Tag: soup

Consistent Mediocrity at Panera Bread

Published on by Michael Nusair1 Comment

Panera Bread
Location: 197 North Queen Street, Etobicoke
Website: https://www.panerabread.com

I continue to be baffled by the success of Panera Bread.  It’s really expensive, consistently mediocre, and always busy.  I don’t get it.

The bread’s not bad, I’ll give it that.  I’ve had a few sandwiches here, and the bread is always the highlight.

Panera Bread

I got the “Pick 2,” which means you can pick two smaller things and pay a lot for it.  I got a small sandwich and a little bowl of chili, and it came up to a bit over 14 bucks, and just get the hell out of here with that.  This should cost about half of that for the quality of food they’re serving.

Specifically, I got the Fontiga  Chicken Panini, and the Turkey Chili.

Panera Bread

They were both fine.  The sandwich had a mild smoky flavour — I guess either the cheese or the chicken was smoked — but was otherwise the sandwich equivalent of white noise.  It’s neither good nor bad; it’s just kind of there.

The chili was fine, but it was about on the level as a can of soup from the supermarket.  A nicer can — maybe one that costs a buck fifty instead of a buck — but a can nonetheless.

And of course, as usual, the place was packed.  Why?  I guess it’s better than the literal garbage that they call sandwiches at Tim Hortons, but still: why is this place so popular?

Dynasty B.B.Q. Restaurant

Published on by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Dynasty B.B.Q. Restaurant - roast pork and BBQ pork
Location: 1550 South Gateway Road, Mississauga
Website: None

Driving by, you wouldn’t be blamed for completely missing the food court in Dixie Park.  Housed in a nondescript building in a somewhat industrial stretch of road along Dixie, it doesn’t look like much.  The seemingly perpetual construction right outside certainly doesn’t help matters.

Those who venture inside will find a pretty good Asian food court.  It’s generally nothing you’d want to go too far out of your way for, but most of the vendors here serve decent quality Chinese food (they’re mostly Chinese, with one Vietnamese place and one Japanese), with cheap prices and voluminous portions.

The best one is easily Dynasty B.B.Q.  (Well, there was a Korean place that I used to really like — their pork bone soup was particularly delicious. Sadly, it closed down and was replaced by the aforementioned Vietnamese place.  R.I.P., Korean place.  You are missed).    They have a typically comprehensive menu, though the real gem is the dish that comes with a combo of roast pork and BBQ pork.

Featuring a heaping portion of both types of pork served on top of rice (it also comes with a cup of mediocre soup that you should probably skip altogether), it’s a steal at $5.50.  Though the less showy BBQ pork is certainly tasty and absolutely worth eating, it’s the roast pork that is the real reason to come here.  I can’t claim to be an expert on this particular dish, though I have had it at a few different places.  This is the best version of it that I’ve had.  Perfectly cooked and yieldingly tender, with a satisfying layer of unctuous, melt-in-your-mouth fat, not to mention the salty, addictively amazing crispy, crunchy skin, it’s pretty outstanding.

Dynasty B.B.Q. Restaurant - the restaurant Dynasty B.B.Q. Restaurant - roast pork and BBQ pork