Panera’s Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup
My favorite soup is the Homestyle chicken noodle soup. More specifically, I very much enjoy chicken noodle soup from Panera bread. This is the soup my mom would pick up for me or now sends to me when she knows that I am not feeling well or need comfort food and what I would order every time we would have a family meal out at Panera. I often order the chicken noodle soup in a bread bowl. I enjoy how the broth of the soup softens the bread because I enjoy the overall texture of the soften bread and soup together. The ingredients in the soup include chicken, curly egg noodles, carrots, celery, and herbs. The chicken in this soup isn’t the all-time best but it is still better than the chicken pieces found in Campbell’s chicken noodle soup (which I usually end up picking out). The Onion Powder, Thyme, Black Pepper, Parsley, Rosemary, Turmeric, Bay Leaves, and seasoned bone broth that the chicken is made in, adds a savory flavor to this soup that I feel makes it a step above store bought chicken noodle soup.
I would wash down the meal with a cold small water with a tiny lemon slice. I enjoy the homestyle chicken noodle soup from Panera when I pair it with Panera’s chicken Caesar salad. It sounds weird, but I like to scoop some of the chicken noodle soup into the salad and eat the two together. I feel that the taste of the Caesar in the salad is toned down when I combine the soup with it and the flavors of the two dishes complement each other well. Combining the two dishes will always hold a meaning to me because every time I would do it, my family would look at me with a strange look, but it didn’t bother me because I swore by the creation. Each bite that I eat now, reminds me more of just enjoying the company of my family in Panera.
My parents divorced when I was six years old. Both financially struggling on their own, my mom would always make the effort to take us to Panera once a week or every other week for a family dinner. Panera’s deep toned orange walls always offered a warm, calm, and peaceful environment that was perfect to enjoy a nice dinner and catch up with each other. My family and I would always sit next to the warm fireplace with the bookshelf above it or a booth that offered the proper amount seats to fit my family. My oldest brother had joined the military shortly after he graduated high school but before that, during high school, he had worked at the specific Panera we would always go to. Going to that Panera after he left made it even more meaningful as it reminded us of him and when he was home with us. My second oldest brother and I would sit at the table after ordering our food and would play roulette with our pager. Sliding it across the table back and forth to each other and whoever had it on their side when the buzzer went off, signaling that our food was ready, was the loser who had to go and get everyone’s plates.
As Panera’s prices have gone up significantly since we went as a family, my mom says back then she could feed all of us for under 30 dollars but now that is not the case. Since I have moved away from home and not with my family for months at a time, the moments I do splurge on a Panera homestyle chicken noodle soup and salad I embrace each bite, as it takes me back the time where I felt comfort both mentally and physically in the moments spent out at dinner with my family.
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