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| - In general, I make it a habit to visit any restaurant that has a line out the door. In fact, the longer the line the better. Which is just what happened one sunny Saturday recently in Phoenix, when I was visiting a bucket list fabric store and (coincidentally) felt my empty tummy rumbling. As I pulled out of the parking lot I noticed several out-of-place people standing outside a nondescript strip mall establishment.
Who are these people? I asked myself. Why are they just standing...on the sidewalk...on a Saturday morning? And then I spotted the sign above them: "The Bagel Man" it read in big red letters. A quick peek at Yelp told me all I needed to know: it was here that I'd be stopping for breakfast.
So I parked the car and got in line. I didn't even care what was on the other end of that line. I just knew it would be good.
I waited patiently, and eagerly, with the smell of fresh-baked goodness wafting past me. I ogled the deli case, full of delicious-sounding house-mixed cream cheeses. I thumbed my debit card as the line inched painfully forward. Finally, it was almost my turn. And just then, as if by magic, I heard two amazing words:
FRESH SESAME!
They were yelled from the bagel chef (er, baker?) as he tossed about a dozen puffy sesames into one of the many bagel baskets behind the front counter. But the guy in front of me had heard the announcement too. His forehead was practically sweating as he uttered the words "I'll take a dozen sesame." I wanted to beg him to take pity on me! "Give me my favorite bagel! Please! I love sesame bagels. For goodness sake, I ONLY WANT ONE!"
But I didn't. As if by fate, though, his young daughter said "Daddy, can I have a plain bagel?" So he swapped a sesame for a plain and you know how this story ends: the sesame bagel was mine. ALL MINE!
I got it with a thick smear of lox cream cheese, quickly ran to my car, and devoured the whole thing in about 2 minutes. Okay, 5 minutes. And as I proceeded towards the airport and a flight home, I regretted I hadn't gotten one for the plane ride!
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