First there was soup, commonly served in bowls, although I guess you technically can eat it off a plate, but your results may vary. Bowls are the best vehicle for soups, pretty much no matter what kind you’re eating: Minestrone. Chicken noodle. Borscht. Even bouillabaisse. (You’ll need a big bowl.) But then some genius came around and thought, Wait, how can I elevate the soup-eating experience from the mundane to the breathtakingly wondrous and sophisticated? And then, my friends, came the bread bowl.
Today, Panera has established itself as the fiercest pioneer in the bread bowl space, with its latest menu item, the double bread bowl, available exclusively at—take a guess—the chain’s Philadelphia locations.
Philadelphia is known as the City of Brotherly Love, and brother, you’re gonna need it when you sit down to tuck into this meal. Panera suggests, according to Philly.com, that you share the limited edition carb-fest with “your BFF, a significant other, or even a coworker.” I’d prefer to eat it by myself, out of the deep, deep shame I would feel ordering this bread bowl in public, but sharing it necessitates answering the following questions: If you’re going to split this bad boy, do you and your partner-in-soup sit side-by-side, elbows a’touching, and each claim one (1) bread bowl to yourselves? Or do you sit across from each other, allowing each soup-lover to sample from both bread holes?
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