Panera's new hidden low-carb menu elicits cheers, confusion: http://www.stltoday.com/business/columns...93a7f.html ~ Why be ashamed of your low-carb offerings? BRAG ABOUT IT and people will be banging down the doors for what you have to offer! I said as much in 2006 when I noticed major restaurants like Ruby Tuesday backing away from the low-carb consumer:

http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/ruby-...arket/1030

Here's what I wrote as a challenge to enterprising restaurants who would be brave enough to step it up:

"...this leaves the door wide open to another restaurant to step it up and cater to the growing obese and diabetic population. If you make the menu attractive enough to people and still keep the items healthy, then it very well could work. Who’s it gonna be? Anyone?"

Now it's happening with Panera Bread Company, In-And-Out Burger, among others engaged in a "stealth low-carb menu" campaign. But I wrote another blog post in 2008 about how you can eat low-carb at virtually ANY restaurant chain with a little creativity:

http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/how-t...rants/2191

It does seem silly that they're hiding it. Now that I know about it, I'll try Panera for lunch again. I've avoided it since going HFLC, but the hidden menu makes it sound like a viable choice again.

BTW, there is a small local Italian chain (Lombardi's) in the Seattle area that has a "gluten free" menu that is great. I know that I can always get a wonderful steak salad there with no add-ins containing wheat (like their frizzled onions), and they are also wonderfully accommodating re sugar. They'll always ask the chef about sugars and since most of their stuff is made on the premises, it is rarely sugar added to things like soup. Also, Instead of having bread to dip into the olive oil and spread roasted garlic on, I ask for fresh mushroom or zucchini slices--heaven with garlic!

Wow. These look good. When I am on the road, I sometimes go to a Panera because of the free Internet, but I usually just get coffee or tea. There are a few items on the menu that I can eat, but most of the time, I will leave and go somewhere else to eat. Several of the items on the hidden list look really good. If I had known they were available, I would have been eating there more often.

http://mypanera.panerabread.com/articles...nu/?ref=tw

Power Breakfast Egg Bowl with Steak
Power Mediterranean Chicken Salad
Power Mediterranean Roasted Turkey Salad
Power Steak Lettuce Wraps

All are low carb and look delicious. Since I already go to Panera a few times a month, it seems silly that I had to learn about these dishes from Jimmy's forum.

I typically get the chicken cobb salad when I go there, but I dislike going there because they are very stingy with the dressing. I need 4 of their to-go containers of dressing just to get to the amount that most any other restaurant would give me. It makes me feel greedy to ask for 4 of anything. It probably has to do with trying to keep the calorie counts low, which we all know is a worthwhile pursuit...

I've been ordering off the Inn-N-Out Burger "hidden" menu for years. Love me a Protein-Style Double Double - even before I was focusing on cutting carbs.

(Protein style is meat and cheese with the fixing in an Iceburg lettuce 'bun')

http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/ruby-...arket/1030

Here's what I wrote as a challenge to enterprising restaurants who would be brave enough to step it up:

"...this leaves the door wide open to another restaurant to step it up and cater to the growing obese and diabetic population. If you make the menu attractive enough to people and still keep the items healthy, then it very well could work. Who’s it gonna be? Anyone?"

Now it's happening with Panera Bread Company, In-And-Out Burger, among others engaged in a "stealth low-carb menu" campaign. But I wrote another blog post in 2008 about how you can eat low-carb at virtually ANY restaurant chain with a little creativity:

http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/how-t...rants/2191
Thanks, Jimmy! My friends are dragging me there this Saturday for breakfast. In the past, Paneras has been kind enough to make me an egg with bacon, but they looked at me like I was some kind of wierdo. Now, I can check out the new "hidden menu" with confidence. I am so glad that I caught your post!

Ida

What's with Whole Foods? Every once in a while I crave soup for lunch, but it's often the kind of day when I haven't planned ahead and made a good soup at home. So I thought of raiding the soup and salad bar at WF. BIG mistake! EVERY single soup had wheat flour and sugar in some form or another. EVERY SINGLE ONE. They market to the GF crowd, you'd think at least one of the soups would be at least wheat free, but nope.

I think in the old days they must have made their soups from scratch on site (I don't recall these additives in the past), but I'm guessing now they are getting packaged soups from somewhere since the soup bases (both cream and regular soup) all seem to be the same. Boo! Wish they had a hidden menu.

http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/ruby-...arket/1030

Here's what I wrote as a challenge to enterprising restaurants who would be brave enough to step it up:

"...this leaves the door wide open to another restaurant to step it up and cater to the growing obese and diabetic population. If you make the menu attractive enough to people and still keep the items healthy, then it very well could work. Who’s it gonna be? Anyone?"

Now it's happening with Panera Bread Company, In-And-Out Burger, among others engaged in a "stealth low-carb menu" campaign. But I wrote another blog post in 2008 about how you can eat low-carb at virtually ANY restaurant chain with a little creativity:

http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/how-t...rants/2191
They don't want to be to upfront with it because they don't want the (sexual congressing) food police like the "guy from CSPI"[1] to go down on them.

[1] Tom Naughton's moniker for the guy

I think in the old days they must have made their soups from scratch on site (I don't recall these additives in the past), but I'm guessing now they are getting packaged soups from somewhere since the soup bases (both cream and regular soup) all seem to be the same. Boo! Wish they had a hidden menu.
I wish Whole Foods had a hidden menu too! Good one!

Whole Foods is very disappointing as far as what they serve hot. You are right. It's terrible. You can find all kinds of cheap lean protein with crap mixed in, like sugary BBQ sauce, or really go all out and get fake soy-nuggets with carb sauce! They make meatballs, but they are stuffed with wheat flour. I would not even get near the soup.

I keep looking when I pass by there, hoping that this will be the day that I can find some real pork or beef that isn't ruined yet.

SO back to Panera...What a great story!

The boss even wanted a more healthy menu that what they serve up, and it ends up being "the thing."

I hope it catches on...

Good to know. I usually get the chicken caesar salad with no croutons and ask for extra dressing, but they only give me one extra dressing and I would like more. They are also pretty stingy with the lettuce.

I will try asking for the hidden menu next time. Wonder if that is all paneras in all states? I hope so.

I went to the Panera's yesterday morning with friends, and I asked for the hidden menu. The girl at the register at first gave me a blank stare. Then, she recalled that there is a hidden menu. She asked me which item I wanted. I asked to see the menu. She said that there is none. "You just have to know what you want." Thank goodness that I remembered reading the article from the link that Jimmy gave. So, I said that I will take the egg bowl with pesto. One of my friends was intrigued enough to order the same thing. When the buzzer rang signaling us to come up to collect our food, we saw that it was the wrong preparation. I asked the line cook, "Where's the pesto?" It was then that he realized that there were more recipes on the back of the recipe sheet for the hidden items. He apologized, explaining that no one had yet asked for these items, and re-made our egg bowls with pesto the proper way. They were pretty good. But, just like with salad dressing, the chefs were a bit stingy with the pesto. I think the whole concept is hilarious, but kind of sweet. Here is this place thats entire survival depends on people consuming carbs--It is the Pandera BREAD Company. Yet, they now understand the importance of offering healthy low-carb options. Having the hidden menu seems like a good compromise. I would love to have been in the board room to see the execs come up with this plan. And, it is kind of fun to be IN on the "secret".