Pret a Manger

I've finally sorted through all 1500+ vacation photos and organized them, so I can finally write about what we ate while in England. I decided to start with Pret a Manger. They are everywhere in London. EVERYWHERE. One across from our hotel, walk 1 block, and there's another. They are like Starbucks here. I think of Pret as like Panera. Only tastier. And more exciting (probably because Panera's menu now bores me and I don't really enjoy Panera as much as I used to plus Pret was like a shiny new toy).

Croissants, cookies, muffins, scones, coffee, tea, sandwiches, soups, salads. Every day for breakfast I had a croissant from Pret. SP had a muffin and tea. Every night my mom stopped in for cappuccino & a cookie. It was lunch our first day in London and on one late evening when we were too tired to think or move, it was dinner. The food is a great price and it's tasty. Above is a Bacon-Brie-Pear sandwich that SP & I shared for lunch on our first day while we sat at an outside table and watched the craziness in Trafalgar Square. "Our lovely creamy brie combines with our crispy bacon & pear chutney topped with watercress on our wholegrain Stone Baked baguette." Yum.  

My mom enjoyed a Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese sandwich. She said it was very good.

One night I had an Orange-White Chocolate cookie that was pretty darn tasty and big.

For one dinner, SP & I each had an Italian Chicken Salad: "Chargrilled Chicken Thigh / Caesar Mayo / Cucumber / Roasted Red Peppers / Baby Plum Tomatoes / Kalamata Olives / Toasted Pistachios / Italian Matured Cheese / Seasoning / Large French Dressing)." The salad was really good -- or we were really that hungry because the only reason we got two salads was because I inhaled the first one before he had managed to kick off his shoes and change into his jammies so he had to go back across the street for the second salad. Which I helped him eat, too. I think he was annoyed that I kept shoving salad in my mouth because usually he eats most of the salads we order. But not that night! The chicken had a terrific grilled flavor. Plus, lots of goodies in with the lettuce, not just one slice of cucumber or half an olive.

That same night we also shared a Ham-Cheese-Tomato-Bacon Croissant (Traditional French Croissant, Ham, Mozzarella, Emmental Cheese, Beech-Smoked Bacon) that was really good.

I didn't take any photos at Pret after that first lunch. But it's definitely a great place for breakfast or lunch or a quick dinner if you're traveling around London. Sadly, Pret has not arrived in Pittsburgh, but there are locations in New York, Boston, Chicago, and DC.