Any Panera fans out there experience their horrible new microwave/panini presses that turn a decent sandwich into something reminiscent of gas station food? (self. Reddit.com)
I am not sure if this is just in my area or not. I know the store near me is the busiest in the region, so it may not be a widespread thing yet.
For those who haven't experienced this yet, Panera appears to be replacing their traditional panini presses with a hybrid press that is both panini press and microwave in one. They were replaced in the store near me about a week ago.
Anyone who knows much about food, particularly bread, will immediately see this as a problem. And it's just what you would expect. The microwaving boils the flavor right out of the meat and cheese and turns the bread into a rubbery puck of sad. The only panini-esque quality passed down are some grill marks on your steaming puck.
If any Panera corporate people catch this, what were you guys thinking up there? Your company is based on bread. Did anyone think to try this on your products before roll out, or is there no one left around there that actually understands food science well enough to realize the mistake?
Bad move. Even the guy running the things at my store says the time saved with the new presses isn't worth what it's doing to the food, and the customer feedback he is getting is consistently negative.
When you complain to Panera - they defend the micowaves by calling them high speed presses - guess what - they are microwaves! They are a HUGE mistake and make Panera no better than McDonalds.
It is sad to see what was once a departure from fast food chains - just become another - I don't use a microwave in my home - I don't want one used on my nice Panera bread.
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