Panera Bread Co.

Panera Bread Co.

3286 N. Front St.

Fayetteville

This the most crowded new restaurant in Northwest Arkansas — at least during lunch time. The parking lot can’t handle the overflow crowds, so customers park their cars next door and along the nearby street.

Panera Bread Co., which opened last spring, is owned by the same company that has St. Louis Bread Co. restaurants. As a matter of fact, the two restaurants are identical, except for the signage.

The casual decor gives off a cool and easy feeling that was welcomed on the hot day we ventured inside. We found long lines to order, but with three people handling the orders, the wait evaporated quickly.

One diner in our group informed the cashier that she had neglected to charge him for his iced tea.

“No,” she said. “I’ve seen you in here before, and we’re supposed to do that for our repeat customers from time to time.”

The diner took his sandwich — a smoked turkey breast on sourdough — and iced tea and marveled at the fact that he was about to have lunch for a total of $5.27. The sandwich was delicious, as usual, he said. The only drawback was that it came with mayonnaise, which he had requested be 86’ed.

The turkey sandwich came with sprouts, spicy mustard, lettuce, tomato, red onion, salt and pepper. The menu advertises the sandwich as containing 99 percent fat-free turkey. We suspect the mayonnaise adds a few grams of fat to the otherwise healthy meal.

Another diner at our table had the tuna salad sandwich on honey wheat bread ($4.85). She rated the sandwich, which came with the same fixin’s as the turkey sandwich mentioned above, “four and one half stars.” The diner also gave an excellent rating to the raspberry-flavored iced tea.

A third diner in our group had the bacon turkey bravo sandwich ($5.65), which he also deemed excellent. One of the restaurant’s signature sandwiches, it came with smoked gouda cheese, lettuce, tomato and dressing on tomato basil bread.

Our last reviewer, and the heartiest eater of the bunch, enjoyed the Italian Combo Sandwich ($6.25). It features roast beef, turkey, ham salami, provelone cheese, peperoncini, lettuce, tomato red onion and a special sauce all served on a French combo roll.

Despite the spicey meats that come with the Italian Combo, it didn’t weigh too heavily on the stomach. And the tea was good, too.

We were intrigued by Panera’s abundant soup schedule, which includes such delights as chicken chili soup, Boston clam chowder and low fat vegetarian gumbo. The salads, which range from $4.35 to $5.85 and include the Greek and Caesar varieties, are equally enticing.

But perhaps the most tempting items come from Panera’s intoxicating bakery.

Weak-kneed and willed, we opted for the “gooey butter Danish” and were “wowed.”

By the time we departed, all agreed that Panera was well worth braving its daily crowd.