Absolute Bagels

NAME: Absolute Bagels
LOCATION: 2788 Broadway New York, NY 10025
PRICE: $4.50

Today I traveled far outside of my neighborhood cocoon to the exotic neighborhood of Manhattan Valley (if that is really what it is called) to visit Absolute Bagels. I am happy to report that it was well worth the trip from my native Astoria.

Absolute Bagels is one of the most unassuming bagel havens in NYC, or to put it simply, it's a hole-in-the-wall. Walk in and you are greeted by a wall of bagels encased in plexiglass. They all look so good it was hard to make my decision. I stayed resolute and ordered my standard everything bagel, vegetable cream cheese, and a small coffee.

The bagel is small, like a mini bagel and a regular bagel got together and created a new breed of medium sized bagels. Despite it's small stature, the bagel was delicious and chewy with a slight amount of crispiness on the bottom. I actually wish the bagel was a little crispier like Ess-a Bagel but that is a small complaint to be sure. As you can see there were plenty of "everything bits" to give the bagel a healthy dose of flavor.

The cream cheese was excellent. It was creamy, coated the bagel nicely, and had a wonderful, milky flavor. The veggies were chopped small so there wasn't any crunchy carrot bits and even better, there were no discernible onions to taste. Their cream cheese selection was vast and impressive. Everything from plain to bacon cheddar flavor and all of the fruit flavors looked amazing (and even had some sort of fruit glaze coating).

The downside, and I am noticing a trend here, is that the coffee sucked. I didn't even finish it. Watery and flavorless - though clearly caffeinated as even half a cup gave me a jolt.

If you live in the area or want to make a bagel trek definitely check out Absolute Bagels. Just avoid the coffee.

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