Panera Bread (Nasdaq: PNRA) has been a dynamo, recession or no recession. Over the last two years, sales continued to increase and profit ticked in higher. The company reported earnings this week and showed more of the good stuff. So without further ado, here are three reasons you should love Panera:

1. Strong comps
The company reported same-store sales were up 3.3% in the latest quarter and up more than 5% in April. While those figures were down from some of the high-single-digit gains we've seen from the company in recent quarters, they're nonetheless impressive and show Panera's resilience in a tough economy. In comparison, burrito wrapper Chipotle (NYSE: CMG) clocked in 12.4% comps growth and Buffalo Wild Wings (Nasdaq: BWLD) scored 3.9% comps at company-owned locations. So Panera is keeping up with these fast-growing Joneses.

2. Operating margin growth
Panera showed solid growth in operating margin in its recent quarter, bumping up the margin 100 basis points to 12.6%. That's a trend the company has continued for some time, as it continues to spread its fixed cost base over more stores. Even mighty Chipotle couldn't achieve that feat this quarter, clocking in at 15%. Powerhouse McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) continues to fatten its operating margin, which now sits around 30%. I love to see improving margins, and Panera's improvement in a rising cost environment is refreshing. For the next quarter, the company expects to increase operating margin from 0 to 50 basis points.

3. Strong profit growth
Panera managed to grow earnings per share by 30% and 25% over the last two fiscal years. The company just revised its EPS growth target upward, to $4.47 to $4.51 per share, or 23% to 25% growth. That upward revision is a strong sign. And with store unit growth at about 100 units for fiscal 2011, there's plenty of tailwind for that profit.

Foolish bottom line
While the stock's P/E of 31 is certainly not conventionally cheap, the company's resilient growth could make the stock appear cheap in retrospect. So those are three reasons that you should love Panera. Do you have others?