Bagels & Long Island are like Peanut Butter and Jelly

Do you like bagels? I do too, they are crusty  and bready yet also pillowy on the interior. The shape is cool too, it’s fun all a-round! (See what I did? No one? Alright) We all live in New York, where bagels are a staple, simply tasty and filling breakfast. So today we are going to try 5 different bagel places generally near the school and at least 4 stars, by me and the internet. This includes: Paul's Bagel Cafe, Holbrook Bagel Bakery, Gourmet Bagel, Bagel Brothers, and returning for a comeback, Strathmore Bagel from BECKSP. These bagels will have to meet a few criteria to grab the top spot. At each restaurant I will get 2 bagels. The first will be a plain bagel with cream cheese, and example of a control group. Any other fillings or seasonings may mask the flavor of the dough itself, a cheap tactic if you ask me. The other will be a specialty bagel with special cream cheese. I chose what I believe was the most delicious pairing out of the menu. I'm going to judge based on: pure quality, flavor, variety, and I will give a total score out of 5. 

First off is Strathmore Bagel at 1879 Lakeland Ave, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779. Now, I planned on going to the other location at 601 Portion Road but it only has an extra 0.2 star, so its fine. The plain's top was golden brown and crunchy, with the bottom very fluffy. For some reason, it tastes like every seasoning they have even though it is only a plain. A touch of cinnamon and saltiness from some everything seasoning. They add a lot of cream cheese, which slightly overpowers the bagel, but not by much. My advice, get 2 bagels, one with cream cheese and one without it, sharing the cream cheese between them both. The egg everything bagel with scallion cream cheese was very tasty. It had so much seasoning with hardly any plain spots, that you need all the cream cheese! By the time I am a quarter through my breakfast, I really needed the cream cheese from my plain bagel! The scallions in the filling were big crunchy chunks and much fresher than say, Panera. Cost wise, the plain cream cheese bagel was $3.20 and the flavored egg everything with scallion cream cheese is about $3.85. The bagel was very tasty and at the same time a nice plain base welcoming additional flavors. On a variety rating I would give a 3.5, since I didn't see the actual selection because I couldn't go inside. The website has a nice variety, so I'll count it. For the flavor category, a 5/5, actually almost a 6/5 for the delicious powerful flavors this has. 

Our next place, the Gourmet Bagel at 1360 Lakeland Ave, Bohemia, NY 11716 . When I ordered, they didn't have a gourmet bagel or cream cheese, as I read on their website. So, we had a mishap. I accidentally gave my parents my bagel and kept their bialy, , but they described it to me. Its flat with no hole and very thin, which is why I believed it was something else. As for our other bagel, a french toast bagel with cinnamon raisin walnut cream cheese, it was sticky as it should be. It was dusted with...almost non existent powdered sugar. The cream cheese had many more raisins than I expected and within my small bagel, I found a few nuts. Similar to the plain bagel, this had a very minuscule hole I could hardly see. I just want to mention the bagels were on display like donuts at Dunkin. 

(okay, halfway through Sophia, we can do this.) Our next stop on this carb-filled journey is the Holbrook Bagel Bakery at 1073 Main St, Holbrook where I will judge a plain bagel, as always and an egg everything bagel with lox cream cheese. At first glance, this bagel looks beautiful and handmade, like they are handcrafted and you can tell by each little difference. when you take a bite, the bagel goes down and springs back up. Now compared too strathmore, the egg everything bagel has a moderate amount of seasoning. I know different places do lox spread differently. Some places mix in the lox really well, to the point the cream cheese is a pink color throughout. Others, like Holbrook Bagel Bakery, have chunks of lox throughout the spread, with a clear difference of what you are biting into. Now look, I recently had cancer (story coming soon!)and I hadn't eaten lox or sushi for a while. Luckily, I am better and have been enjoying sushi much more often but not really lox. The bagel, as an egg bagel was a yellow orange. I couldn't take much, but it was delicious!

Second to last is Bagel Lovers located at 499 Sunrise Highway North Service Rd #3, Patchogue, NY 11772. I am getting my control bagel and a bacon egg bagel with vegetable cream cheese! Actually, A sachem family own Bagel Lovers! That means I've had it many times before, on field trips in elementary school, but only as a mini bagel with butter.There is plenty of space in the restaurant,   which is great, accounting for all the people in there. It feels very welcoming. Today we are cranking it up quite a bit. The bacon specks are tiny, though I am still hoping for good things. (When I reviewed this, it had been 2 days so I might not be the best judge comparing to others)  Lets see how it tastes: amazing. It has a small hole, yet noticeable, which I am a fan of. I personally don't like those big holes where you get a bite of pure cream cheese. There are so many seeable bubbles this bagel's crust, an amazing thing! I pick up the bacon and egg bagel, and before biting I get this wafting scent of meat pass my nose, even with the small amounts at the top. The flavor in this is impeccable, in a different way compared to the rest. Not as overwhelming as Strathmore, not dessert like as Bagel Cafe, just nice and subtly meaty. Previous to this adventure, I always pictured vegetable cream cheese as julienned (matchsticks) vegetable in cream cheese, but here it is diced instead! I like it, because I'm trash, but I understand if others dislike it. Some may believe that without the long thin matchsticks, the crunch is now nonexistent. But that is false, and the cubed shape allows for a more even spread for vegetable distribution. This simple breakfast tastes like a warm comforting dinner, you have bacon as meat, bagel as carbohydrates, vegetables as themselves, and cream cheese as dairy! It didn't feel as filling as a thanksgiving roast, though. I am shook and don't have the words. Bagel Lovers, I am coming for you!

Lastly, thank God, is Paul's Bagel Cafe at 4801 Patchogue Holbrook Road, Holbrook. Whenever I want a good hearty bagel, I go here since it is across the street from my house.I promise, I'll try to be as non-biased as I can. On google, they have a 3.7 rating compared to the 4+ ranks of the rest. Here the unique bagel category, we have a sweet. It was going to be an IMHO overrated bagel, a rainbow bagel with strawberry cream cheese, but they didn't have it so I got a sprinkle bagel. It of course looks gorgeous, but how does it taste?The plain bagel had a somewhat golden brown top with small crackle bubbles, as it should. The inside was fluffy as well. Cream cheese was slightly tangy but not overly so, which was enjoyable. On the other hand, the strawberry cream cheese was the farthest thing from tangy. It's appearance was a baby pink with chunks of the fruit mixed in. The flavor combination really reminds me of strawberry ice cream or some other artificially strawberry product, especially with the sprinkles. It dies out more towards the end of the bite, a plain bagel taste left in your mouth. The first few bites taste artificial, but starts tasting realer, especially with the chunks of strawberry. I infer the strawberries are glazed, like if they were in a pie or a topper for a cheesecake. Still this is dessert for breakfast, the perfect morning starter for an 8 year old. The hot chocolate was watery and for a few minutes undrinkable, almost burning my hands just from the car to my kitchen, even with a sleeve. No decadent drinking chocolate, more like a "sure, I guess I'll have it"

In conclusion, I am not sick of bagels. They are still delicious and unique depending on where you are going, and most in NY have perfected the art. The ranking: Strathmore and Bagel Lovers tie for 1st place with 4.5/5, Holbrook Bagel Bakery and Paul's Bagel Cafe tie for 2nd with 4 stars, and in 3rd place is Gourmet Bagel. I guess I just didn't realize I don't like sweeter bagels, probably my fault. SO ,thanks for reading my random food opinions!

 Written and reviewed by: Sophia Espiritu