Perfect "Breakfast for Two" in Bagel Cafe

Very early yesterday morning, one of my learning partners and I discovered that it would only be the two of us, instead of 3-6 (it varies from week to week) in Matan for our 7:45 breakfast plus chevruta Al Haperek Tanach Bible session. Whenever that happens, we end up just talking, so we decided to really "play hookey" and have breakfast "out."

I did a quick "google search" to find what would be open on nearby Emek Refaim, Jerusalem. Bagel Cafe, 54 Emek Refaim, fit our requirements. By 7:30am we were already seated and hungrily poring over the menu.

We decided on sharing a Breakfast for Two. The waiter took our order and accurately served us exactly what we had asked for, even though he didn't write it down. Salads and omelets were prepared separately, according to our individual requests.

All the food was delicious and exactly the quantity we needed. Our only complaint was that the coffee tasted rather ordinary. I had asked for "American or filter" and thought it tasted more like my Elite Turkish when perked. As you may know, most mornings I have real American coffee, Kirkland brought by a good friend, made in a French Press. So when I order American, I have a certain taste in mind.

We polished off pretty much everything served to us and agreed that we'd return there for breakfast whenever we have a good excuse.

That very filling breakfast really did the trick and kept me satisfied for hours afterwards. Usually I need an early lunch at 11:30 before going into my 12 noon class with Yael Leibowitz at Matan. But besides eating a few cashews in the middle of the class, I needed no food until I got home a few hours later.

The Bagel Cafe seems to be very popular, and people were lined up for takeout, besides those of us sitting at tables. It probably is the best breakfast on Emek Refaim. Give it a try. Bagelcafe.co.il/mobile, 1-700-500-751.

Better a Real Roll than a Fake Bagel

I've always loved a good bagel. I like to chew, and a good boiled first then baked bagel needs heavy chewing.  It's very hard to find a real bagel nowadays, because many bagel places use this new-fangled steam spritz rather than proper boiling.

A couple of weeks ago a friend and I needed a quick lunch. We were in the Jerusalem Central Bus Station and went to the Holy Bagel. I have a soft spot for Holy Bagel, since the owners, or first owners bought the Beit HaBagel, Bagel House from a friend of ours, and I had worked there many years ago. I wanted to like the sandwich.

We asked the kid working there if they were real bagels, because they looked too "fluffy."

"Of course they're real. I baked them," said the kid.
"Hmm.. really? They don't look real."

And they weren't. I should have just looked for another place to eat, but we were in a rush. There was no way he could make the bagels, real bagels there. The boiling needs extra equipment.

Close to twenty years ago the original Bonkers Bagels owners brought the first "steam bagel" machinery to Israel, and a whole generation of kids have grown up thinking those puffy things with the consistency of oatmeal are real bagels, but they're not.

If it's not a real bagel I'd rather have a roll, and sandwiches on rolls cost less than bagel sandwiches, too!

Bye, bye bagels, bye, bye...

Grabbing a Sandwich at The "Holy Bagel"

At the tail end of a busy day in Jerusalem, rushing to Talpiyot to buy a hat, visiting with the chattan and callah (engaged couple) in Jerusalem and then to the Kotel, plus other things, I suddenly felt that I was fading rapidly.  Oops! It was dinner time and we hadn't eaten much all day.  So my sister-in-law and I rushed into the main (original) branch of "Holy Bagel,"  near Jerusalem's Central Bus Station, 220 Jaffa Street.

Actually, I once knew the place well, when it was "Beit HaBagel," The Bagel House.  I used to work there being in charge of the department that sold ready-made bagel sandwiches, pastries, drinks and salads to office buildings.  I also did the selling in Har Chotzvim.

 

I chose what they called a "whole wheat" bagel.  It seemed too soft to have been boiled then baked, the classic New York bagel way.  But it was shiny.  I didn't ask; I was too tired.  I had it filled with tuna salad and lots of fresh greens.  It was satisfying and really saved me.  My sister-in-law had hers filled with cheese and salad.  It was a good thing we ate when we did, because we got home very late.  Service was fine and there was a nice variety of fillings.

If you want a bite of bagel....

real bagel, that is...
so...

don't go to ....
Bagel Bite!
It's not the real thing!!!

It was a nice, cheap breakfast, under ns40-
but the faux bagel was greasy, flat and the wrong texture.