Panera Bread



BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad

You may be wondering why on earth someone with Celiac Disease would eat at a restaurant with the word "Bread" as part of the name.  Suprisingly, Panera does a good gluten free salad.  My coworker and I got gift cards for Christmas (Thanks Tommy!) and decided we would treat ourselves.

Usually when I eat out, I try to do a little research online for some menu options before I get to the restaurant.  Unfortunately Panera doesn't have much information about their gluten free options on the web.  But they will e-mail a list of safe foods and several people have posted the list on their blogs.  They also have a huge book (think War and Peace) in their store that lists all the ingredients in each dish.  After a little trial and error, the server and I figured out that I could safely eat the BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad.  Doing some later research on the web, it looks like I could have had some of the soups, including black bean, corn chowder, and creamy tomato.  Something I'll have to keep in mind for next time.

Because Panera makes and serves mainly bread dishes, there is a higher risk for cross-contamination.  Personally this is the second time I've eaten at the restaurant at Poplar and I-240 and have not been glutened.  But as always, different people react to different amounts of gluten, so be cautious. 

Here is a blog with recent Panera gluten free information:
http://glutenfreeworks.com/blog/2012/06/29/panera-bread-summer-2012-updated-information/