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| - I've been searching for a decent bagel place since moving to C-U and was hopeful when I discovered Howbowda Bagel. The owner is clearly interested/involved in the business. When he was ringing up my order he noticed the staff person had put my hot bagels into a plastic bag. Bagels (esp. hot ones!) should go into a paper bag, with the plastic freezer bag enclosed and he mentioned this to his employee. He was very friendly and I really wanted to like his bagels and become a "regular."
Unfortunately, the bagels just weren't real bagels, they were bagel-shaped bread-like things.. The bagel was soft and mushy, lacking the characteristic sheen and crust of a great bagel. My guess is that he uses steam ovens instead of the boil then bake method or gets dough shipped in or something, but I'm not sure. I also bought some cream cheese, ~8oz, and it was sour... I always try to patronize independent places, but I really wish that a Bruegger's would move into the neighborhood. Yes it's a chain, but it's better than what is available right now. Panera has the "shine" and "crust" on it's bagels, but they use the same all-purpose flour as their baguettes, so the crumb is crumbly and dry- not chewy like a real bagel. Stewart's Artisan Bagels from the Urbana Farmers' Market is closer to a NY style bagel, but, 1) too much malt gives them a weird smell/flavor, 2) They are made the day ahead and put in plastic bags- so they are not fresh bagels. 3) They are very small (hardly larger than hockey pucks) and he charges $9/doz..
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