We find here in the UK where there is such a strong culture in breakfast of toasting items (crumpets, muffins, pikelets etc) that a great many customers request this. Also, for a long time, the only place to get bagels were in supermarkets (the awful ones chock full of additives) and the only way to make them remotely edible was to toast them; ergo, we kinda have a toasting culture coded into us here! Thankfully this is changing a little as more places (like us) bake theirs fresh daily. Loved your post and you've got a new subber.
In a busy shop toasting bagels creates a longer line. The owner may need to hire an extra employee to toast the bagels and keep the orders moving to the customers. This creates added costs that gets passed on to everyone, not just the toasters. The answer is easy.
Customers can toast the bagels themselves. The owner can purchase an old crusty toasting machine and place it a dark abandoned corner of the shop under a few cobwebs. The customers can toast their own bagels. The machine should slowly burn one side of the bagel while the other side is left rare.
Go to Chicago and try asking for ketchup for your hot dog. God help you. If I grab 6 bagels (Bagel Oasis) they will be rock hard in a few days, so freezing (after slicing in half) is a must...then to thaw toasting is far better than nuking them
Reddit is a cesspool of people looking for something to complain about. The comments on that post prove it. Everyone’s an expert all of a sudden when they can hide behind a keyboard. Yelp and Google can be almost as bad. But Reddit is practically useless because of this very reason.
I judge chocolate, including one of the largest and most prestigious international competitions. The comments about chocolate on Reddit are equally absurd, ludicrous, and annoying. Anyone who uses Reddit to gauge the quality of food of any kind is wasting their time.
And taste is subjective. People can like whatever they like. I’m not here to yuck anyone’s yum, but just because someone likes something doesn’t make them an expert on that kind of food. All it does is make them an expert on what THEY like. But they will certainly go on Reddit and espouse to great lengths their tastes as self-proclaimed experts and disparage the tastes (and often the actual expertise) of others.
I am new to your pages. I was born and raised in Montreal, Canada and have lived in and visited many, many cities and sampled their bagels. There is only one true bagel and that is the traditional, small batch, baked in a wood fired oven, Montreal bagel. Once you have eaten a real Montreal bagel, fresh out of the oven, all other "bagels" are nothing more than round bread. If you don't believe me, go to Montreal, visit either the Saint Viateur or Fairmount bagel bakeries, eat one once. You will be forever spoiled.
Agree completely with no need to toast fresh bagels. However, "If you were to ask a random sampling of Seattlites what the best bagel in town is right now, I’d imagine most of them would say Hey Bagel or Mt. Bagel," I would add Bagel Oasis.
A controversy I didn’t know existed till now. Coincidentally I read it while eating a very good toasted bagel. Life is short. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
We find here in the UK where there is such a strong culture in breakfast of toasting items (crumpets, muffins, pikelets etc) that a great many customers request this. Also, for a long time, the only place to get bagels were in supermarkets (the awful ones chock full of additives) and the only way to make them remotely edible was to toast them; ergo, we kinda have a toasting culture coded into us here! Thankfully this is changing a little as more places (like us) bake theirs fresh daily. Loved your post and you've got a new subber.
Period.
Toasted bagels are fine, if you are eating them at home.
In a busy shop toasting bagels creates a longer line. The owner may need to hire an extra employee to toast the bagels and keep the orders moving to the customers. This creates added costs that gets passed on to everyone, not just the toasters. The answer is easy.
Customers can toast the bagels themselves. The owner can purchase an old crusty toasting machine and place it a dark abandoned corner of the shop under a few cobwebs. The customers can toast their own bagels. The machine should slowly burn one side of the bagel while the other side is left rare.
Go to Chicago and try asking for ketchup for your hot dog. God help you. If I grab 6 bagels (Bagel Oasis) they will be rock hard in a few days, so freezing (after slicing in half) is a must...then to thaw toasting is far better than nuking them
Reddit is a cesspool of people looking for something to complain about. The comments on that post prove it. Everyone’s an expert all of a sudden when they can hide behind a keyboard. Yelp and Google can be almost as bad. But Reddit is practically useless because of this very reason.
I judge chocolate, including one of the largest and most prestigious international competitions. The comments about chocolate on Reddit are equally absurd, ludicrous, and annoying. Anyone who uses Reddit to gauge the quality of food of any kind is wasting their time.
And taste is subjective. People can like whatever they like. I’m not here to yuck anyone’s yum, but just because someone likes something doesn’t make them an expert on that kind of food. All it does is make them an expert on what THEY like. But they will certainly go on Reddit and espouse to great lengths their tastes as self-proclaimed experts and disparage the tastes (and often the actual expertise) of others.
I am new to your pages. I was born and raised in Montreal, Canada and have lived in and visited many, many cities and sampled their bagels. There is only one true bagel and that is the traditional, small batch, baked in a wood fired oven, Montreal bagel. Once you have eaten a real Montreal bagel, fresh out of the oven, all other "bagels" are nothing more than round bread. If you don't believe me, go to Montreal, visit either the Saint Viateur or Fairmount bagel bakeries, eat one once. You will be forever spoiled.
Stephen, I accept the challenge. Visiting Montreal for a real-deal Montreal-style bagel is on my list to do soon...
Agree completely with no need to toast fresh bagels. However, "If you were to ask a random sampling of Seattlites what the best bagel in town is right now, I’d imagine most of them would say Hey Bagel or Mt. Bagel," I would add Bagel Oasis.
Oh I agree, and many have extolled the virtues of the Oasis.
It’s on here
I know.
fresh or bust, screw toasters :-)
A controversy I didn’t know existed till now. Coincidentally I read it while eating a very good toasted bagel. Life is short. Don’t sweat the small stuff.