I first discovered Gourmands around 2002 when I worked in the area. It was famous then- great…read moreservice, delicious sandwiches, all my coworkers were obsessed with the chippers. We loved the spot and was always a treat when we had Gourmands for lunch. I am back working in the area and was pleased to see they were still open. It's been 20 years probably, I prepared myself to be disappointed. Surely, they can my be at the same caliber as before? I bet someone else bought the place and quality went downhill? I was gleefully wrong. Same great service. Same wonderful, plentiful menu. Same excellence and quality. Same chippers! My sandwich was Giant, perfectly crafted , fresh and ready in the appropriate amount of time. I was so happy to enjoy my lunch there and see it was still bustling with patrons. You must check out Gourmands

Everything was delicious with my breakfast sandwich, except the eggs were either baked or…read moremicrowaved. It was also super thin.

This Panera is a very conveniently located off Rockside Road in Independence. It's within 3-5…read moreminutes drive of the local hotel cluster. It's located in a plaza that former Melt used to call home. There are plenty of parking spots. It provides an average Panera experience. Location appears dated. The interior is not very clean. Efforts were underway (during morning coffee rush hour) to wash the front doors. Not very good timing, but at least there is ongoing cleaning. There were just a few guests dining in. Seating is available inside and outside (plenty of patio tables). Service wasn't too friendly. Employees uncomfortably stare at all guests as they select pastries or bagels. Two people in front of me had questions about pastries and weren't getting answers. Ordering is available at the counter or through fast lane kiosks. They are located to the left of the counter. They provide order and checkout via a tablet. Guests can watch their orders via "track your orders" tablet. Orders were up pretty quickly. My order: -Asiago Bagel Sausage Scrambled Egg - Not very good. Not flavorful. Sausage tastes like something out of frozen foods package. -Toasted Bagel and Cream Cheese - My bagel was over toasted and too dry. I generally like Asiago bagels at Panera but this one was worse than their usual It wasn't the worst experience but I wouldn't return to this Panera. My decision is based on their food quality and service.

I ordered a pick two (salad and sandwich) and added a bowl of soup. The sandwich was very messy and…read morethe soup was totally watered down. Terrible to say the least. Never again.

Great, relaxing place. Good coffee and food. Desserts are delicious and there are many coffee…read moreflavors.

Have not been in here for a little bit so decided to stop in and check it out. It's a very cute and…read morecozy coffee shop with soothing music playing throughout it. This definitely is more of a traditional quiet cafe rather then one where there is lots of people working/headphones on, etc. They offer cheesecakes, cakes and more by the slice or I believe you can purchase the entire thing. They also offer sandwiches/wraps and other made to order items if that's what you're looking for. I'm not exactly sure which goods are baked in house and which are bought from a place but regardless it's great they offer such variety. Everything tasted really good. The cold salads sit in a case so you can look at them before ordering. I recommend the apple caramel cheesecake although it's not pictured. The prices for coffee are very good and I enjoy the styrofoam cup as it keeps drinks hot and cold. They also give very nice glasses/mugs if you choose to dine in and ask for your drinks to be prepared that way. The food is also priced pretty fairly, and the slices of cakes are a bit pricy at 7.99 but you get a very large portion.

Under $18 a dozen for a reason. Dry glazed plain and strawberry glazed yeast donuts. Not too thick-…read morerather anemic in volume actually compared to the other donut shops I've been trying lately- but wow almost inedible dryness and lack of flavor. The plain cake and even the blueberry cake donuts were dry inside! No crispness anywhere on any of the cake donuts. Bad artificial strawberry glaze flavor and not good blueberry cake flavoring. Just bad all around. I got the pistachio cream fulled chocolate glazed yeast donut. If I close my eyes and lie to myself, the neon blue filling remotely sorta kinda tastes like pistachio but honest to god it had basically zero reminiscent flavor at all. How does a donut shop serve such bad donuts?

Delicious donuts - always fresh! Iced maple cream filled & black raspberry jam filled are my…read morefavorites...but there are lots of yummy choices

I have worked with Mary Lou at the Bistro at Freedom Square on two separate occassions now. We…read morehost several in-office meetings and often have catering needs. Mary Lou and her staff are always on time, make suggestions, and will handle the little details that are easy to forget. She helped me arrange for floral deliveries as well on our second event together because she remembered we had done that the first time. Pricing is very fair - give them a shot!

Absolutely love, love, love this place. Tried the Apple Crunch Bowl and it was delicious ! My usual…read moreis the Pro Bowl for peanut butter and chocolate lovers. Also on the top of the list is the Incredibowl, fruit lovers will love this choice! Service is awesome and the ambiance of this place is made extra special by the people taking care of you! Please support this small business! I attached a photo of my Apple Crunch Bowl, they packed it so full that some of the ingredients stuck to the lid.

This small shop has 5 different delicious açaí bowls to choose from. There's 3 different sizes to…read morechoose from and they all looked absolutely packed to the gills. There is a few drink items on the menu and some other small snacks but I stuck to just the bowl on my trip. This is a great refreshing treat or a perfect healthy meal.

This Starbucks is located in the Rockside Corners Plaza in Independence (with plenty of parking)…read more It's a very simplistic and outdated location. By that I mean simple furniture and decor. There's just a store, no drive-thru is available. This location is close to all local hotels (within 3-5 minutes drive) and Independence business district. Service is extremely friendly and welcoming! Drinks (two Venti Iced Coffees in my case) were prepared almost instantly! Drinks were consistent with what you'd usually expect at Starbucks. At around almost 8 AM the coffee shop was almost empty. Wall decor includes coffee agriculture art. It was interesting to check out. But then again I love all coffee art at Starbucks. I'd recommend this location for a quick morning cup of coffee!

This was my first time at this space. The staff was…read morefriendly and answered my questions about the available food items. The unisex restroom was very clean and this location smelled amazing. My hot items were ready in great time and was tasty, but smaller then advertised.