:a_Top:
At the request of at least one member, the WBC decided to have a cheap, quick breakfast this weekend. This led us to Beyond the Bagel in White Plains. Cheap? Yup. Quick? Yup. Good? Well, you’ll just have to read on to find out.
Attendees: :jump_to_Shelley:, :jump_to_Sylvia:
:a_Shelley:
The main thing I remember about our breakfast at Beyond the Bagel is learning that Reid seems to have a bit of a man-crush on James Spader.
Aside from that, I remember that the place has no menu posted, so we took a copy of their take-out menu to review our options for breakfast. We saw the usual suspects: egg platters and sandwiches, pancakes, French toast, an assortment of bagels and pastries. What caught my interest more than the food choices were the mouthwateringly cheap prices. The only thing I may like more than a good meal is a cheap meal. Would I be able to get my food cheap and good?
I ordered an egg, sausage, and cheese sandwich on a toasted plain bagel for about $3. I also got a bottle of apple juice and a cinnamon muffin. Total damage: $7.50. It’s not too often that you can get three items for under $10. Breakfast was off to a good start. We waited at the counter until our food was done; it wasn’t a very long wait at all.
Settling into a table by the front door, I unwrapped my sandwich. The egg was well cooked, but the cheese seemed to have been lost in the cooking. The sausage patty was well-spiced, but far too greasy. With every bite I felt more and more resolved to pay a visit to the gym.
The muffin was enjoyable, fresh-baked and well-flavored with cinnamon and crumbs on top.
Beyond the Bagel was nothing extraordinary, but it certainly satisfied our quick, cheap requirement for the week. Stop in for a bit before work, but maybe skip the sausage if you don’t want to feel like you’re drinking grease.
:back_to_Top:
:a_Sylvia:
I’ve been coming to Beyond the Bagel since college (and possibly before, it feels like I’ve been going there forever). Back in the day, I’d stop in with my father every Friday for the breakfast special of the day: Sausage, egg, and cheese on a bagel, which also came with a small coffee or tea. It was our little Friday treat.
The place has changed now. No more breakfast specials advertised, no more menu visible, no more bank of different flavor coffees to pick from. For better or worse, I’m not quite sure, but the vibe just feels different this time around. Maybe it was partly because it was a Saturday morning, and BtB was void of the usual commuters who pop in for a quick breakfast before catching a bus or hustling to work in one of the nearby office buildings. However, for such an early hour on a Saturday, the tables in the front weren’t completely empty. There were a couple of families enjoying breakfast, and a few others sitting down to eat before starting their day. The bagel baskets that line the wall in the back seemed a little less full than usual The only hint of a menu detailing the breakfast offerings was in the form of a paper brochure perched above one of the refrigerated cases of spreads. The menu seemed to suggest that besides bagels, the place also has pancakes, French toast, and some egg combination platters available. It seems when you come here, you should know exactly what you want.
I got my usual sausage and egg on a toasted whole wheat bagel, with a medium coffee.
The coffee was thin, but not bad. It got the job done. The bagel looked delicious. A freshly fried egg with a well reheated sausage patty stuffed between a sliced whole wheat bagel, lightly toasted. It was good. The bagel was soft but had pull. It wasn’t overly doughy and dry. It was how I remembered the bagels. A hearty way to start the day.
I also tried half of Shelley’s coffee crumb cake muffin. I’ve never had Beyodn the Bagel’s pastries, but have always been tempted. The muffin was okay. It was dry, but not overly sweet. Temptation satisfied.
The czar says: I hope the minimalism that is being displayed now is an indication or a transition to better things. The food is still good, but the atmosphere makes me feel like they are either getting ready to shut down, or they just opened. Regardless, Beyond the Bagel will always be my go-to place for a hearty sausage and egg on a bagel to start my workday.
:back_to_Top: