I had a pretty strong hankering for a bagel the other day - so much so that I made it my mission to find a bagel shop in my neighborhood. The challenge wasn't too tough, as I discovered Bagel Land, a modest little bagel place just under two miles away from our home.
Atmosphere:
To call Bagel Land humble is a good way of putting it, as the shop is really no frills and the epitome of basic and simple. Virtually it serves just what its name suggests, which comes in its plainest form as well as with various flavored cream cheeses and toppings. The shop practically has no atmosphere, as its just a place you walk into to order your bagel and then go on your merry way. This was more than fine with me, as I planned to devour my bagel in the comfort of my own home, and the other customers in the shop also seemed to share my idea.
Bagel:
I knew what I came for which was an everything bagel with lox - no cream cheese or other fixins to dilute the taste, just simply a bagel with lox.
There were a bevy of bagel flavors to choose from, including your standard variety of sesame, poppy, whole grain, salt, garlic and others. The cream cheese flavors seemed plentiful as well and there were a few suggestions for breakfast sandwiches and the like that looked enticing too. However, I kept my eye on the prize, which was the lox.
Happy to say that I was impressed with the bagel sandwich overall, the actual bagel wasn't overly large in size and it was just fluffy enough. Certainly not as dense as a NY style bagel (which is delicious in its own right), it still had a lot of flavor. The lox was superb and better than in NY, I think, as the salmon is more local here in the Pacific Northwest. I liked that it wasn't overly salty and the small portion went a long way - it's as if they didn't have to try too hard to get it right.
Service and Cost:
Friendly, humble and efficient, I got my bagel in about 3 short minutes after ordering it, which gave me just enough time to snap some photographs. Perfecto!
Costs are inexpensive, but you do pay a premium for good lox, as my sandwich set me back about $5.50. However, it was well worth it and I'd get it again in a heartbeat.
3 Mmmms
Bagel Land - 4118 NE Fremont Street, Portland OR 97212
503.249.2848
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