Bagel Express.

On a lazy Sunday morning after I left the angelic realm which is that of St. Francis De Salles Catholic Church on 96th and Lexington, I wandered through my new temporary home of the Upper East Side in search of a late post-Mass breakfast. I heard from my new neighbors at the 1760 3rd Ave. Residence that there was a pretty good bagel place out on 2nd Ave. in the 90s. A fresh bagel sounded like the perfect answer to not wanting to go up to my room and cooking breakfast (with all of the post-cooking clean up that is also involved), so I walked on over to Bagel Express.

This place was pretty hard to find because there was heavy construction on 2nd Ave. in February of 2009. Much of this construction has now moved on down the Upper East Side and is now plaguing the 80s. Back then, however, I had to walk over metal street plating and through a construction site to basically get to Bagel Express. It was also cold and extremely windy, so I was very satisfied to finally get into the warm store. Upon entering, your nose encounters the wonderful smell of freshly baked bagels, along with the sour smells of various antipasti and salads. The variety of bagels is vast and there were kinds of bagels they were selling that I've never even seen before. In addition to the bagels, they also sold common breakfast fare, such as the New York-famous Bacon, Egg, and Cheese and other breakfast treats.

I saw that the lox was reasonably priced, so I settled for lox and cream cheese with a little bit of red onion on a toasted everything bagel. After happily ordering, I asked for it to go and brought it back to my warm dorm room to enjoy. The bagel itself was very fresh and soft, with the warmth of the toasted bread helping to melt the cream cheese a little bit, making it smoother. The outside of the bagel was covered all kinds of little goodies: onion, garlic, a little bit of salt, poppy seeds, and a little bit of sesame seeds. After being toasted, the outside of the bagel had a great crunch that pleasantly contrasted with the gooeyness of the filling inside the bagel. A great New York comfort food and a pleasant late breakfast for a quiet and lazy Sunday in the city that would ultimately be spent bumming around the dorm, spending time with Roomie, and studying before turning in. There's nothing like a lazy Sunday in the city.

Overall, Bagel Express is in a great location due to its proximity to the dormitories and its location in a highly residential area. The extremely wide range of bagels that can be purchased here is more than adequate and they are all of very fresh quality. There is a sitting area inside this bagel place if you wish to stay here to eat your bagel, too. The only thing that I can complain about is that they bump their prices up on breakfast items after 11 A.M. Most places don't bump their prices up that early, but I guess that's what you get with a bagel place that located in the Upper East Side. I would still definitely return there again if I am in the area to get breakfast.

Price: <3<3<3<

Taste: <3<3<3<3

Atmosphere: <3<3<3<

Opinion: Recommended