Crispani at Panera Bread

OK, so maybe I'm a little slow figuring out this whole Panera Bread thing (sorry, I don't have a company-issued laptop to take advantage of the WiFi), but people actually eat there for dinner. I've always thought of them as a coffee and bagels sort of place.

But since they've been so aggressive in mailing out their free Crispani coupons (heck, you can even buy the coupons on eBay), and I happened to be driving by one last night, I figured I'd try it. Besides, I love wood-fired pizzas and am on a quest to find the best ones in town.

The Crispani is Panera's version of a pizza, and I was pretty impressed with my sweet sausage & apple Crispani: "All-natural Niman Ranch sausage, fresh apple slices, caramelized onions, roasted tomatoes, olive oil, roasted garlic and fontina, Parmesan & Romano cheeses." A little more adventurous than my standard tomato and basil / Margherita-type pizza, but the carmelized onions sold me on it. The 15-minute wait was worth it.

At $8.50 (minus the coupon), it's a bit pricey for what it is. But it is pretty tasty. My take: eat in so it's still hot (mine was for takeout). But there's plenty more on the menu.

Besides, did you know there's a fireplace with a cozy fire in the one on Colerain Avenue?