La Brea Bakery

With most places closing around the K Street mall, it’s pretty difficult to find a budget friendly meal these days, especially if you simply need to get out of the office.
My coworker and I frequently leave the office at lunch time so that we don’t get cabin fever. One afternoon I decided to invite her to lunch with my at the La Brea Bakery located next to (or you could even say within) Macys. This worked especially since I had a gift card so it was basically a free lunch, on my attorneys of course since they were the ones that gave me the gift card. Anyway, my coworker ordered the classic grilled cheese and was happy with her order. I ordered the half turkey and prosciutto panini with a cup on chicken chili. Let me just tell you that I LOVE the chicken chili. It’s got the right spices and a lot of chicken chunks to actually make me think I’m full. The only problem is that there’s not too much difference in size between the cup and the bowl. It really needs to be bigger.
Now onto the half turkey and prosciutto panini. It was okay. It’s not meaty like some sandwiches are but it was a panini so I wasn’t expecting it to be. I guess a little meat would have made the sandwich better. I couldn’t complain too much though because the special priced combo didn’t break the bank and my coworker was able to get a free lunch on my gift card. Gotta love those things.
Overall, this place is okay. The service is friendly. After you order the cashier tends to always have to ask if you want something extra and they go down the line of drinks, chips, cookies, etc. to add to your meal. I don’t mind it but if you’re in a hurry, some people just don’t want to hear it. Also, I’ve been to this place two other times and the service was really slow even though there was only a few people eating in the dining area.
I only gave this place three starts because the chicken chili just needs to be bigger and the service needs to be a little bit faster. After all, I only have an hour for lunch.

I couldn’t believe it I ate at Macy’s today in downtown K street. How is it possible, the prices are reasonable and the food is good. I ate a Panini without cheese and the pastrami was lean and tender.
My coffee was very good as well. They also have a oven to fresh bake their bread daily to sell or serve with their meals.
The employees are very courteous.

The chicken chili is soooo good. If you like Chili’s chicken enchilada soup, you will like the chili this place serves. Also, the manager is extremely friendly and really pushes customer satisfaction. Good panini. I’m not real impressed with their salads though.

First of all, I will admit that maybe I went in here with my expectations too high. This place is located right next to Macy’s woman’s at K St. mall where Cosi used to be so maybe I am unfairly judging this place according to the standard set by Cosi. Even though LBB and Cosi are both sandwich spots they are distinctly different. Cosi had a larger menu with an offering of more unique original sandwiches. LBB on the other hand goes for the simpler approach with a smaller menu and more traditional fare. Now this doesn’t automatically qualify one as bein better than the other but in this case Cosi’s variety trumps LBB’s familiarity. To be as fair as possible to LBB I’ll stop with the comparisons.
Plain and simple I was just not impressed by the food. I decided to go for the $ 6.50 half sandwich half soup deal, turkey & havarti pannini with a cup of chicken chili. The sandwich was a real problem, I ordered one of the only sandwiches there that did not contain any ham or bacon because I do not eat pork for my own personal non-​religious reasons and I distinctly remember mentioning this to the cashier. After a couple of bites I notice an unfamiliar taste and find pieces of ham mixed with the turkey. Normally I wouldn’t say anything and just take it out but this was a pannini sandwich and when it was grilled all the flavors kinda seeped into each other. The chicken chili was sans chicken or at least didn’t have any pieces or chunks visible without a freakin microscope. The thing that saved this place from a 1 star rating is the service and staff. I reluctantly took my order back but it was not a problem at all. They made me another sandwich and gave me a bowl to replace the cup of soup. The sandwich was still mediocre at best and now I just had more of the chili I didn’t even like. On my way out the door the manager (i think) stopped me, apologized for the mess up on the sandwich and gave me some free bread. The baguette was so so but who can complain when its FREE99. The staff is great but I’m sure you probably wont see me in there again.

GET THE CHICKEN CHILI. I usually don’t eat meat out, but I broke my rule for this tasty tasty chili.
Their breads are really good. I also like their grilled cheese (panini). Also, I love that they have fresh-​brewed iced tea, which is falling by the wayside at many places.
This is another place I frequent for lunch when I’m working in the area. It’s the best within walking distance from the Holiday Inn.