Are bagels a weekend thing?

Sorry, for this overdue post.  My excuses are that I picked up a few extra shifts at work and being at home with a 16 month old sometimes makes it close to impossible to concentrate long enough, let alone type with out interruptions every other minute.  Not, to say that I haven't been busy cooking and baking the last week and 1/2.  I caught a cooking bug this past Sunday and cooked and baked lots!  The Cinnamon Raisin French Toast,  Whiskey Lemon Bars and the two Potato Pizza's with a homemade rosemary oil were probably the stand-out items.  Of course, unlike a every other blogger, I took no pictures.  But, if you go to the links from where I found the recipes, my stuff came out pretty close looking. 

Back to the subject of Bagels:  The 2200 block of Washington Ave. would not be the first place I would think of to find fresh baked goodies.  If you go down that far on Washington you'll pass lots of construction supply stores and lots of industrial type buildings.  But, low and behold, Kermit's Bake Shoppe popped up in 2013.  We (my husband and I) decided to make the trek to Kermit's last Saturday morning to check out their bagels (which are only available on weekends).

Side note: While searching for bagel joints, it seems like a few of them, including those who made the Zagat list [which I talked about in a past post] are only available on weekends.  Well, I guess to clarify, the restaurants/places to get a high quality bagel are only serving them on weekends.  I found this to be a little disappointing especially because bagels, in my opinion, are not necessarily something I wait to have on the weekend.  I guess for those who are watching their carbs, it is a treat not to be consumed on the regular.  But, bagels are such a convenient food to prepare [of course after they are baked] that it seems more likely to consume during the week for a quick breakfast.  I guess this lends itself to the reason why I started this blog; to find places to go for a great bagel.  And hopefully, I will have a pretty good running list, that if I were to get a bagel craving anytime of day, week, etc.  I'll have a place to go to.

Back to my adventure to Kermit's... As I enter with Toddler in hand, I find myself scanning the beautiful cases to take in the assortment of delicious looking treats.  I know I'm there for bagels, but I have to try something else.  I decided on this Key-Lime Tart:

Key-Lime Tart

The tart was quite good; the gooey meringue topping was a nice compliment to the filling and crust.  The center was a little more on the tart side, but still overall a refreshing treat.







The bagels were displayed in a basket on the top of one of the cases.  There weren't very many left, especially for how early we were there.  I believe they open at 8 and we were there probably around 9:30.  I picked out a couple plain, a poppy sead, and an onion.  I saw the cream cheese containers next to them, so I decided to go with the scallion and plain.  It was hard having to wait to get home to try out the product.

Everything was packaged so nicely.

One of the fun parts of eating bagels is that there are so many ways to eat them.  Mixing your favorite type of bagel with different toppings let's even the most unskillful cook feel like they are creating something unique.  From the bagel selection, to toasted or not toasted, to cream cheese or jelly, etc.  The possibilities are endless.  Which gives me an idea for another post.  I'll have to bookmark the idea of fun combination experiments.
Anyway, I actually can't remember the last time I had an onion bagel.  But, I was delightfully surprised when I cut open this one to find little pieces of onion inside the bagel as well as sprinkled on the outside.

My choice du jour was to go with the onion bagel and the scallion cream cheese.  I was also surprised at the green color of the scallion cream cheese.  I tried getting a picture of my finished product, but was having camera problems.  I was also going to just use my phone to take a photo, but I had cream cheese all over my fingers, low blood sugar, no caffine yet and was growing increasingly irritated.  I just wanted to get the picture so I could eat the bagel!  I decided to sacrifice the picture to consume the baked good.  I have to say, the onion on onion, was probably not the best combination choice.  A little overwhelming, however, still tasty.







Here is my Poppy Seed Rating on Kermit's Bagels:

1- The Look- { 3 } The plain bagels had the loveliest sheen and correct color out of the group. 
2- The Crust- { 4 } It was certainly firm and created a nice bite. 
3- Inside Texture and Taste- { 5 }  The interior was airy and not dry.  Again, the onion bits inside the bagel were a special surprise. 

Overall Rating: 4 = Above average

Here is my scale as a reminder:

1 = poor

2 = average

3 = above average

4 = very good

5 = doesn't get much better

So, was it worth the trip on an early Saturday morning to drive out to Kermit's.  Overall, I'd say yes.  But, maybe just stop for coffee on the way.

Till next time,

Jerr