The Bagel Factory

I grew up eating bagels and bialys (bialys are the polish offspring of bagels which are not boiled before baked giving them a slightly denser dough). As a kid, bagels were the go to breakfast item behind bacon egg and cheese sandwiches. I started out as a picky brat eating plain bagels with butter. As time progressed I started exploring other bagels and cream cheese. Sesame, poppy and salt bagels all come to into my life during elementary school. I am not sure when I had my first everything bagel, but it has been my bagel of choice for some time now. Bagels are like coffee in the sense that everyone likes their bagels a particular way. Various levels of toasting, volume of cream cheese (along with type) and bagel density all play their respective parts in creating the ideal bagel.

Now onto the Bagel Factory… This place is located a few blocks from my apartment making it the ideal place to grab a bite when I am in a hurry. The décor is kind of bland but neat, but what do you expect?! It’s a bagel shop, I simply want a quality bagel and a good cup of coffee (which is increasingly hard to find). The Bagel Factory offers a tasty bagel that comes with a generous amount of cream cheese that always fills the bagel whole nicely. On the day which I took this photo, the bagel wasn’t as dark as it usually is but I have to say that this place is very consistent. They do a nice job in balancing the ratios of salt, poppy, sesame, and onion on their everything bagels. They have a plethora of flavored cream cheeses which I have never touched because I am kind of purist when it comes to classic food items. Overall, the bagel is pretty good.

The staff who works at the shop is always super friendly and polite but I do have one major complaint… To be blunt, their coffee sucks. It’s usually hot which is good and I am sure its brewed daily… but its sooooo weak I sometimes wonder if I am drinking coffee or hot water. I am not expecting some fancy organically grown, handpicked locally roasted coffee either…. I just want it to have some bitterness and punch when I take a sip. Once that coffee touches my lips my sensory glands should jump to life and my day should get started… They need to double their bean count on their brew or else maybe offer a supercharged bold French Roast for the picky people (like me). What is really sad about the coffee is that I continue to buy it after I have been disappointed so many times. Maybe next time I will grab an orange juice instead…

I have faith in this place. I think they will eventually get their coffee situation under control and continue to pump out quality bagels. So stop wasting your money at Dunkin Donuts (you will be disappointed) and head over to the Bagel Factory for breakfast.


Overall: 4 out of 5 stars. Give me more caffeine!
The Bagel Factory
9 Glenwood Ave
Binghamton, NY 13905
Phone: 607-770-9083

http://www.mybagelfactory.com