Montgomery County has a plethora of bagel places that all have their strengths and weaknesses, and they all have their specialties. This has caused debate about which place sells the best bagels. In order to determine the true best bagel in town, Common Sense asked students to try plain bagels with plain cream cheese from five different venues to find the best one.
Bethesda Bagel: 7.2/10
Bethesda Bagels is popular amongst students in this school since its closest location is Fallsgrove, and its variety of bagels and cream cheeses has something for everyone. Any bagel with plain cream cheese is priced at $3.85, and you can switch the flavors or add other items to adjust it to your liking. But based on simply its plain bagel, it could be better. “While the bagel is good and light, there is too much cream cheese, which takes away from the actual bagel,” senior Brielle Rudolph said.
Neals Bagels: 7.2/10
Tied for first with Bethesda Bagels is the new bagel place that recently opened in the Kentlands, Neals Bagels. The price point for a regular bagel with cream cheese at Neals is $3.75, slightly cheaper than Bethesda, and offers the same idea of different cream cheese and addable items. The actual plain bagel, though, has good qualities. “Neal’s has good cream cheese, is toasted nicely and has a good flavor,” Rudolph said.
Bageltowne Deli: 7.1/10
Bageltowne Deli has been in Travilah Village Center for a long time and serves a wide variety of foods. Their bagels with plain cream cheese are priced at $3.99. When it comes down to their plain bagels, there are mixed opinions on how good it truly is. Junior Saanvi Gadila said, “It’s a good bagel, and I like the cream cheese.” Senior Noah Parker said, “The actual bagel isn’t anything special, and there’s way too much cream cheese on the bagel.”
Call Your Mother Deli: 4.5/10
Call Your Mother is located in Pike and Rose and has a wide variety of bagels and sandwiches, all with their qualities that make them unique. The plain bagel, priced at $2.99, which does not come with cream cheese on the bagel, was not anything special compared to the others, as it was too sweet, and the bread quality could have been better. Overall, though, “the bagel tasted stove-made,” Gadila said
Panera: 2.6/10
Panera has been a staple for all of the foods it serves, and it has some bagels, like the asiago or cinnamon crunch, that people enjoy. Based only on its plain bagel, priced at $1.79, it is not as pleasant as one might have thought. Rudolph said, “The bagel tastes like normal Panera bread and is nothing special,” and junior Max Hammerman said, “The cream cheese was horrible and made it taste bad.”
Overall, Bethesda Bagels and Neal’s Bagels are the best bagel places in town. BagelTowne Deli had some faults, specifically in the cream cheese to bagel ratio. Call your Mother Deli has a plain bagel that wasn’t as good in quality as the others, and Panera simply tasted like a piece of bread, with nothing that made it taste like a good bagel.
