Black Bean Soup - Panera

About 2 months ago, I got a delicious recipe for Black Bean Soup from my friend Melanie. Seriously, delicious. Here it is:

1 can black beans (not organic, unless you want to simmer for 30 minutes to soften them up)
1/8 cup taco seasoning
1/4 cup salsa
Green Tabasco sauce (This is unbelievable. Spicy, not as painful as the red Tabasco, tangier. I can't get enough.)
Water (as much as you want to make broth)

Mix it up and simmer.

Add some shredded cheese, then a dollop of sour cream to serve. Eat with tortilla chips.

So, I've been spoiled with this homemade soup that I can customize to have as much kick as I want.

The other day I had the "You Pick Two" from Panera: Half a Turkey Artichoke, bowl of Black Bean Soup. The sandwich was good, though those paninis are kind of oily. Not really healthy. The soup was low-fat so I did feel like I was doing the right thing. I asked the cashier if they had any Tabasco. After a long, loooooong discussion with one of the sandwich makers, the cashier came back and said that they had "mumble mumble chipotle mumble mumble". He said it didn't have as much spice as Tabasco and it was what they used on the "mumble pork mumble". I just assumed it was some sort of sauce, since I had said I wanted the Tabasco for the soup. So, I said I'd like some on the side, paid, and got my receipt.

There on the receipt were the words "Chipotle mayo, side". Mayo?! This is what I was getting to put in my soup? Gross! Why would they think I'd want that? Well, as it turned out, when my order was up, they'd forgotten to put the side of mayo on the tray. I didn't bother complaining. Important to note is that the soup was super bland and going forward, I'll be bringing my own soup to work for lunch.

Panera

I swung by Panera in White City late this morning, on my way into work. I had my fingers crossed that they had Lattes. I'm used to going there for lunch, so I really had no idea what their breakfast drink menu looked like.

Lucky for me, they do have Lattes, and they are of a comparable price to other coffee joints, $2.99. It was pretty good, thought not as strong as I usually like. It was just kind of weak. I also got a Cobblestone, which is basically a cinnamon bun with raisins, apples, and glaze. Really tasty. So not healthy.