Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Another Bit About Bagels


Once upon a time, there was an SPF post about bagels. At that time, I had no input to share because I rarely allowed myself to enjoy the delicious, carby goodness of a truly delicious bagel. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I recently fell off that wagon and am now prepared to offer my own bagel assessment.

Beginning in February, I signed on to volunteer for a 14-week program with a non-profit organization. Every Saturday I troop groggily to Midtown and volunteer myself to pieces for two hours, and even though I have a few cups of coffee in me by the time I arrive it somehow seems like insufficient nourishment.

Thankfully, the program's organizers recognized this and took the proper steps to keep me coming back. Every week, I am greeted upon my arrival by bags and bags of various types of bagel. These heavenly treasures come from Ess-a-Bagel over at 831 Third Avenue (between 50th and 51st). Although I was originally more enchanted with the intense coffee maker in the building, I've come to recognize that the value of a Saturday morning bagel cannot be surpassed.

It's important to mention that these are the best bagels I have ever had in my LIFE. I noticed when I perused the previous SPF bagel post that Z left a comment about Ess-a-Bagel, which I must not have noticed at the time. This is truly tragic. The last few months of my life seem wasted when I think about the fact that I could have been eating Ess-a-Bagels for SO MUCH LONGER. They are thick, doughy and so amazing that I can literally feel them doing bad, bad things to my body. It's a good thing they also have the magical capability to make me not care about anything else in the world except eating them.

We all know that my food options as a child weren't very creative, so it makes sense that I ate a bagel with cheese every day when I returned home from school. Trust me, I have eaten my fair share of bagels in my life. I started eating them less frequently in the interest of my health, but now I can't imagine Saturday mornings without them. Thank you, Ess-a-Bagel, for restoring my relationship with the bagel. I'll never go hungry again.

15 comments:

CaseyMustPie said...

what do you mean by a bagel with "cheese"

eLs said...

Bagel, toasted, topped with cheese of your choosing, melted in toaster oven. Sometimes with sauce, akin to a pizza bagel.

CaseyMustPie said...

ohio.

eLs said...

WTF. Cheese and bagels are the best things in life. Putting them together does not seem at all outrageous to me.

CaseyMustPie said...

i just never thought of it as a thing.

eLs said...

Maybe it's not! These are pretty good examples:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Otka8qyTnv4/SD4kQM9thYI/AAAAAAAABYM/RFNuC86UNbo/s400/Cheese%2Bbagel.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Otka8qyTnv4/SD4lgM9thZI/AAAAAAAABYU/7ui-vXc4kwI/s400/Cheese%2Bbagel%2B2.jpg

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/4236425/2/istockphoto_4236425-cheddar-cheese-bagel.jpg

k said...

yeah that sounds pretty gross, erin. sorry.

CaseyMustPie said...

oh god those pictures :(

Eric said...

Maybe it's just the Ohio in me, but I agree with Erin: bagel+cheese=delicious

CaseyMustPie said...

those poor bagels

eLs said...

THANK YOU ERIC. Good thing we have a little Midwest representation around here for things that are DELICIOUS.

mwr said...

okay okay, I have to weigh in here. 1) the 'pizza bagel' with tomato sauce sounds pretty gross. If it were a bagel with olive oil and fresh tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella, though, I think I could get on board.

2) I like cheese and bagels. Cream cheese is delicious, bagels with cheese baked can be pretty tasty too.

3) bagel sandwiches, many of which include cheese are delicious. From the breakfast variety with eggs and cheese and maybe some pig, to basically anything with provolone and I'm there.

However, this melted cheddar on half a bagel just seems like a poor man's grilled cheese or quesadilla. The cheese to bread ratio is so out of whack that the two can't compliment one another. It's as if one's unhealthy desire for carbs and one's unhealthy desire for saturated dairy fat made the worst compromise ever.

And I also think that Carthage should be burned to the ground.

eLs said...

I don't know how to talk to you people. Slap some cheese on a bagel, melt it and give it to me and I'll be happy. End of story.

eLs said...

Also, cheese on half a bagel is what grilled cheese wants to be when it grows up.

eLs said...

I don't even want to KNOW how much the calories and ounces have increased since this was published in 1994:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9901E4D91F3CF935A35754C0A962958260&sec=health&pagewanted=all