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| - Owen's Bagel & Deli has committed war crimes against my taste buds. These are the worst bagels I've ever had that weren't purchased from a supermarket or a dirty food truck. I took two bites and threw out my very expensive breakfast.
Ignore the other reviews for Owen's. It's clear that these people have no idea what a bagel is supposed to taste like. This place is a joke. Let's get specific:
#1) Flavor: there isn't any. These things have all the excitement of wonder bread.
#2) Texture: Mush. Bagel's are supposed to be soft, dense and chewy on the inside with a crispy but yielding skin on the outside. At Owen's you get a steamed pile of mushy goo. Yes, STEAMED... more on that in a moment.
#3) Toppings: As any true New Yorker would do, I ordered my bagel with cream cheese a lox (that's smoked salmon for you North Carolina natives). The fish they served me smelled really bad- not fresh at all... but what can you expect from an establishment that prides itself on Boar's Head meats? Sidenote: Boar's Head is the Hunt's ketchup of deli meats- an inferior product that somehow maintains astonishing market share, despite offending anyone with taste buds.
Okay, so back to the part where they STEAMED my bagel: I had asked for a TOASTED onion bagel, because that's the proper way to warm a bagel. The moron behind the counter nodded dumbly and didn't mention that apparently Owen's doesn't OWN A TOASTER! Instead, without informing me, she STEAMS my bagel, turning it instantly into soft, gooey mess, without even a hint of the crispy crust that the bagel may have started with. If any heating method is the exact opposite of toasting a bagel, it's STEAMING a bagel. It's like steaming a pizza or a hamburger... you just don't do it.
If I could give Owen's Bagel's a rating with negative stars, that's what I'd be doing right now.
After throwing out the worst bagel ever from Owen's, I drove a few minutes away to Bruegger's. Sure, Bruegger's in a boring chain, but they at least know how to make a bagel that doesn't suck, and they understand how to work a toaster. Also their smoked salmon was fresh. I never thought I'd recommend them over an independently owned Bagel shop, but in this case, I have to.
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