A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

A few weeks ago I was invited to check out the new look (and tastes) at Au Bon Pain. I was pleasantly surprised with the updates that had been made. First the space – open, with traditional seating (with outlets!) and some high top tables. Come in and pick up something on the go, or sit for an hour with your computer, it’s your choice.

The new executive chef, Katherine See, was challenged to redesign the menu for spring and summer. They are rolling out a bunch of new salads, with the intent on making the portion sizes larger and adding more protein to their offerings. The chicken and turkey found on all the salads are all antibiotic free. Pictured above is the Asian chicken salad with udon noodles and a whole chicken breast, with edamame as an added protein!

Top left, the steak salad, 4 ounces of sirloin, sliced to order – cooked a perfect medium rare. Top and bottom right, the harvest turkey salad with red grapes, walnuts, turkey breast and goat cheese. Bottom left, the lobster salad with bacon and avocado over a bed of romaine. With this new line of salads also comes a new line of dressings – I loved the sesame ginger dressing on the asian chicken salad.

Moving on to sandwiches, the same steak that you saw in the salad above is also available in a sandwich. Now I’m not usually a steak sandwich kind of gal, but this was delicious – the meat was tender, add on some melted asiago cheese and serve on fresh bread – yum! It felt like a fresher, healthier version of a steak and cheese sandwich. Pictured on the right is the lobster salad, served on a croissant – perfect for summer time!

Au Bon Pain listens to their customers – people really loved their croissants, but wanted a healthier version – so they introduced the multigrain croissant. And gone are the days where multigrain tastes like cardboard, these won’t make you feel guilty if you have one every day. Moving on to the sweets, pictured  on the top right is their monkey bread: sticky (but not too) sweet, light dough, meant to be broken apart with your fingers. Chef See was also challenged to add more fresh seasonal fruit to the menu, bring in the Croisbun: croissant dough filled with sweet cream and topped with a light spread of jelly and fresh strawberries. Not pictured, but quickly devoured, was the peanut butter cookie: this is not just a peanut butter cookie, it has whole roasted chopped peanuts and peanut butter – you’ll just have to stop in and try one for yourself!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.

Au Bon Pain

431 Boylston Street, Boston, MA

http://aubonpain.com/

Tags: back bay, casual dining, outdoor seating, patio, restaurant