Not sure exactly where my love for bagels with lox and cream cheese came from. I had a lot of Jewish friends growing up in Tucson so their moms are the likely culprits. Either way, I always missed eating at my favorite Jewish deli in Tempe, Chompies, once I graduated from ASU and left the area (I actually lived right across the street from Chompies my junior year). Now and then I'd wander into an Einstein Bagels and bring a mediocre chain-store end to my craving for the day. But it was never really satisfied.
Until, that is, along came New York Bagels, located a whopping 2 minutes from my office. Thank you, Yelpers Kristin and MJ. And thank you MJ especially for educating me on the caloric difference between a bagel and a bialy. Today I opted for the latter with lox and capers and tomato and onions and.... mmm, heaven. I ate it comfortably at a table while reading a community newspaper and educating myself on the unsurprisingly anti-Semitic practices of the Soviet Union post-World War II. The Jewish guy within my multicultural personality disorder is back in business, and he's happy. Toda!