The One Bagel NJ

A quest to find the one bagel to rule them all!

[theonebagelnj]

Liberty Bagel Cafe – Fords, NJ 2/6/16

Rachel, Colleen, Tina, and I visited Liberty Bagel Cafe in Fords, NJ last February on a chilly morning before going birding. Even though we visited at peak time on a Saturday morning, there was ample seating. We found the plants and other interior design to be very pleasing.

  Rachel ordered a whole wheat everything bagel with sundried tomato cream cheese. She was pleased with the distribution of both toppings and “bottings.” The bagel had large salt crystals included in the toppings, which is uncommon and was not appreciated. Rachel was happy with the flavor and amount of cream cheese shmeared on her bagel. She gave her bagel a 6.5 because the salt overwhelmed her, and the cream cheese a 7.

 Colleen had an everything bagel with plain cream cheese. Unlike Rachel, Colleen was not pleased with the amount of cream cheese and wished for more. She was pleased with the toppings, except had the same complaint as Rachel – too many salt crystals. Overall, the New Jersey native described the bagels as “good, but not great.” Colleen rated the bagel a 6.5 and the cream cheese a 7.

 Tina ordered a pumpernickel bagel with lox cream cheese. She found the bagel to be denser and chewier than she expected. Tina also commented on the slight portion of cream cheese, but she wasn’t sure if this was a bad thing. She described the distribution of lox in the cream cheese as “adequate.” Overall, she said the bagel was a “solid B,” and rated both the bagel and cream cheese a 7.

I had an onion bagel with chive cream cheese. I found the bagel to be on the smaller side, a bit too dense, and not chewy. This made the bagel not seem very fresh, and almost reminiscent of a supermarket Lenders bagel. The cream cheese had a good texture and fresh scallions, but it was a bit salty. I rated my bagel a 5 due to it lacking appropriate bagel texturing and the cream cheese a 7.

 Overall, we found Liberty Bagel to be just another mediocre New Jersey bagel place, but with a nice interior atmosphere.  

 Bagel Quality: 6.3

Cream Cheese Quality: 7

Overall Bagel Experience: 6.7

Price: bagel with specialty CC – ~$2.20

SAMPLE: n= 4

[theonebagelnj]

Zucker’s Bagels & Smoked Fish – NYC 9/20/15

I visited Zucker’s Bagels & Smoked Fish last September with Ross and our friend Kristen, who was in town for a conference. This is Kristen’s One Bagel NJ debut, and she was very much looking forward to having a real New York bagel experience.

Ross holding the door open for Kristen at Zucker’s in Midtown. 

The décor inside of Zucker’s was modern and café-like. It was crowded, but we were able to find seats despite it being a Sunday morning. We waited in line for a while, and the staff did not seem super enthusiastic about the crowd. Kristen ordered a toasted everything bagel with scallion cream cheese. I also went with a toasted everything bagel but opted for the garlic sundried tomato cream cheese. Ross ordered a bagel sandwich with pastrami and lox on a marble rye bagel. His bagel was by far the most expensive, ringing in at a shocking $15!

Kristen was very pleased with her genuine NY bagel, enthusiastically describing it as “f*cking delicious.” Upon closer inspection, she found the bagel to not be quite crispy on the outside, and slightly too hard on the inside. The cream cheese, however, was described as the “best cream cheese ever.” She was pleased with the characteristic bagel chewiness, and rated her bagel a 6. She gave the cream cheese a high 9.

Ross used some very colorful adjectives to describe the lox on his bagel sandwich, such as: “out of this world,” “ insane,” and “super tasty.” Ross described the cream cheese on his bagel as having the “perfect texture,” and described it as “epic.” Although Ross accurately stated that the bagel was very beautiful looking, he found the bagel to be a bit too chewy. Overall, he rated it a 7 and the cream cheese a precise 9.25.

I found the texture of my everything bagel to be quite off. The bagel was hard on the outside and not soft enough on the inside (echoing Kristen’s previous sentiments). There was an even distribution of toppings on the bagel, and it did have a characteristic bagel-chewiness. I found the cream cheese to be very flavorful, but the texture was slightly grainy. I rated my bagel a 5 due to textural issues, and the cream cheese a 7.5.

Overall, Zucker’s wasn’t even close to the best bagels I’ve had in NYC. But, if you are a lox-lover and willing to spend a pretty penny on smoked fish, this may be the joint for you.

 Bagel Quality: 6

Cream Cheese Quality: 8.6

Overall Bagel Experience: 7.3

Price: bagel with specialty CC – $3.50

SAMPLE: n= 3

[theonebagelnj]

Morristown Bagels & Deli

Jennifer excited for bagels.

In late August 2015, I visited Morristown Bagels & Deli in Morristown, NJ with friends Rachel, Rita, and Jennifer. I should preface this post by saying that before bagels, we did a six-mile or so trail run in a nearby park… cannot say our appetites did not sway our opinions.

Very impressive cream cheese spread!

Rachel ordered a whole wheat everything with scallion cream cheese. She was pleased with the ample amount of toppings and the flavor of scallions in the cream cheese. She was pleased with the bagel texture, but found the inside of the bagel to be roll-like and fluffier than expected in a bagel. However, she greatly appreciated the generous size of the bagel and amount of cream cheese applied to the bagel. She rated her bagel an 8 and the cream cheese an 8.5. 

Rita also ordered a whole wheat everything bagel with scallion cream cheese. Her first reaction? “Holy shit, that’s a lot of cream cheese.” Rita was especially pleased with the distribution of toppings and the size of the bagel. She gave her whole wheat everything bagel an 8. She wished the cream cheese had more scallions and rated it a 6.

Jennifer got a traditional everything bagel with scallion cream cheese. She described the bagel as having a “pleasurable mouth feel.” Jennifer’s bagel was perfectly toasted and had a crisp exterior. She described the large size of the bagel as “beefy,” but was not super impressed with the cream cheese, She rated her bagel an 8.5 and the cream cheese an 8.

I ordered an onion bagel, also with scallion cream cheese. The bagel had a good characteristic bagel-bounce (can I coin this term??). I found the inside of the bagel to be a bit dry and thought the bagel didn’t taste super fresh (but we did visit later in the day). Overall, I found the bagel to be a bit roll-like and lacking in the characteristic bagel-chewiness. Interestingly, the bagel dough tasted a bit sweeter than other bagels I have eaten. I was pleased with the fresh scallions in the cream cheese, but thought the cream cheese was a bit too salty. I rated my bagel a 6.5 and the cream cheese a 6.

 Overall, this was a decent place to stop to get our bagel fix. My friends were a bit more generous on their ratings than I was (maybe let size get the better of them), but perhaps the everything bagels were simply better than the onion bagels!

Bagel Quality: 7.8

Cream Cheese Quality: 7.1

Overall Bagel Experience: 7.5

Price: bagel with specialty CC – $3.50

SAMPLE: n= 4

Mid-run selfie

[theonebagelnj]

I’m back!!

Wow! It’s been a whole year since I wrote a post! Life gets in the way, but I am still committed to the cause! While I haven’t been posting, you bet your bottom dollar that I’ve still been reviewing bagels. As Elton John famously said, the bagel is back!! (or something along those lines). Coming at you the next few days with all that you’ve missed!

I’ve recently moved to NYC, and the bagel potential here is off the hook. Get ready for a new and improved - One Bagel NYC!!! 

Revisited my fave Surf Bagel in Lewes, DE earlier this summer. Still delicious.

[theonebagelnj]

Bagels n’ cream – Robbinsville, NJ 8/16/15

Mary & I headed to Bagels n’ cream at the end of the summer for a very memorable bagel experience. Bagels n’ cream had been recommended to us by Ross’s Dad and friends, Jeff and Laura-Lynn. Laura-Lynn especially raved about the blueberry crunch bagel. We had to check this place out!

  We arrived around 10am to a line out the front door. Mary ordered a poppy seed bagel with strawberry cream cheese and I ordered a sesame bagel with jalapeno cream cheese. We HAD to try the blueberry crunch bagel, too, so we ordered one with plain cream cheese to share as our dessert bagel.

 Mary’s first reaction was a very emphatic, “Yeah... oh yeah!” Mary was pleased with the size and bounce of her bagel and the even shmear applied. She thought the cream cheese was especially flavorsome, but not overpoweringly strawberry-flavored. She would have appreciated some real strawberry chunks for “textural variation.” She appreciated the light toasting of the bagel because it was so fresh, which she described as the “optimum state” of a bagel. In a rare turn of events, Mary even finished her whole bagel! To top it all off, Mary declared that it was “in the running for one of the best bagels I’ve ever had.” She rated her bagel an extremely high 9.7 and cream cheese a 9.

  My sesame seed bagel was also perfectly toasted, and the sesame seeds looked beautiful. The bagel had a great texture – it was soft inside and had a slight crust. The bagel had the perfect chewiness, but was not dense. The cream cheese was incredibly flavorsome, with a real jalapeno kick. My only very minor complaint of the bagel was that the toppings were not evenly distributed on the bottom of the bagel. I rated my bagel a 9.6 and the cream cheese an 8.5.

  After our first bagels, it was time for the main event – the blueberry crunch bagel. It was truly amazing. Mary described it as “true to its bagel roots,” despite being a sweet bagel. The sweetness was not at all overpowering and is best described as a gentle caress of sugar. It tasted SO GOOD. This was the first time that Mary started a 2nd bagel. While I had to finish off her half (in addition to my own, it was a big bagel day), it was a testament to the deliciousness of the bagel that she was able to eat as much as she did! We really could find nothing wrong was this beautiful bagel. I rated it an all-time high of 9.8, and Mary rated it a 9.75.

  After our OUTSTANDING bagel experience, we told the employees about the blog and about how much we loved the bagels. Lucky for us, they gave us two additional blueberry crunch bagels to take home. What a treat! Bagels n’ cream is worth the journey from any distance. And if you couldn’t pick up on this already, we recommend the blueberry crunch bagel. Bagels n’ cream is officially in the lead for The One Bagel NJ!!

  Ratings:

Location: 8

Service: 9

Cleanliness: 9

Overall Store Ratings: 8.7

  Bagel Quality: 9.7

Cream Cheese Quality: 8.8

Overall Bagel Experience: 9.2

Price: bagel - $0.95; bagel with specialty CC – $2.50; dozen - $11.40

SAMPLE: n= 2

[theonebagelnj]

Bagel Boss - Hicksville, NY 7/12/15

 Bagel Boss is right off of the Northern State Parkway, one of the roads I can take to get back to NJ from Ross’s house. Driving back early one morning, I decided I wanted to try a new bagel spot! Bagel Boss is a kosher 24-hour bagel establishment, and it has outstanding online reviews.

  I arrived at 8am and there was a long line winding around the store. Although it was very crowded, there were a lot of employees that helped the line move very quickly. The interior of the store was very large, and they serve bakery items and had a full deli. I could see them making bagels right in the back of the store. There was a large selection of bagels to choose from, and I went with an onion bagel with “everything” cream cheese. The everything cream cheese had all the toppings of an everything bagel mixed into a plain cream cheese.

    There were toppings on both sides of the bagel, and the onion toppings had perfect flavor. The bagel tasted very fresh and had an overall good texture and flavor. My one nit-picking complaint was that the bagel exterior could have been very slightly crispier. They gave me a very generous shmear, but I found the cream cheese to be a bit salty and mostly comprised of poppy seeds. The texture of the cream cheese was thick and creamy, but a bit heavier than I usually like.

   Overall, I was very pleased with the outstanding bagel quality at Bagel Boss in Hicksville, NY and would definitely recommend it to those passing through. Perhaps ask them to go light on the shmear!

   Bagel Quality: 9

Cream Cheese Quality: 6.5

Overall Bagel Experience: 7.8

Price: bagel with specialty CC – $3 & change; dozen - $12

SAMPLE: n= 1

Website: https://www.bagelboss.com

[theonebagelnj]

Hot Bagels Abroad – 7/8/15 South Orange, NJ 8am

I recently visited Hot Bagels Abroad with friends Rita, Rachel, and Jennifer. Rita is originally from West Orange and has been encouraging me to visit Hot Bagels for some time now.

  Despite the long line at the counter when we arrived at 8am, we got our bagels quickly and sat by the window to enjoy people watching and the beautiful indoor aquarium. There was a large variety of both bagel and cream cheese offerings available.

  Rachel got her Black Russian bagel toasted, but said thatthe toasting was not necessary because the bagel was so fresh. Rachel was pleased her bagel had “bottings” -bottom toppings. She enjoyed the “flavorful” sundried tomato cream cheese that contained real tomato chunks. Rachel found the cream cheese texture to be “satisfying, but not remarkable.” She gave her bagel a respectable 7 and cream cheese an 8.

   Rita was pleased with the heavy scallion cream cheese shmear on her everything bagel. Her bagel was still warm, and it was crispy on the outside even though she did not get it toasted. She rated her bagel a 7. Rita thought that the cream cheese on her bagel was excellent, and rated it a 9.

   Jennifer first noted that the outside of her super egg everything bagel was very crispy. She enjoyed the salt toppings in the everything mix, which are not always included. Jennifer was also pleased with the plain cream cheese color, and found the texture to be “rich and smooth.” She gave her bagel an 8 and cream cheese a 9.

  I was pleased with the topping distribution on my sesame bagel. My bagel was not warm like Rita’s, but it did taste very fresh. The bagel had a crispy outside, and a chewy (but a bit dense) inside. The scallion cream cheese was the highlight of the meal – it contained lots of scallions, and had a wonderful texture and flavor. I found the bagel to be on the small side (I could have eaten another bagel), but overall it was a very enjoyable experience. I rated my bagel a 7.5 and the cream cheese a 9.

 We went birding after bageling.

 Ratings:

Location: 7

Service: 8

Cleanliness: 8

Overall Store Ratings: 7.7

  Bagel Quality: 7.4

Cream Cheese Quality: 8.8    

Overall Bagel Experience: 8.1

Price: bagel with specialty CC – $3.58 (incl. tax); Baker’s dozen – $11.40

SAMPLE: n= 4

[theonebagelnj]

A&B Bagels – Newton, NJ June 11, 2015

As I perused google maps looking for directions to a potential field site for my research, I was thrilled to come across A & B Bagels located just outside the Whittingham Wildlife Management Area by the Delaware Water Gap. After seeing their glowing reviews on Google and Yelp, I knew I had to make a pit stop at A & B.

    Rita, Jaclyn, Jill, and I arrived at A & B around 11am and were pleased to see there was still a large selection of bagels available. Rita went with her usual whole wheat everything bagel with scallion cream cheese. Jaclyn ordered a multigrain bagel with veggie cream cheese. I ordered a sesame bagel with veggie cream cheese. Jill had already eaten breakfast, so passed on the bagel and ordered an iced coffee.

  Sad Jill with no bagel.

     Rita found her bagel to be moist and chewy on the inside and thought that it had a great texture. Considering the late hour of our arrival, she was pleased that the bagel still tasted very fresh. She was also pleased with the amount and distribution of the everything toppings. Rita’s favorite part of the experience was the scallion cream cheese. There were lots of fresh scallions in the shmear. Rita described the “cream cheese game” as “strong,” but only wished that there was more shmear on her bagel. Rita rated her bagel an 8 and the cream cheese an 8.5, saying that it was some of the best cream cheese she has ever had!

 Look at all those scallions!

   Jaclyn was very pleased with the toasting of her multigrain bagel, but found the bagel itself to be slightly flat/compressed (this is an issue I have found with other multigrain and whole wheat bagels). This caused her cream cheese distribution to be slightly off. Nevertheless, Jaclyn agreed with Rita that the “cream cheese game was strong,” and really liked the vegetable cream cheese. All in all, Jaclyn decided that the bagel tasted “really good” and rated the bagel a 7.5 (deducting points for its flatness), and the cream cheese a 7 (deducting points for distribution; flavor alone would have been 9).

    I could tell right away that my sesame bagel had great bounce, characteristic of a perfectly crisp exterior and a chewy interior. The first bite I took was incredible, complimented by a perfect toasting. While the bagel compressed a bit during consumption, overall the taste and structure were on point. There was a good amount of toppings, but these were only on one side of the bagel. I agreed with Rita and Jaclyn that the cream cheese was excellent. I found the cream cheese to have an amazing flavor (even though it contained peppers, which I normally dislike). My only complaint was that I wished the cream cheese to be slightly thicker in texture. I was pleased with both the amount and distribution of shmear on my bagel. This was truly an outstanding bagel, so I rated it a high 9 and gave the cream cheese an 8.

   While Jill did not indulge in a bagel, she very much enjoyed her iced coffee. We all agreed that the interior of A & B was also very pleasing – lots of natural light, plants, and pleasing décor. I’m not saying that I base my graduate research solely off of access to outstanding bagels, but let’s just say it looks like Whittingham Wildlife Management Area will make the final cut (we did see a LOT of frogs…).

Spring peeper sitting on a leaf 

 Ratings:

Location: 7

Service: 9

Cleanliness: 8

Overall Store Ratings: 7.3

  Bagel Quality: 8.2

Cream Cheese Quality: 7.8

Overall Bagel Experience: 8

Price: bagel with specialty CC – $2.50; dozen – $11

SAMPLE: n= 3

[theonebagelnj]

Brooklyn Bagel and Bialy – San Diego, CA – March 14, 2015

  We now have a California bagel establishment on the books!During my recent visit to Southern California with my friends Lauren and Sam(Sam and her fiancé, Patrick, have a place out there) for spring break, we were fortunate enough to find a bagel establishment worthy of review by the One Bagel NJ. Highly rated on Yelp, Brooklyn Bagel and Bialy was one of the few non-chain bagel restaurants that popped up on my google search of bagels in downtown San Diego.

    Sam and Patrick’s friends, Ben and Jamie, joined Lauren, Sam, Patrick, and me on the bagel excursion. We arrived at 10am on a Saturday morning, and there were not too many bagels left to select from. Even though our selection was limited, I was impressed with the variety of bagel and shmear options available at a west coast bagel establishment, almost as far away as possible in the US from Brooklyn, NY.

    Lauren, Sam, Ben, and Jamie all ordered the “works” – cream cheese, lox, tomato, and onion on a bagel. Lauren, a New Jersey native, had her open-faced bagel sandwich on a sesame bagel. Lauren’s major complaint was that there was not enough cream cheese on her sandwich (and we attributed this to the generally healthy mindset of Southern California). She rated her bagel a 6. Jamie and Ben both had whole wheat everything bagels. Jamie really liked her breakfast, but admitted she doesn’t eat bagels that frequently. She rated her bagel a 7. Ben said his bagel was “pretty good” and rated it a respectable 8.

    Sam was the harshest critic, rating her bagel a 5.5. Although there were toppings on both sides of her bagel, she noted that the bagel had a crispier outside than the ideal bagel would, and she agreed with Lauren that there was not enough shmear.

    Patrick, another New Jersey native, had bacon, egg, and cheese on a whole wheat everything bagel. Patrick said his bagel was very good, and was pleased with the amount of toppings. The bacon on his bagel was crisp, and he was pleased with the quality of the eggs. Patrick rated his bagel an 8.

    I ordered an egg and cheese on a sesame bagel. The sesame bagels looked very pleasing from the display, but I was disappointed to see the bagel I received was very much lacking on toppings. However, the bagel had a good size and body, and Lauren described it as “voluminous.” While I was very pleased with the structural integrity and the freshness of the bagel, all in all, the bagel was too bread-like and lacked the characteristic chewiness of a true bagel. I rated the bagel, which I also found a bit dry, a 6. I do want to clarify that I very much enjoyed my egg and cheese bagel sandwich, and I thought the quality and flavor of the food was great! Alas, this is a bagel blog, and I have to review based on my high east coast bagel standards.

    We all also shared a bialy with garlic and herb cream cheese. The bialy was very soft, chewy, and was definitely fresh. The garlic and herb cream cheese texture and flavor was spot on! Perhaps I should have stuck with the bialy…

   Ratings:

Location: 9

Service: 9

Cleanliness: 8

Overall Store Ratings: 8.7

    Bagel Quality: 6.8

Cream Cheese Quality: N/A

Overall Bagel Experience: 6.8

SAMPLE: n= 6

  >

[thebagelstore]

A Bacon, Egg And Cheddar Cheese Sandwich on A “Bacon Egg And Cheddar Cheese” Bagel It Is That Kind Of Day, Can Cure Anything :)

https://youtu.be/f5A_MpQ_yfE

Scot Rossillo ~ “Worlds Premier Bagel Artist” Follow ~ Like ~ Share ~ Comment

Www.thebagelstoreonline.com

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(at The Bagel Store)

[theonebagelnj]

Amazing Bagels 2 – East Brunswick, NJ 12/31/15 12:40pm

  After a slow start in the morning due to our laziness, the cold, and difficulty finding parking, we arrived at Amazing Bagels 2 around 12:30pm today. We walked in to find a relatively large bagel shop with a good amount of activity.

   My first concern was that our bagel selection would be limited given the late hour. My concerns were put to rest when we noticed an impressive array of bagels. Our eyes were immediately drawn to the bagels featured on top of the counter: bialys, French toast, and super cinnamon raisin.

      Although they looked mighty tasty, Mary and I went with more traditional bagel selections for our taste test. Mary ordered a toasted chocolate chip bagel with strawberry cream cheese, and I ordered a toasted garlic bagel with scallion cream cheese.

      I could tell from Mary’s initial reaction that she was not overjoyed with her bagel. Her first comments were that the bagel was “so-so,” and that it was about 50% outer crust (i.e. greater outer crust to inner dough ratio than desired). Not only was the bagel mostly crust, likely from over-cooking, it was also over-toasted (as you can see in the photo, the bagel is slightly darker in hue than it should be). Because the bagel was mostly crust and was over-toasted, Mary had a hard time determining the quality of flavor of the bagel and shmear. While we acknowledged that sweet bagels are often overcooked and on the smaller side, we believed this to be an extreme case of sweet-bagel oversight. Mary regretfully gave her bagel a low 4, deciding that it was “not what I’m looking for.” She gave the cream cheese a 7, which “seemed alright.”

      My garlic bagel with scallion cream cheese was also badly over-toasted, resulting in singed garlic toppings. While my bagel had a lower crust:interior ratio than Mary’s did, it also was a bit too crusty. The crust itself was also too aggressive; the bagel was crunchy when I ate it. The cream cheese was falling off of the warm bagel and seemed to not be thick enough. While there did appear to be a decent amount of scallions in the cream cheese, they were not particularly flavorful. I rated my bagel a 7, because I thought it was decent despite the aforementioned flaws. I found the cream cheese to be average and rated it a 6. I fully believe our experience would have been better had the bagels not been so badly over-toasted.

      By the end of the meal, Mary and I both acknowledged that neither of our bagels had a good mouth-feel. Mary said the roof of her mouth was still recovering, and she claimed that this was the “harsh reality of an overcooked bagel.”

 While our experience at Amazing Bagels 2 was far from amazing, we recognized that the bagels had good potential (given the fact that the inside of the bagel was doughy, but not too chewy, and definitely not bread-like), and that we should re-evaluate in the near future.

    Ratings:

Location: 6 (convenient, but lack of parking)

Service: 8

Cleanliness: 8

Overall Store Ratings: 7.3

    Bagel Quality: 5.5

Cream Cheese Quality: 6.5

Overall Bagel Experience: 6

Price: bagel – $0.99; bagel with specialty CC – $2.94; dozen (plus 3 free) - $9.90

SAMPLE: n= 2

[theonebagelnj]

Crema Café – Harvard Square, Cambridge MA

Over the winter break, Ross and I decided to take a trip to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Lucky for us, there was a highly rated café serving homemade bagels conveniently located nearby in Harvard Square. While I am always hesitant about bagels from establishments’ whose primary objective is not making bagels, Ross and I were pleasantly surprised by the plain bagel with herb cream cheese we shared at Crema Café.

        I made a rookie data collection mistake and left my coveted bagel notebook at home the day of our excursion. Instead, I took my usual bagel notes on the back of an old receipt. Needless to say, this receipt is long gone. While I cannot remember our consensus on the bagel rating, they were not too shabby for Massachusetts café bagels. The café ambience was lovely, even though it became quite hectic during our visit. The other food offerings we tried were also great! While I cannot provide a formal review, here are some pictures from our visit. 

[theonebagelnj]

Bagelicious Café – Port Jefferson Station, NY 11/8/14 10:15am

  Ross and I visited Bagelicious Café back in November. They were quite busy the morning we visited, likely due to their ENORMOUS bagels and large cream cheese selection. The bagels on display looked extremely fresh and were very picturesque.

    Ross ordered an egg everything bagel with lox cream cheese, and I ordered a garlic bagel with scallion cream cheese. Ross had a very positive initial response to his bagel, as seen below.

    The first word Ross uttered was “wow.” He was impressed with the nice toasting of the bagel, which complimented the crispy outside and soft inside of the bagel. Ross found the bagel a little on the bready-side, but was not too bothered by this. Although there were not toppings on the bottom of his bagel, he was pleased with the amount and distribution of toppings. Ross gave his bagel a 7.5 and the lox cream cheese an 8.

      Although my garlic bagel looked extremely appealing, I found it to be mildly disappointing. There were no toppings on the bottom of my bagel, and the outside of my bagel was not crisp. My bagel tasted quite fresh, but I agreed with Ross that it tasted bready; I found it to be more like a soft roll, than a bagel. The structural integrity of the bagel was also weak, decompressing significantly as I chomped down. I was also displeased with the cream cheese, which tasted a bit sour. The scallions in the shmear did not taste fresh. I rated my bagel a 6.5 and the cream cheese a low 4.

    Bagelicious Café is a good example of quantity not necessarily being indicative of quality. The bagels at Bagelicious Café were huge, but they lacked characteristic bagel chewiness.

    Ratings:

Location: 8

Service: 8

Cleanliness: 8

Overall Store Ratings: 8

    Bagel Quality: 7

Cream Cheese Quality: 6

Overall Bagel Experience: 6.5

Price: bagel – $1; bagel with specialty CC – $3.10; dozen - $12

SAMPLE: n= 2

[theonebagelnj]

Delicious homemade bagels in HP – Mordy’s Kosher Bakery and Café

  I guess I have been living under a rock the last year, since I just discovered Mordy’s Kosher Bakery and Café in Highland Park. In my defense, they only recently moved to a new location and started baking bagels, and I am so glad that they did.

    Mary, Rita, Rachel, and I visited Mordy’s a rainy Wednesday morning in October. In addition to an impressive array of bakery items, we were pleased to see a strong showing of bagels and cream cheese on display. I ordered a toasted sesame bagel with scallion cream cheese, Mary ordered a cinnamon raisin bagel with plain cream cheese, and Rachel and Rita both ordered an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese.

      Rita was very pleased with her bagel and said that it was “not a dime a dozen bagel.” She was pleased that the everything toppings were not overwhelming. She could tell the scallion cream cheese was recently made with fresh scallions. Rita’s sole complaint was that she wanetd more scallions in the cream cheese. She rated her bagel a 9 and the cream cheese an 8.5.

    Rachel commented on how fresh the bagel tasted. She found that there was a good amount and distribution of everything toppings, and found the garlic toppings to be particularly well toasted. Rachel was very happy with the cream cheese, which she found to be very smooth and feel creamier than the average shmear. The highly satisified Rachel rated her bagel and cream cheese both a 9.

      The thin and light cinnamon raisin bagel was “Mary’s kind of bagel.” She was pleased with the distinct style and cakey taste of the bagel, but thought it needed some height. She rated her bagel an 8.5 and the cream cheese a 9, having no shmear complaints. Mary hopes that Mordy’s decides to venture into the world of sweet cream cheese options at a later date!

      The first thing I noticed about my sesame bagel was that it had the perfect bagel chew that I am constantly searching for. The bagel structural integrity was strong and it was the perfect size for a bagel. The toppings were only on one side, but I admit that two-sided toppings are difficult feat for a small local establishment. I was extremely pleased with the cream cheese texture and flavor. I rated both bagel and cream cheese a 9, one of the most respectable ratings I have given to date!

      The owner treated us to a complimentary Black Russian bagel, which we all enjoyed, and even gave us some bagels to take home. I am happy to report that they withstood freezing very well!

  Interior of Mordy's - plenty of room to eat-in! 

  Since our first visit, Rita, John, Mary, Ross, and I returned to Mordy’s with equal success. I am so incredibly happy there is a delicious bagel bakery serving fresh, scrumptious bagels only two blocks away from our home! I look forward to eating at Mordy’s on a regular basis (although my waistline may protest). I recommend all my fellow graduate students go experience these delicious bagels (and pastries). Remember – they are closed Saturday!

    Ratings:

Location: 8

Service: 9

Cleanliness: 8

Overall Store Ratings: 8.3

    Bagel Quality: 8.9

Cream Cheese Quality: 8.9

Overall Bagel Experience: 8.9

Price: bagel with specialty CC – $3.21; dozen - $10.99

SAMPLE: n= 4

[theonebagelnj]

Bagel Hole – Princeton, NJ 9/20/14 11:45am

  In September, Katelyn, Jenny, Lauren, and I visited Bagel Hole in Princeton on our way to go apple picking. Given the journey, we didn’t arrive until 11:45am, and there was limited selection when we arrived. Regardless of the hour, however, Bagel Hole has very few cream cheese options, which I found to be underwhelming.

      Katelyn and I both ordered a spinach bagel with scallion cream cheese. Lauren ordered a sesame bagel with scallion cream cheese, and Jenny ordered an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese.

      Katelyn and I both found the outside of the spinach bagel to be a bit tough. Otherwise, Katelyn “really liked” her bagel and thought it had a good consistency. I was pleased to find the bagel actually tasted like spinach, but found it to be a bit bread-like and have a sticky texture. Katelyn wished there was more cream cheese on her bagel and I thought the cream cheese needed more scallions. Katelyn and I both rated our bagels a 7. I gave the cream cheese a 7 and Katelyn gave it a 6.

      Despite anticipating disappointment, Lauren really liked her bagel. She thought it felt light and was “easy to bite in to.” Jenny and Lauren agreed that the bagels were on the small side, and Lauren was still hungry after she finished her bagel. Lauren rated both bagel and cream cheese a 7.

    Jenny’s everything bagel had no toppings on the bottom of the bagel and was disappointed in the overall lack of toppings on the top of the bagel, too. She found the bagel to have good overall flavor and really liked the cream cheese. She rated her bagel a 7 and the cream cheese an 8.

    Despite their small size and a general lack of cream cheese options, the bagels of Bagel Hole fared quite well. I recommend visiting early in the morning before they run out of bagels!

   At a wine tasting later in the day.

  Ratings:

Location: 8

Service: 8

Cleanliness: 8

Overall Store Ratings: 8

    Bagel Quality: 7

Cream Cheese Quality: 7

Overall Bagel Experience: 7

Price: bagel with specialty CC – $3.00; baker’s dozen - $10.50

SAMPLE: n= 4

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Bagel-Hole/111724962198089

[theonebagelnj]

Stonebridge Bagels and Deli – Allentown, NJ 9/13/14

Another South Jersey bagel review is on the books! I stopped in at Stonebridge Bagels and Deli in Alletown, NJ on the way to the New Jersey Wild Outdoor Expo with Rita, John, Lee, and Kim. Despite the positive online reviews, I was skeptical of the quality of the bagels in South Jersey due to previous negative experiences.

  Upon entering the establishment, we found a large crowd of people and a sizable bagel selection. I was immediately struck by the pleasing shine of the bagels and their attractive plumpness. Never one to judge a bagel by its crust, I was eager to test them out to see if they were as good as they looked!

    I ordered an egg bagel with veggie cream cheese. Rita went with her preferred whole wheat everything bagel with scallion cream cheese. John ordered an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese. Lee ordered a cinnamon raisin bagel with butter. Kim ordered a sesame bagel with lox cream cheese.

    Rita was pleased with the amount and distribution of toppings on her whole wheat everything bagel. She could tell the bagel was fresh and appreciated its chewiness because whole wheat bagels tend to be on the dry side. She rated it a solid 8. However, Rita thought that the cream cheese lacked scallions and rated it a 6.

    John also liked his everything bagel. He thought that it was not life changing, but found it to be well above average. He rated the bagel and cream cheese both an 8, admitting that he had no idea what he was talking about (at least in terms of rating bagel quality).

    Lee found his cinnamon raisin bagel to be too dense and was disappointed it wasn’t absorbing the butter better. He was pleased with the overall structural integrity of the bagel and lamented about how easy it is to eat bagels so very quickly. He rated his bagel a high 8.5, praising it given the location of the bagel establishment.

    Kim was pleased with her sesame bagel and said it was “pretty darn good.” She was satisfied with the amount of lox cream cheese on her bagel and the overall flavor of the cream cheese. Kim found the lox spread to be good, but not perfect. She rated both her bagel and cream cheese an 8.

    I decided on an egg bagel, slightly out of my normal selection, based on the recommendation of the employee who said they were the most recently baked. Like Lee, I found the structural integrity of the bagel to be great. The outside was perfectly crispy and the interior was soft and slightly chewy. My issue with the structure of the bagel arose as it compressed as I ate it. While this is slightly nit-picky, it is a sign of the bagel being a little on the airy-side. Nonetheless, the bagel tasted extremely fresh. I rated the bagel an 8. I was less pleased with the cream cheese, which was a little too thin and had too much green pepper (which I am not a huge fan of) relative to the other vegetables. I gave the cream cheese a 6.

    On the whole, we agreed that the bagels were better than expected for the area and possibly better than the offerings in New Brunswick proper. The shop had a nice small town, friendly feel and wonderful service. I even noticed the employees wiping the bagel-cutting knife down in between slicing different bagel sandwiches! I would recommend checking out Stonebridge Bagels and Deli if ever in the area!

      Ratings:

Location: 7

Service: 7

Cleanliness: 9

Overall Store Ratings: 7.7

    Bagel Quality: 8.1

Cream Cheese Quality: 7

Overall Bagel Experience: 7.6

Price:; bagel with specialty CC – $3.21

SAMPLE: n= 5

[theonebagelnj]

Somerset Bagel Cafe & Grill 9/10/14 9:20am

  Extremely enthusiastic for the first bagel adventure of the new school year, Mary, Rachel, Rita and I headed to Somerset Bagel Cafe & Grill located in an inconspicuous strip mall, offset from the main road. When we arrived, the strip mall and parking lot appeared to be quite empty. We were pleasantly surprised to walk into the establishment and find an agreeable interior design and strong coffee selection. 

To our horror, the Garlic, Salt, and French Toast bagels were all kept in the same bagel bin! Yikes!

  After much deliberation (Mary, in fact, changed her order at the last second) here is what we decided on: Rita – whole wheat everything with scallion cream cheese; Rachel and Mary – cinnamon raison with strawberry cream cheese; Ariel – everything with scallion. We were not asked to pay and were told we could have a seat and our bagels would be brought out to us (a touch that I always appreciate). Although they got slightly confused with our order and ended up bringing out a duplicate of one of our bagels, the service was prompt.

    We all found our bagels to be dry and on the stale side. Mary found her bagel to be too chewy, exerting a “lot of effort” to consume it. Mary found the texture of the cream cheese to be very good, but overall the cream cheese to be slightly too sweet. She rated the cream cheese a 6.5, citing that it had potential, and rated the bagel a 6.

  Rachel, with the same bagel selection, also found the cream cheese to bet sweet, but enjoyed it, nonetheless. The top part of her bagel was singed from the toaster, so the cream cheese was the highlight of the sandwich. Rachel rated her bagel a 5 and the cream cheese a 7.

  You can really see the pure joy in Rita's eyes. 

  Rita’s whole wheat everything bagel was scarce on toppings and heavy on salt. Rita stated matter-of-factly that Dunkin Donuts had more toppings on an everything bagels than the bagel in front of her.

  My everything bagel was likewise sparse on toppings and heavy on salt. My bagel was extremely over toasted and was completely burnt on the bottom. In the end, I decided that the bagel tasted like dry bread with a hard outside. Rita and I were slightly harsher with our bagel ratings. Rita rated her bagel a 3.5, and I rated mine a 4. Rita was pleased with the scallion flavor of the cream cheese and rated it a 7. I found the cream cheese texture to be too runny and rated it a 5.

  Despite our pleasant service, the lack of appropriate bagel selection, the bagel stale-ness, and location of Somerset Bagel Cafe & Grill would likely deter me from returning.

  Ratings:

Location:  5

Service: 8

Cleanliness: 9

Overall Store Ratings: 7.3

  Bagel Quality: 4.6

Cream Cheese Quality: 6.4

Overall Bagel Experience: 5.5

Price: bagel – $0.95; bagel with specialty CC – $3.40; baker’s dozen – $11.40

SAMPLE: n= 4