I have never tried stuffed crust actually. Is the filling cheese?
I can not disagree with you when it comes to mushrooms. I love mushrooms and sometimes banana peppers on my pizza. Family is not a big fan though.
Now, the ultimate question: Are you a pineapple pizza person?
A group I belong to often has meetings at Panera so I usually get something to eat while we talk. It is really expensive and small portion sizes. Don’t mind (well I do) paying $11 for a sandwich, but would like it to fill me up.
I have a brother who spends a lot at drive thru places and never notices how much things cost, but even he stopped going to Panera because it cost so much AND they never gave him the pickle when he asked for it!
Ahhhh, my alma mater.
Yes, the crust (outer ring) is stuffed with cheese. It’s delicious.
And no, I can’t stand pineapple on pizza. My youngest son loves it though. His favorite custom pizza is pineapple and mushrooms. He gets his own and has all the leftovers to himself when we’re ordering. If we end up needing to share, we’ll do a mushroom pizza because he doesn’t like all the other stuff we like on ours.
Ahh…yes…the pickle. The pickle is the most important part. But I don’t think you can even get a pickle when you buy a soup (i normally would buy a soup)
Ok…ok…that’s good. But I fear I might have a ahem slight ahem disagreement with your son.
People around here seem to prefer Ezell’s over KFC’s chicken. The two local pizza chains that make good pizza are Pagliacci and Zeeks (I used to work in a food desert of sorts with the original Zeeks being the only food option nearby… we ate a lot of their pizza as our business lunches).
Go Heels!
Was at a Panera a few months ago to get a bagel and cream cheese to go. Was over $3.00 and what they gave me was an untoasted, unsliced bagel with one of those cream cheese packs you get at the hotels that serve breakfast. I could have gone to the next door grocer. Don’t know if this was a training issue, but for $3, I expect a toasted, fresh and generously smeared bagel.
Am I correct in guessing that you never went back? 
I probably would have demanded my money back…lol
You right. Go to the Einstein instead. A little less convenient, not cheaper but better bagels and service.
For pizza chains, I do like Brixx, but haven’t been in years. Mellow Mushroom is my fave pizza chain, though.
Panera has always been good to me. Never bought a sandwich for $11! I get the veggie sandwich for $6.
I like Bruegger’s too, but haven’t been in ages.
I don’t tend to stop at many chains. Panera, Chipotle, Moe’s, Starbucks, maybe Taco Bell or Subway are the only ones that I go to local to me.
I do really like Ya-Ya Tea and Cha House and sometimes we go to Meet Fresh. My kids have a bubble tea obsession.
$11 sandwich at Panera includes soup or salad, I believe.
Mellow Mushroom is SO good but the local franchise is really dirty 
. Still, the pizza is good and my family and I love to sit in the park nearby munching on mushroom sausage pizza! Also, for some reason, the birds are obsessed with MM pizza crust .
About the Bubble tea, nothing is as good as Coco. It is a chain that we love when we are in Shanghai. It is amazing what flavors you can get (all kinds of fruit, ice cream, bubbles with filling, coffee, SPRINKLES etc…". Nothing like getting out of the subway and getting a cup of bubble tea! 
Had pretty darn good halibut and chips at an Ivars for lunch today (sat on their patio). It is a quirky local chain that has been in business like forever. 
They also have two full service restaurants that are pretty good.
Not a huge fan of national chain pizza but prefer PJ to Dominos.
I don’t eat Dominos or Chik-Fil-A for reasons beyond taste.
In terms of local (DMV) chains, Wiseguy is my current favorite, I’m also a fan of Pupatella and Lost Dog.
For fried chicken-- I prefer Popeyes to KFC.
For subs-- Subway is fine in a pinch. But again I go local to The Italian Store first.
I had a McD’s Quarter Pounder for the 1st time in months last weekend and was underwhelmed.
CC Community, can I have your thoughts on Zaxby’s. Never been there before but I have seen and heard that food is pretty good. Am I correct in believing that they are like KFC?
Ngl, our family has a mild ahem dispute with Papa John’s.
It all started with my mother, over a decade ago…
Once upon a time, my mom had a coupon for Papa John’s. At the time, my parents often ate at PJ while I sat in the baby stroller gagging on mashed peas.
This time was different…
My mom went to said store with said coupon. The coupon had not expired and was perfectly fine (no rips or tears). The cashier person refused to accept the coupon.Vehemently. Mom leaves, finds Dominoes and we all live happily ever after.
Haven’t ever gone back…
And then there’s the story of how the local Showmar’s manager started screaming at us because we said our flounder fillet was cold… never went back
Here’s the Panera menu. Several $11.39 sandwiches, so I’ll stand by my $11 sandwich comment.
https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/menu/categories/sandwiches.html
@twoinanddone prices depend on location. I looked up the same sandwich as your $11+ example, and at my local Panera in the DC/Baltimore suburbs, the same sandwich was $2 less (the roasted turkey and avocado which is $9.39 at my store and the most expensive on the menu). I rarely eat at Panera but when I do, I get the Mediterranean Veggie which is around $6.50 at stores in my area.
