croissants, or pain au chocolat, are rectangular, and filled with 1-2 bars of chocolate.  This was more  shaped like a traditional croissant, except covered in chocolate "flavored" drizzle and powdered sugar, and, um, filled with "chocolate flavored cream cheese".

The pastry itself is indeed improved from the past.  It was not oily, spongy, or stale.  The outside was slightly golden brown, and had a slightly crisp exterior.  Inside was moist, and faintly buttery.

I wanted more flaky layers, more significant butter flavor, but it was certainly better than what I've had anywhere like Starbucks, or hotel breakfast buffets.

The powdered sugar on top I don't think added much (besides messy fingers), but I did like the chocolate "flavored" drizzle, as I was really in the mood for chocolate when I got this.

So, I rate the croissant itself above average, but not the same calibre as a real bakery. *** so far.

 Chocolate Croissant Inside.

The filling however is the part I was most interested in.  As I said, I was really in the mood for chocolate, and I was curious what this would deliver.

What is "chocolate flavored cream cheese" anyway?

The answer seemed to be ... soft chocolate paste.  I liked the chocolate flavor, and the consistency was good, kinda like dipping bread into soft chocolate, but I didn't taste anything vaguely cream cheese like.  That was fine with me, but if you wanted to taste cream cheese, this wouldn't do that for you.

I liked the filling, but you need to know this is not standard chocolate croissant filling, and, despite the description, isn't really cream cheese-y.

I'm glad I tried this item, I enjoyed it enough given the chocolate-y mood I was in, but I wouldn't order another. ***+.

Update Review, January 2019

Hot on the heels of my amazement last month that Panera introduced basically kouign aman to their lineup, I tried another new pastry item, the cinnamon roll, and was even more impressed.

Vanilla Cinnamon Roll. $3.

"A freshly baked roll made with our sweet dough, stuffed with cinnamon-sugar filling and topped with decadent vanilla icing."

I've been eying these cinnamon rolls since Panera introduced them late last year.  They seem to be crowd pleasers though, or perhaps hard for Panera to make in quantity, as literally any time I have arrived post 11am they are completely sold out.  I only ever see them earlier in the morning, and they usually have them still in the baking pan, with only 1-1 left.

So I finally ordered one in advance, through the app.  It was ready and waiting in the rapid pick up area.  I knew that that the cinnamon rolls are large, because I had seen them before.  I still gulped when I picked up my box to see that it was literally full from the single cinnamon roll.  I laughed remembering that this was listed under the "pastries for one" section, as they also sell these as a four-pack.  You might ... wanna split it with a friend, or at least save half for after lunch?

It also had a rather generous amount of icing on top.  I hoped the icing would be good, and, it was.  Super sweet, actually vanilla flavored, and, as you can see, plenty of it.  I really enjoyed the icing, the best element at room temperature, as Panera serves it.

Vanilla Cinnamon Roll: Side Profile.

I was impressed when I cut into the roll to see that it truly was stuffed with cinnamon-sugar filling.  There was a generous amount of filling between the rolls.  It was well rolled.  Really, a nicely constructed pastry.

I was not particularly impressed with the dough itself, it wasn't fluffy or moist as I hoped.  At room temperature, I basically thought it was better than most chain cinnamon rolls, and applauded the construction and icing, but I figured I'd hand it off to my partner later.  ***.

But first, I had to try warming it up.

It was *much* better warm.  While the dough didn't improve in a dramatic way, it was certainly better warmer, and the icing melted into more of a sticky caramel, which I enjoyed.  Totally different from the already tasty icing, but, it worked well with the cinnamon, making it more like a sticky bun.  And then I added my favorite vanilla ice cream.

Warm cinnamon roll turned sticky bun with melty ice cream?  That was a winner. ***+.

So my protip: don't bother with it at room temperature.  If you want to consume it at Panera, consider a quick trip in the microwave (every Panera has one!) perhaps, although I didn't try that.  My partner does swear by microwaving (very briefly!) cinnamon rolls and glazed donuts.

I'd get it again, but only with intentions to eat it warm and a la mode, not for breakfast.

Update Review, December 2018

Thank you Panera.  That is what I have to say.  They finally re-vamped the pastry section of the menu, eliminating or changing so many of the items I never liked.  The lackluster Pecan Braid is reformulated.  The sad Cobblestone is gone.  So is the Pecan Roll I never liked.  Also removed are the old cheese and cherry and cheese pastries, which opened up space for new additions.

They ... added kouign aman?!  (As you know, I consider this, when done well, one of the best pastries ever!)  Really?  Really Panera?  Of course I was skeptical, because, um, they haven't ever impressed me with the pastries after all, and they don't actually call it a kouign aman (because, mass market, like people would ever learn to pronounce that!), and dub it a "Brittany" instead ... 

"We improved the dough quality of our previous Cherry and Cheese Pastries, then enhanced the product even more!"

They do seem to realize though that the dough left something to be desired before.  So that is something.  The Brittany comes in two varieties, cheese, or cherry cheese, the later of which I tried.

Cherry Cheese Brittany (December 2018). $2.99.

"A freshly baked, flaky butter pastry filled with cream cheese filling and topped with cherry filling."

Well, it didn't look half bad.  It didn't look soft and spongy, and really did look like a real kouign amann.  The powdered sugar on top was appealing, as were the cherries.

It was ... ok.  Probably most would even consider it good.

The problem for me was that it wasn't really a kouign amann.  It was, however, a much better pastry than they ever offered before.  The exterior was crisp, the dough came in nice layers, it was flaky.  But it wasn't nearly as buttery nor caramelized and decadent as I expect from a kouign amann.

The cream cheese filling was a good element, a decent portion, slightly sweetened, good texture.  Nothing wrong there.  And the tart cherries were juicy and flavorful, sticky in a good way.

Really, if you just wanted a better cherry cheese danish or croissant, Panera did a good job improving this item.  But if you want a real decadent deeply caramelized kouign amann ... look elsewhere.

***+.

Update Review, October 2015

If you didn't read my original Panera baked goods review, I suggest you start there, and then return to this update, since I'm skipping the background this time around.   See "Original Review, October 2014" below.

Assorted Baked Goods!

I recently attended a brunch where someone brought a platter full of Panera baked goods, nicely cut up into reasonable size chunks.  I used it as an opportunity to check in to see if the disappointing cobblestone sweet roll was still as lackluster as before, and to check in to see that the scones were still the best baked goods from Panera.  Answer: yes on both counts.

I also tried the pecan roll, which you can see peeking out of the front right and back left corners of the platter. Described as "Freshly baked sweet dough with cinnamon-sugar filling and topped with caramel and pecans."

Sadly, it went exactly the same way as the cobblestone. It looked good. It *should* be good, given the lineup of ingredients. But, just like the cobblestone, it was really dry. You could see cinnamon, but it had no cinnamon flavor. There were plentiful pecans, but they were bitter tasting. And yes, plenty of caramel, but even that wasn't very good.

Cinnamon Crumb Coffee Cake. $2.49.

"An old-fashioned butter coffee cake, swirled with cinnamon and finished with a butter crumb topping."

Ok, so this is weird.  I don't know what happened to me.  I headed to Panera, intending to get a blueberry scone, since I recently had one at brunch and I enjoyed it.

And then I got to Panera and didn't want a scone.

For some reason, the muffins called out to me.  And of all things, the cranberry orange muffin looked good.  I don't like orange flavor!  And I've never liked a single muffin I've tried from Panera.

I was paralyzed.  Logically, I knew I'd hate the muffin.  But I really, really wasn't feeling the scone.  And I had a birthday free pastry to use.  In my moments of total indecision, I saw the coffee cake.

It didn't actually look good.  And honestly, I don't generally like coffee cake.  Heck, I don't even really like cake. But somehow it seemed like I'd get the muffin satisfaction, and have a chance of trying something totally different?  I don't know what I was thinking.  I think I remembered the really great streusel topping I had on top of coffee cake recently, and it inspired me.  I just wanted streusel, really.

My decision was made when I asked the friendly worker what he thought of the coffee cake.  He told me, honestly, that all he does is eat the topping.  He said the topping was awesome, but the cake was, well, just frozen thawed cake, and not interesting.  But he loved the topping.  Done.

So I got it.  Even though I don't like cake.  Even though it didn't look good.  Even though the streusel layer looked piddly.

It ... wasn't awful at least.  Better than I expected, honestly.  But, really not great.

The cake itself was not dry.  Nor was it moist.  It was very homogenous, non-offensive.  There was slightly different flavors in the two colors, but I wouldn't be able to identify either as anything in particular.  It was just plain cake.  I didn't really taste any cinnamon.

The topping was decent.  It was sweet, slightly buttery.  Again, no cinnamon.  It was crumbly.  But there wasn't nearly enough, which I could tell just from looking at it.  The powdered sugar on top did help too.

So, overall, not horrible, but not particularly exciting.  Not that I expected it to be.  I wouldn't get it again.

The slice for $2.49 was in line with their other baked goods.  It is also available as a whole cake.

Original Review, October 2014

Last Monday, I reviewed a bunch of scones from Panera.  The week before, I covered some drinks.  A while ago, I reviewed their bagels and mufins.  I've also covered the cookies. I'm not one for sandwiches, soups, or salads, so, what else remains?

Of course, more baked goods.  I'm skipping a real intro here, because you can read all about Panera in my previous posts.

Pecan Braid.  $2.49.

"Our pastry dough, twisted and braided with butter and freshly ground pecans coated with light sugar syrup for sweetness."

I've had a thing for donuts, cinnamon rolls, and similar treats lately.  I'm really not sure what it is, but somehow sweet bready things are just really appealing to me, particularly when paired up with a coffee.  So when I entered Panera, although I was intending to get a bagel, I didn't make it past the pastry displays.  Whoops.

I was in the mood for a cinnamon roll, and Panera makes a cinnamon roll, but it hasn't ever looked good.  It always looks kinda dry, and clearly doesn't have enough icing.  They also make a pecan roll, which looks a little too far in the other direction, coated in sticky sweet caramel.  I kinda think I'd love it as a dessert, but it was morning, so I was trying to pick a "reasonable" breakfast pastry.  I went for the pecan braid, it looked like a compromise, as it had an icing so it would meet my sweet need, and it looked sorta like a twisted donut.

I know the description didn't say anything about cinnamon, but I somehow thought that the filling was going to have a cinnamon flavor, and be a cinnamon-sugar mix with the ground pecans.  It wasn't.  It was really just ground pecans, so it totally didn't meet my cinnamon roll craving.  Whoops.  It also wasn't donut-style dough, more like a croissant dough, although not really light and flaky and buttery.  So it didn't meet that craving either.  Double whoops.

As I said, the dough wasn't flaky, it wasn't buttery, it was a bit dried out even.  It made me very glad I haven't bothered try any of their croissants, as those always look dry, and I'm pretty convinced now that they must be.  I don't understand though how it was so stale seeming, as I got it at 10am, and they said their baked goods are all baked fresh at each location every morning?  How could it be stale already?

Anyway.  The form factor for this pastry was a success, I did like how much pecan filling there was, and the way it was twisted made every bite nicely distributed.  But the filling didn't really have much going on, I wanted more spicing of some sort.  The whole thing was coated with a sweet glaze that seemed to have a bit of an orange essence to it, although I'm not certain, and a single pecan half perched on top.

Like many of the other pastries I've had at Panera, I really wanted it to be warm.  It was just so unremarkable and dry at room temperature.  I saved a chunk to bring home and stick in the toaster oven, because I was curious if it would be better.  Indeed it was, it even seemed to get more moist this way.  But it still wasn't that great, and I wouldn't get another.

Unlike most pastries at Panera, I was not surprised by the nutrition stats, as they seemed fairly resonable: 470 calories, 26g fat, 24g sugar.  Since the filling wasn't sweetened, the only sugar was the light glaze on top, so it made sense that the sugar wasn't off the charts like most of their goods.  And the plentiful amount of ground pecan explains the fat content.  An actual reasonable choice, compared to the rest of the sweet rolls, muffins, and scones.

It turns out that I'd had this once before, as I discovered some tasting notes once I went to write this up.  They read: "Icing on top not particularly good.  Kinda soggy and not flaky dough.  Didn’t pick up on much pecan.  Meh."  Whoops.  While my notes weren't identical in context, I would have known better if I'd read them.

The $2.49 price was fine for a baked good of its size.

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Rule Breaker Snacks

Not by choice, my little niece recently became both gluten-free and dairy free.  For a child, this has been a hard adjustment not being able to eat the snacks everyone else around is eating, and in attempts to give her special things, my mom is slowly working her way through all the products on the market.  I of course have used this opportunity to try things out myself.

Which leads us to Rule Breaker snacks.

Allergen Free.

Rule Breaker is free from the top 11 allergens, so they easily encompass everything my niece needs to avoid, and then some.  Kosher and halal on top of that.  AND, they also aim to be healthier, lower sugar, etc.

The product line is all cookie-adjacent, with single serve normal size cookies, smaller cookies called Juniors, and mini Bites.  The Bites are what I tried.  Most come in a few flavors, including seasonal special like pumpkin spice in the fall, and mint chocolate in the winter.  I tried 3 of the core flavors.

Strawberry Shortcake.

"Rule Breaker Snacks Strawberry Shortcake Bites feature creamy white chocolate chips, a delectable soft-baked texture and of course sweet strawberry flavor. Our little “patch” of Strawberry Shortcake are great for snacking on-the-go, ideal for school and just perfect for picnics in the sunshine."

The first flavor I tried was the most unique: strawberry shortcake.  I love white chocolate, so these called out most to me.  

I did not like these.

They were soft, as promised.  But they tasted more like a nutrition bar than a cookie.  Chewy like one of those bars too.  They tasted healthy.  Not particularly fruity, or at least, not strawberry forward.  This is no real surprise though, particularly once I looked at the ingredients, as chickpeas are the first ingredient, and they are sweetened with date paste and brown rice syrup.  The pink color comes from beets.  Yup, these are far to healthy for me.  Did not even want to finish a single bite.  *.

Chocolate Brownie.

"It doesn't get more chocolately than these rich, fudgy hunks of heaven. We took the same great recipe for our full-size Chocolate Brownies and shrunk them down to just the right size to pop into your mouth.  Rule Breaker Chocolate Brownie Bites may be little, but they're studded with LOTS of chocolate chips. They're so delicious you'd never know that the first ingredient is chickpeas (yes, chickpeas!) and at just 100 calories per serving, they make the perfect snack."

Next up, we tried the most decadent sounding, chocolate brownie.  They were a bit better, but still not very good.  Another soft baked base, sorta between a cookie and brownie.  They did taste a bit chocolately.  But they also had a strange aftertaste, and certainly ate more like a protein bar than an actual treat.  Did not want a second one. *+.

Chocolate Chip.

"If you love chewy, soft-baked chocolate chip cookies, these are the treats for you.  We took the same great recipe for our full-size Chocolate Chip Blondies and shrunk them down to just the right size to pop into your mouth.  They may be little, but they're studded with LOTS of chocolate chips. They're so delicious you'd never know that the first ingredient is chickpeas (yes, chickpeas!) and at just 100 calories per serving, they make the perfect snack."

Finally, although I certainly had no expectations that they would be enjoyable, it was time for chocolate chip.  I was confused when I opened the box as they didn't look anything like the images on the box, nor like, well, chocolate chip cookies.  The base cookie was not blonde, it was just slightly lighter color brown than the chocolate brownie ones.  And the taste?  Yeah, about the same.  Soft cookie-bar bites that seem like a protein bar and not an actual dessert.  Did not want a second bite. *+.

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Colonial Donuts

My work group has a donut rotation, where someone brings in donuts from their vendor of choice every week.  As a lover of donuts, and discovering new places, this is obviously a huge draw for me, particularly when someone brings in donuts from somewhere I'm unlikely to trek to.

Colonial Donuts is located in Oakland, and thus generally outside my stomping grounds.  They offer bagels, coffee, and obviously donuts, and have been in business for 60+ years.

Iconic Pink Box.

"Our menu features a range of donut flavors from classic glazed to modern twists like Mochi Donuts. Whether you're in the mood for a simple glazed donut or a more elaborate treat, we have something for everyone. We are grateful for the community's support and look forward to serving you delicious donuts for years to come."

Like many donut shops, Colonial Donuts uses the iconic pink box, although they do put their own stickers on it.  They make both raised and cake donuts, along with fancy specialty ones.

Raised. $1.95.

Raised donuts are available with chocolate or maple icing (with or without sprinkles), regular glaze, and crumb, coconut, or sugar coatings.

Raised Glazed.

The first donut I had from Colonial Donuts I went super simple.  Raised glazed.

This was a very good simple glazed donut.  Super fluffy.  Nicely glazed.  I went back for more, even though I had an awesome donut from Johnny Doughnuts at my desk as well (it was a very donut heavy day!).

****.

Raised Sugared.

The next time someone brought in donuts from Colonial Donuts, I was too late to get another glazed raised, so went for the sugared instead.

It was again a good simple donut.  Nice and lofty.  Fresh tasting, no stale oil taste.  Well coated in sugar.  Best warmed up and served a la mode.  ***+.

Cake. $1.95.

The cake style lineup at Colonial Donuts is bigger than many places, with standard plain, powdered, chocolate, sugar, cinnamon sugar, but also whole wheat (!), blueberry, and Devil's Food.  Many available with sprinkles too. I've never seen a whole wheat donut before.

Cinnamon Sugar Cake.

Cake donuts are not generally my thing, but when there were plenty extras, I tried a hunk of the cinnamon sugar one.  

It had a decent flavor to the base, was decent moist, decent crispy, and well coated cinnamon sugar.  But just not my favorite style of donut.  Low *** due to personal preferences.

Fancy $2.75

If you'd like something a bit more fancy, the "Fancy" category contains bars (plain, maple), twists (chocolate, glazed), raspberry jelly filled (plain, glazed, powdered), buttermilk (plain, glazed, chocolate), other filled glazed donuts (cherry, lemon, apple), and French Crullers (glazed, maple, chocolate).  These are more pricy at $2.75 each.  I haven't yet had any from this category, but I'm eying the crullers, buttermilk, and jelly filled for sure.

Extra Fancy $3.25

And the final category, the "extra fancy" which has all the heavy hitters like apple fritters, bear claws, custard filled French crullers, cinnamon rolls, turnovers, and custard filled bars.  It also includes new school donuts like ube or red velvet cake, maple bacon raised, and mochi donuts.  This extra fanciness raises the price to $3.25.

Custard Filled Bar. $3.25.

I moved on to a more premium donut, the custard filled chocolate iced bar.

Like the raised rings, this was a nice fluffy donut, fresh tasting.  Inside was generously filled with a decent pudding style filling.  Plenty of milk chocolate glaze.  Basically, no qualms with it, and good components, but not my style of donut (I just don't really like chocolate icing on donuts ... I don't know why.  Sorry Boston cream :(

My least favorite,  ***.

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LoveMi Yogurt

When I was just in NY, I randomly stumbled into a soft opening for a new yogurt drink place, LoveMi Yogurt.  It was across the street from where I was staying, and I saw the business name and was hoping it was a froyo place, but, the doors were never open, the lights never on, etc for the first week I was there.  Then, one random afternoon, the door was open, so I looked in to see if it was indeed a froyo shop. It is not, but the staff very eagerly greeted me.  They were doing a soft opening, and literally no one was there.  They said they could make me any drink I wanted for free, and just asked me to post to social media.  Um, ok?  #score

My research shows me that this is their second location, their first opened in Chinatown just a few weeks prior.  Very ambitious business owner to be opening two locations right away!

Anyway, I became a big fan of yogurt drinks, particularly ones with rice in them, when I was in Sydney years ago and fell in love with Koomi. I've never found anywhere like it in the US, although I've tried (yes, I've tried Yomie, and no, I don't care for it).  I was eager to try their offerings.

Menu.

I spent a moment to take in the menu. Avocado drinks are a big part of their range, which I moved right past, given my allergy.  They also have standard milk or fruit tea options, and thick milks, but the yogurts where were I honed in.  I was most excited for the Five-Grain Yogurt Series, in particular, for the purple sweet potato yogurt.  But, alas, they didn't have that yet.  I nearly went for the purple rice yogurt instead, but at last minute, decided I wanted something fruity, and went for the mango yogurt.  Mango pomelo sago was also an option, but that one uses coconut yogurt, and I really wanted standard, tangy, thick yogurt.  So, mango yogurt it was.

Mango Yogurt.

I asked for it less sweet, as the menu said options were 30%, 50%, 70%, 100%, but I was told I couldn't modify it.  I tried to add crystal boba, or anything really, but I was told I couldn't do that either, although the menu listed these options.  I'm not sure if this was a pre-opening restriction?

Anyway, the drink was ... ok.  It did have tons of mango, strong fruity flavor.  Fresh and ripe mango.  It was well blended, lightly icy and refreshing.  The yogurt was on top (not just blended in), so it gave me a chance to try it on its own.  That was the part that let me down.  It wasn't as thick and tangy and decadent as Australian yogurt.  It kinda was just generic yogurt, not even very tangy by American standards.  It made the overall drink pretty boring.

I really wanted some crystal boba, sticky rice, or something in here to jazz it up.

I'd still consider trying another drink, but this one just wasn't very compelling to inspire another visit. **+.

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Scones from Panera Bread

Update Review, 2024

I finally happened to be in a town with Panera again for my birthday this year (the San Francisco location closed years ago), so after a hiatus, I was back to try their treats again, to use my free birthday reward.

Orange Scone. $3.99.

"A deliciously crafted, cream-based scone with orange flavors and topped with orange flavored icing."

I knew that I'd had this before, and was lukewarm on it, but it was years ago (way back in 2017!), and I was craving something like it, so, I still got it.  I do think the recipe has perhaps changed?  Panera has changed so many of their baked goods during that time.

I didn't dislike it.  

But, you do need to understand that it isn't really a scone.  It is very soft.  Very bread/cake-like.  No crumble to it.  Which I knew to expect.  Good *scone*?  No.  But decent soft cake-bread?  Sure.  

The base had pleasant orange flavor to it, and the very generous icing on top was quite strong orange flavor.  Yes, there was such a ridiculous amount of icing that it came with an extra pool of it on the side, but, the icing was tasty (although VERY VERY sweet).  This is the element that didn't seem to match my memory and past reviews, as I said it tasted just like Fruit Loops then, and this did not.  It tasted like ... um ... orange sweet stuff?  Anyway, it makes a decent sweet treat alongside coffee in the morning, or, as I enjoyed it, also topped with fruit and whipped cream as more of a dessert.  ***+.

Update Review, 2021

Blueberry Scone. $2.99.

"Freshly baked, cream-based scone made with dried, infused wild blueberries."

Eh.

Very hard. Dry.  Needs to be turned into shortcake biscuit with fresh fruit and copious amounts of whipped cream to really be enjoyable.  Blueberries flavorful though.

***.

Update Review, January 2020

As I mentioned in my last update review, Panera has recently updated most of their pastries, including, the scones.  I had always liked their blueberry scones before, but, they made them even better.  So I was excited to try another new scone, this time, opting for the Cinnamon Crunch, again, entirely revamped, to see if it improved, as, I hadn't really cared for it the first (and only) time I tried the previous version, back in 2014.

Cinnamon Crunch Scone. $3.29. (July 2019)

"A freshly baked, cream-based scone mixed by hand for a delicate crumb. Made with cinnamon chips and cinnamon crunch icing."

The Cinnamon Crunch scone was *entirely* different from its previous form.  First, the shape (now round, before triangle).  Then, the drizzle (now a cinnamon icing drizzle, before a "white icing glaze").  Also, now a slightly healthier option (400 calories - before 550, lower sugar with 32 grams, before 41grams, and lower fat - 15 grams now, before 23 grams).

But I really cared about the eating experience, not the looks, not the stats.

This scone was very, very sweet.  I kinda can't imagine it for breakfast, and I'm someone who has no shame eating desserts for breakfast.  The "cinnamon crunch icing" was sweet, sweet, sweet, and, although a drizzle, it was quite generous.  Sweet and cinnamon-forward.  Which describes the entire thing.

The base was moist, good texture with a slight crumble but not the kind that makes a mess.  Slight tang to the base, giving it a slightly interesting flavor.  And then, tons of cinnamon goodness, from bursts of flavor from cinnamon chips throughout.

It was a good scone, but, I had to turn it into dessert, and cut the sweetness with whipped cream.  I think warming it up and serving with ice cream would be fabulous too.  I enjoyed it, but I prefer the blueberry scone, and think I'd actually like this more without the icing.

Apple Cinnamon Crunch Scone. $3.29. (November 2019).

"A freshly baked, cream-based scone mixed by hand for a delicate crumb. Made with apple cinnamon filling and topped with cinnamon crunch topping and salted caramel icing."

The Apple Cinnamon Crunch scone was introduced in the 2019 fall season, along with a few other seasonal items.  At first I thought it odd that Panera would add an apple cinnamon crunch variety, when they already had cinnamon crunch, and only two other scone varieties (blueberry, orange), but it really was entirely different, even if it sounded much the same.

First, the texture.  All of the other Panera scones are a crumbly, biscuit like style.  This was considerably softer ... honestly, not really what anyone thinks of as a scone.  More akin to a donut, just not fried, or a bread ... kinda.  Very hard to describe actually, but it was quite soft, and moist.  This is also surprising as it uses the same "Scone Mix", along with heavy cream, to form the base.

The base was very good though, the soft nature entirely worked, as long as you didn't want a harder-style, crumbly scone.  It even had some tang to it.  Unlike the Cinnamon Crunch variety, it does not have the cinnamon chips integrated throughout, instead, it has an apple cinnamon filling, chunks of moist juicy apples, basically like what you find inside an apple fritter, rather than what you find inside an apple pie.  I loved the little bits of apple cinnamon, as they reminded me so much of an apple fritter, and I adore those.  Note that the apple cinnamon bits are integrated throughout the dough, although in pockets, it is not a "filling", no separate center full of gooey apples, as I kinda expected from the description.  Again, think apple fritter, not apple pie.

And finally, the toppings.  The Cinnamon Crunch scone has a cinnamon icing, made from white icing mixed with "cinnamon sugar topping".  This one integrated caramel sauce in, and is described as "salted caramel icing", although I'll admit that I didn't taste the salt, nor the caramel really.  It was different though, a lighter color, less cinnamon flavor in it.  Still nicely applied, very sweet, hardened. If you choose to heat up your treat, which of course I did, it melts beautifully.

The entire top is coated in cinnamon sugar topping, again, unlike the Cinnamon Crunch variety that is bare, and I think that the topping all over it helped give it a great sweet cinnamon flavor.

So, very different makeup, for a similar sounding item.

And very successful.  I really, really enjoyed this.  Of all the Panera scones, I think it is the most breakfast appropriate, both in taste, and in nutrition, only 26g of sugar compared to the 34g in the cinnamon crunch (90 fewer calories too).  But I also enjoyed one warmed up in my toaster oven for a few minutes, and topped with some whipped cream, for an easy dessert.  It is certainly sweet enough to be a "real" dessert, and would take extra toppings well I'm sure ... some salted caramel ice cream, or vanilla ice cream and caramel drizzle ...

I guess its time to go buy another ....  highly recommend.

Update Review, January 2019

I was pretty excited to see most of the changes Panera made to their pastry lineup this year, mostly removing sooo many items I always found lackluster, and adding a few that look much better.

But ... they also touched the scone section.  They did away with the mixed berry (meh, whatevs, it was fine), they revamped the cinnamon crunch (great, I never liked that one anyway).  They also changed my precious blueberry scone.

Gone is the triangle shaped "wild blueberry" scone, and in its place is a round simple "blueberry" version.  I was nervous.  I loved that old version.

The Panera FAQ page even has a section devoted to it.  I clearly wasn't the only one concerned.

"It's true - we've said goodbye to the Wild Blueberry Scone on our menu and have replaced it with our new Blueberry Scone. It is now a cream-based scone made with fresh blueberries. If you liked it before, you'll love it now!"

It turns out, they changed very little. 

Blueberry Scone (December 2018). $2.99.

"A freshly baked, cream-based scone overfilled with plump, fresh blueberries." 

The description now reads one word different: "fresh blueberries" instead of "wild blueberries".  Besides the type of berries used, I think they really did keep the same recipe.

The scone is still more like a biscuit to me, a shortcake biscuit, and now it is appropriately shaped to be a biscuit.  It has a touch of tang.  A good crumb.  Moist inside, crisp outside.  Exactly as before.

And now ... loaded with bigger, juicier full size blueberries, not little wild berries.  This is even better.  Remember my original review?  I said ... "They are tiny wild blueberries though, not big, bursting with flavor berries, which I'd prefer."

Well, thank you Panera.  It turns out, you took my favorite item, and improved it.  Kudos.

I still prefer to treat this as a dessert item though, serving it warm, ideally with a fruit sauce (I used leftover blueberry compote from IHOP that I love), and with plenty of whipped cream, basically, making a fruit shortcake.  They also made it a bit smaller, about 100 calories less, which means ... more whipped cream? :)

I'll gladly get this again and again.

Update Review, September 2018

I've now tried every variety of Panera's scones.

My conclusion?  The awesome sounding (and looking!) cinnamon crunch always disappoints, the orange one is always strangely *almost* something I want, and the the Triple Berry is similar enough to the Wild Blueberry that it will do in a pinch.  But the wild blueberry scone remains my sole "go to" item at Panera, (but never for a breakfast treat, rather, to bring home and shortcake it!).

Triple Berry Scone. $2.99. (August 2018).

"Freshly baked, cream-based scone made with dried strawberries and blueberries and raspberry flavored chips, then finished with a light glaze of white icing and half & half cream." 

Since the wild blueberry one has been such a hit, I finally decided to try the triple berry, a very similar sounding scone, same cream base, just with dried strawberries and blueberries (and raspberry chips?) rather than what I think are just dried blueberries (although maybe they use fresh for the blueberry scone?), and, the addition of a glaze on top (bonus!).

I was pretty disappointed when I picked up my scone.  Had I ordered it in person rather than mobile, I likely would have asked for a different one, although the entire pan looked like this.  It was really over-baked, dry, and burnt around the edges and on bottom.  The cinnamon scones in the next baking rack looked like they had been decorated by a 4 year old in the kitchen, with glaze all over the place.  I think the baker was ... struggling this day.

I still tried it, but, as I could tell just from looking at it, it was really dry, and the burnt edges and bottom tasted horrible.  I salvaged it the best I could, and could tell that I did like the flavor of the base, very much the same as the blueberry, but it was also obvious that the little dried fruits inside were hard style, and not really what I like.  Eh.

The icing was nice of course.  Overall, this was fine, and if cooked properly would be my second choice of scone at Panera, but the blueberry is just far superior.

It was clearly different from the wild blueberry in other ways, coming in at only 390 calories vs 460 in the blueberry, which was a bit surprising.  I'm really not sure what is different about them, but it is higher sugar and lower protein as well?

Triple Berry Scone. $2.99. (September 2018).

I decided to give the Triple Berry another try, when I saw it was properly baked.

It was nicely cooked this time, no burnt edges, consistently baked.  Well coated with sweet glaze.  I liked the glaze, wished the blueberry one had the glaze.

The base seems less sweet than the blueberry version, which I never really consider "breakfast", but rather, more like a biscuit to have with fruit and whipped cream as shortcake.  This one could standalone as a breakfast scone.  That said, the base wasn't particularly interesting, no real tang.  Decent crumb in that it wasn't hard or too soft, but also, not great, like most of Panera scones, more on the cake-like side of things.

Triple Berry Scone: Inside.

Here you can see the insides of the scone, generously loaded with dried blueberries, little tiny dried blueberries, and bits of red.  The red bits I guess were the raspberry "chips" and the "dried strawberries", but I didn't really find what I'd identify as dried strawberries.

That said, the fruity bits were all enjoyable enough, lots of pops of flavor, bits of chewy texture, and I enjoyed it.

My second favorite scone, and if the blueberry is ever run out, its worth getting, but, the blueberry is still my first pick.

Wild Blueberry Scone. $2.99. (August 2018)

I've had this one many times.  It truly is my favorite of Panera's scones, really something I enjoy, although, as always, fairly sweet for breakfast.  To me, this is dessert, if you warm it and top with whipped cream or ice cream.  Even better if you add macerated fruit for a shortcake.

This one however was a bit over baked as well.  Not sure what is going on with my local Panera!

Update Review, December 2017

Another year, more Panera scones.  This time, I stuck with wild blueberry on most visits, and didn't bother write reviews, as I've covered them before.  But I did try a new flavor: orange.

Orange Scone.  $2.99.

"Freshly baked scone made with flour, butter, brown sugar and orange peel and topped with orange icing."

After exhausting all other scone choices, I finally gave in to try the orange scone.  Sometimes I can be surprised by liking something unexpected, after all.

I took one bite, and the taste was very familiar.  Fruit Loops.  It tasted like fruit loops.  Besides that though, it was just a Panera scone, a bit dried out on the edges, very cakey inside, with lots of sweet icing on top.  I didn't care for it, but the Fruit Loop flavor was uncanny.

Orange Scone. $2.99 (July 2017).

A few months later, I tried another.  I had ordered a cinnamon crunch bagel through Rapid Pickup, and ... they were out when I arrived.  I was offered a pastry instead, and the offerings were limited.  So, another orange scone it was.

And, it was exactly as I remembered.  It was soft and cakey.  The glaze tasted exactly like Fruit Loops.  It was not bad, but it was not very good either.  I don't see a reason to get another at this point.

Update Review, September 2016

Another year, more Panera scones.  I still like the wild blueberry.  You can start with my earlier reviews for more context.

Wild Blueberry Scone. $2.69.

This year, I played it safe, and got the some scone as I did last year: Wild Blueberry.  I actually went to Panera intending to try the Triple Berry scone, with its dried strawberries and raspberry chips in addition to blueberries, plus an icing glaze, but, alas, it was discontinued, so, the single berry, no glaze option was all I had.

It was pretty much exactly what I remembered.  More like a shortcake biscuit than a breakfast scone, kinda sweet, a tiny bit of tang.  It crumbled nicely, like a bread or cake, not making a mess.  The little wild blueberries were good, but, I really wished they were bigger.

Overall, it was again good, for a shortcake biscuit, but not quite right for breakfast.  I'd get it again if I was in the mood for this kind of item.

Update Review, October 2015

If you didn't read my original Panera scones review, I suggest you start there, and then return to this update, since I'm skipping the background this time around. See "Original Review, September 2014" below.

The short version: I've never loved their scones, but finally found one that is decent enough.

Wild Blueberry Scone.  $2.59.

"Freshly baked, cream-based scone overfilled with plump, wild blueberries."

This is a hard-style scone, but somewhat cakey, more like a shortcake biscuit. It had a decent tang to it, not as much as I wanted, but at least there was some flavor in the base.  Studded with little blueberries, which provided decent pops of flavor.  They are tiny wild blueberries though, not big, bursting with flavor berries, which I'd prefer.

It isn't quite what I want in a breakfast scone, but actually would be quite good with whipped cream and some fruit, turned into a shortcake.  Or perhaps just with clotted cream and jam, for tea time?  But on its own, it falls a bit short.

Original Review, September 2014

Panera likely isn't novel to you.  As a chain, their stores exist all over the country.  I've reviewed them before, for their drinks (not bad!), bagels (I love their cream cheese!), and muffins (not good) .

I'm skipping all the generic details in this review, and only commenting on the specifics of their scones.  Because, even though I didn't like the muffins, I love my baked goods!

Strawberries & Cream Scone.  $2.49.

"Freshly baked, cream-based scone made with dried infused strawberries and white chocolate chips."

After failing to be impressed with the muffins at Panera, I decided to try my luck with a scone instead.  They had several varieties, but the strawberry & cream caught my eye.

The description didn't really seem accurate.  I didn't find any white chocolate chips in it, anywhere.  Nor any consistency changes that it could have been a melted chip.  I'm very puzzled by the description.

The strawberries also didn't seem dried.  They came as decently sized, moist, chunks.  They were quite flavorful and good.

The scone base was crumbly but moist.  It was clearly cream based.  Pretty good flavor.

On top was a lot of glaze.  It didn't seem to have any particular flavor other than sweet.  Perhaps lemon?

Overall, this was a very sweet product.  I would have liked a black coffee with it, rather than the tea I was drinking.  I thought tea was the right pairing for a scone, but in this case, it was just too sweet and needed something bitter to balance it.

Not a mind blowing scone, but it was enjoyable.  Not sure if I'd get one again, but it wasn't bad.  A decent price for an insanely large scone.

Cinnamon Crunch Scone.  $2.49.

"Freshly baked, soft and tender cream-based scone flavored with cinnamon chips and finished with a cinnamon crunch and white icing glaze."

The next time I wound up at Panera, I decided to try another scone, since the previous scone had been far better than the muffins I'd tried, and I wanted a sweet, bready breakfast item.  This time, a new seasonal option jumped out, the cinnamon crunch scone.  It sounded like a cross between a scone and a cinnamon roll.  I've been on a cinnamon roll kick lately, so it sounded intriguing.

Unfortunately, the scone sounded much better than it actually was.  The texture was right, with a good crumbliness to it, not dried out. But the base didn't really have much flavor.  I always love a bit of a tang to my scone.  There were plenty of little tiny cinnamon chips throughout, which I thought would give it a ton of flavor, but really didn't.  The cinnamon aroma was stronger than the taste.  On top was an unremarkable sweet glaze.  I appreciated that part, as I was really in the mood for sweet.

I also really wanted it warmed up, and wish Panera offered their goods that way (besides just using the microwave).  Warm muffins, scones, etc are always just soo much better!  I brought home the part I didn't finish and heated it up in the toaster oven, and indeed it was better that way.

Overall, it was quite unremarkable.  No bad, but not good.  I wouldn't get another.  Perhaps my problem is that I went into it wanting it to be more like a cinnamon roll, I wanted more cinnamon flavor, more icing, more ... something.  (Panera does make a cinnamon roll, but it really didn't look great).

Like most of Panera's food, the nutrition stats shock me.  Yes, it was a large scone, but 550 calories? 23g fat?  And, I guess due to the glaze, 41g sugar?  Wow.  I don't care that much about nutrition stats these days, and only noticed it because the signs in Panera all prominently display these details, but certainly not worth it.

The price of $2.49 however was fine for a huge scone.

Caramel Apple Scone.  $2.49.

"Freshly baked, cream-based scone with dried cinnamon apples and caramel chips, topped with a thumbprint of apple filling and caramel icing."

And finally, another visit to Panera, another scone.

As I stared at the rows of pastries, a helpful employee came bouncing up.  "Do you like apple pie?", she asked.  Now, this is a hard question.  In the realm of pies, apple is pretty low on my list.  But, a nice, flaky double crust apple pie, served hot, with melted cheese (don't ask, its a New England thing) and a scoop of ice cream can be pretty good.  But a generic apple pie?  Meh.  Although, still a pie.  With all these thoughts running through my head, I simply said "Sure?" And she eagerly went on to tell me all about the latest seasonal offering, the caramel apple scone.  She said it was the absolute best item they had, and, just like an apple pie.

Since I was being indecisive anyway, I went for it.

The scone base had a slight tang to it, but it was minimal.  There was a slight taste of cinnamon, but again, minimal.  It seemed dry and almost stale.  The bottom was a bit burnt.  So far, not much of a foundation to build on.

Throughout the scone were little bits of caramelized apple.  They were chewy and sweet, which was kinda nice.  I never discovered the promised caramel chips, which reminded me of the strawberry and cream scone, where I never found any promised white chocolate chips.  On top was a sweet glaze, not particularly interesting, but, it was sweet, and did give a bit of flavor.  I guess this was the "caramel icing".

In the center was apple filling, the part that was supposed to make it amazing, and, "exactly like an apple pie".  The filling was awful.  It was just goo.  Mushy little bits of apple, in a very, very thick goo.  A spiced goo, but the spicing, particularly the nutmeg, was just too strong.  Also, why on earth did the scone have a bunch of goo in it?  Doesn't this sort of filling belong in a danish, not a scone?

Anyway, the helpful employee also told me that it was best to stick it in the microwave to warm it up first.  Now, you know me.  I don't use microwaves for anything but popcorn.  And certainly not for baked goods.  I wasn't intending to take her suggestion, but after not really caring for it at room temperature, I figured it wouldn't hurt.  So, I did it (also, yes, every Panera has a microwave, which I've always thought was really strange.  They really seem to be there just so customers can heat up their baked goods.  Shutter.)

It was worse warmed up.  Yes, it was more moist and not dried out at least.  And yes, it was more like a pie I guess.  But the icing just melted away.  And the almost-pleasant chewy bits were now soft.  I certainly preferred it at room temperature.  Warm like this, it reminded me of airplane food.

It wasn't the worst scone I've ever encountered, but it certainly wasn't good, not a good way to spend 450 calories, or $2.49, and I won't be getting another.

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