Au Bon Pain, Boston

Although Au Bon Pain is not comparable to a McDonalds, it is still your typical fast food; however, the food selections here are healthier than the ones found in the average fast food chain, and there are more food selections available.

This place is overrated! Don't be fooled by its French-sounding name that makes an unknowing individual wonder if they serve artisanal type of French food because that is surely not the case here.

Favorite Dish: If you're pressed for time, grab a sandwich and go.

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Au Bon Pain is a popular fast food sandwich chain in the Boston area. It's definately worth checking out if you're looking for a fast, yet good lunch. They're sandwich selections are much more varied and interesting than your local Subway chain. Plus they have a good selection of soups and some excellent pastries that are very fresh and tasty. We went to the one at Harvard Square, which is supposedly the most famous location. It had both indoor and outdoor seating, and a popular spectator sport there is watching chess players. Only at Harvard!

You'll find a lot of these restaurants around town (and I also saw a few in New York City), they're rather a fast food kind of place but the sandwiches they sell there are tasty and you can also have hot soup, coffee, milk, bagels & other bakery items, juices, teas, etc. You get to choose the bagel you want your sandwich to be made with (they have a good variety) and they have several different fillings. The sandwiches are made right when you order them up, so they're fresh and warm.

I wouldn't eat here everyday while in Boston - so many other great choices! - but it's a good option when you want to grab something on the go, when you're not too hungry or want to take a break while touring the city and eat something quickly before moving on...

Favorite Dish: Bagel sandwiches are gooooood and fresh!

Small French style pastry shops that are dotted around Boston. It's hard to pass one by.

Favorite Dish: Buy a tall fresh squeezed orange juice and a cheese or almond filled croissant. Finish it off with a hot cup of Java. ENJOY...

In general, I try to stay away from chain restaurants, though Au Bon Pain I found has some pretty good food; especially the shortbread cookies. It's definitely not upscale, though just a casual place to eat.

Favorite Dish: Baked goods!

Favorite Dish: Not one of my favorites to tell the truth. I'm putting it here, because it is a Boston-based chain. The concept is good. A European-style sandwich cafe also serving coffee drinks and French-style pastries, but the execution isn't that impressive.

Au Bon Pain is a relatively ubiquitous local chain bakery with somewhat consistent quality and stock. It is evidently popular among locals considering its notable proliferation throughout the city. It styles itself as a cafe, boulangerie, and patisserie rolled into one, though it hardly qualifies in any such category, and its food quality has been noticeably tumbling in recent years as it has concentrated on corporate expansion rather than product enhancement. Some of the pastries are quite good, but as a general rule, the coffee, which seemes to be provided by a different outsourced firm whenever I visit, is atrocious. Do yourself a favour- buy a sandwich or danish here and either purchase a bottled juice or find coffee elsewhere. The most famous location, in Harvard Square in Cambridge, was featured in the movie "Good Will Hunting" and today is home to outdoor chess matches.

Favorite Dish: Try the Rapsberry Cheese Croissant for breakfast, or the Thai Chicken Sandwich for lunch.