Panera Bread welcomes summer with lobster roll, lobster mac-and-cheese

You can taste a lobster roll, Long Island's unofficial summer sandwich, at a new location: Panera Bread.

The fast-casual cafe, restaurant, and bakery group prepares a mildly seasoned, satisfying version of the Long Island and New England classic. It's made with knuckle and claw meat, atop lettuce, and lightly bound with lemon-tarragon mayonnaise. The lobster meat is served on a brioche-style bun.

What's as appetizing as the lobster roll is the comparatively moderate price. The cost: $17.99. Typically, they go for more than $20 here, rising as high as $65 and sometimes more.

Panera Bread continues its seasonal lobster repertoire with a husky, lobster-laden macaroni and cheese. It includes buttered knuckle and claw meat and is capped with a toasty breadcrumb crust. A small mac-and-cheese is $10.99; a large one, $16.79.

They were tasted at the Panera Bread in the Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station. The dishes are widely available at Long Island Panera Bread eateries and at select locations in the northeast. panerabread.com