I used to LOVE Kneaders! What’s not to love about gourmet crispy artisan breads, insane amounts of delicious desserts, scrumptious sandwiches, soups and salads?!? Top that off with a cozy, cutesy, Utah atmosphere (ok, maybe not my style), but our location does have a lovely fireplace.
Um, all the love was before I went vegan. Aside from all the delicious breads, now there are only 3 things I can order off the menu and even two of those I have to customize. Now I just kinda like the place. Especially since during a recent drive thru visit I ordered a sandwich and got home to find it had huge chunks of turkey breast all over it. Boo! Although I have to hand it to them, they did remedy the situation and replace my sandwich.
My visit this week was free of any of that drama. 
I met my husband there for lunch without the kids. A rare treat! I ordered the Veggie Avocado Sandwich for $5.99 (same one I always order, it’s still a mystery how the turkey appeared on it the last time).
I ordered it on the Hazelnut 12 Grain Bread, which is every bit as good as it sounds. I add cranberry sauce (free, bonus!), and dijon and leave off the kneaders sauce (mayo based) and provolone. If you ask nicely, they will put cucumber slices on it too, but I forgot this time. It’s a really good sandwich, but usually leaves me a bit hungry and wishing I had asked for one of their tasty dill pickles on the side. (Hey, I’m like Amanda, I eat like a horse).
My husband ordered the Large Green Avocado Salad: here’s the menu description:
LARGE GREEN AVOCADO
$7.19
MADE FRESH TO ORDER, SERVED WITH SIDE OF BREAD, CROUTONS OR ROLL. Spring mix, ranch dressing, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, red onions, avocado.
Of course we ordered it without cheese, and we substituted their poppyseed dressing for the ranch. I’ve got to figure out a lower cal-version of the poppyseed goodness, I’ll let you know when I do!
The salad was everything that was described, however it was a bit small, especially for a salad with LARGE in the title, too small for the $7 + bucks we paid for it and it was really quite plain. Kneaders has heaps of veggies and fruits in their kitchen, this salad could really use a revamp since it’s their only salad without meat on the menu. Grapes, orange segments, sunflower seeds, broccoli and roasted bell peppers were ingredients I saw elsewhere on the menu that would have added nicely to this salad. My husband found himself so bored with it that he ended up eating half my sandwich (which is probably why I left hungry).
I really had wanted to order this:
PANINI | PORTABELLA GRILLE ON CIABATTA
$7.59
SERVED HOT WITH PICKLE AND PARMESAN CHIPS. WHOLE SANDWICHES ONLY. A fresh portabella mushroom, zucchini squash, red peppers, red onion grilled with lemon garlic sauce, ricotta and parmesan cheese.
I asked for it without the cheeses and parmesan chips of course, but apparently the Panini’s are pre-made and they were unwilling or un-able to make one as a special order for me. Bummer, sounds stinking delicious.
The other menu item that is vegan that we could have ordered was the
No Dairy Berry Smoothie, but we couldn’t be bothered and found ourselves ducking out to
Roxberry’s afterwards for double wheatgrass shots instead.
I would love to see Kneader’s get more vegan options on their menu (including desserts PLEASE!). Also, their menu titles could use some re-tooling, their Orange Citrus Salad sounded delightful, but when I asked what was on it, I found it contains chicken AND three cheeses AND bacon, in fact their
on-line menu mentions bacon twice…..
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It’s such a pain when the food sounds yum but they won’t adapt it for you…. It’s not the same as the treat of eating out but I bet you’d have had a far more delicious and satisfying lunch at home! Pre-made panini… What’s that about??? X
I agree that much more delicious and satisfying lunches can be had at home! Thanks Lucy!
It’s tricky to find places to eat out and because we’re sticking to a budget, we rarely eat out. Not sure what the deal is with the pre-made panini. I really wanted it!
The bread sounds wonderful – ive never seen hazelnuts in a bread before.
It really is lovely. I think I have a copycat challenge on my hands!
Were those hazelnuts whole in the bread, and then sliced as the bread was? that’s pretty cool. And yeah, it’s pretty lame when a place you used to love becomes mediocre. . . Panera is the same with their paninis. They come pre-packaged, so they can’t/won’t change them, although if more people know that the paninis were pre-packaged and not made fresh, like the other sandwiches, they probably wouldn’t order them as often.
Aren’t the hazelnuts beautiful? I know you can come up with a replica!
What’s the deal with all the pre-packaged Panini’s? I would think they’d get soggy with all the juicy toppings….
The only thing I can think is that they must be vacuum packed separately from the bread, so they just unzip, slap on some slices of bread, and press.
Either way, ew. . .
Double ew!
p.s. did you see that I finally made a chocolate version of the cheezecake?
http://goodcleanfood.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/one-for-the-road-vegan-mini-chocolate-cashew-cheezcakes/
I did. I actually meant to ask you if you think it will scale up. It seems like it would be fine, right?
Totally, the recipe is actually scaled down from what I originally made in my kitchen. 24 Chocolate cheezecakes hanging out in your freezer is super dangerous. I did not eat almost all of them. *lying*!
I’m in the UK, and finding vegan sandwiches is pretty tough here. Starbucks used to do a felafel panini, but discontinued it. Loads of places offer soya milk, but spoil otherwise vegan sandwiches with yoghurt dressings – seems nonsensical if there’s a demand for dairy-free drinks. I tend to end up with salads instead. That hazelnut bread looks fab, by the way.
Isn’t it rough that more food options are readily available for vegans? It’s not that hard to throw some tasty veggies on a sandwich with some hummus or other dairy free spread.
Soy drinks are here everywhere too, you would think companies would wise up that people are wanting more dairy free options than just beverages.
I eat so many salads at home that when I dine out I always want something more substantial and that I wouldn’t usually make for myself.
And yes, the hazelnut bread is what keeps me coming back!
I’m a vegetarian, so I can sometimes have a bit of an easier time finding entrees in restaurants than my vegan friends, but sometimes, a menu will have NOTHING meatless. And you just want to say to management, “Do you realize the large population you’re leaving out?” Not to mention, if word gets out that a place DOES have a massive selection of veggie-friendly options, vegetarians/vegans from all over will FLOCK to the place. We’re a good word-of-mouth crowd. So hear ye, restaurants, get on it!
Great post.
@Jorie- I totally agree! I live in a small southern town, but being vegetarian here is actually not as bad as you might think. Most restaurants in my area have some vegetarian option, and one is pretty awesome and has menu items that can be vegetarian or vegan!
I’m impressed Somer! Wheatgrass after lunch too? Incredible – no wonder you guys have so much energy! XX I am with you on the frustration of finding foods to eat out – I’ve received many a plate with accidental meat…
Accidental meat is the worst. It is soooo disappointing! The sandwich looks pretty good, though, when they get it right. That hazelnut bread looks like it’s worth the trip alone!