There are a few must-haves for the successful college student: a reliable liquor store, a trusty late night diner and, perhaps most importantly, a go-to bagel place. Here are the best places in the Southern Tier for your bagel needs.
Nezuntoz Café
Pronounced “knees n’ toes,” this place is the Taj Mahal of sandwich cafés. They boast a variety of bagel types, including but not limited to rosemary and sea salt, cheddar, multigrain, cinnamon raisin and pumpkin. Nezuntoz is in the Weis grocery store plaza on the south side of Downtown. Bagels arrive fresh daily from Ithaca’s famous Collegetown Bagels, but come without the pretentious Cornell University students. Also, don’t forget that the day-old bagels are half-price!
Bagel Recommendation: Sun-dried tomato bagel sandwich with egg, bacon and melted cheese.
Pair with: Pumpkin coffee (not latte — they serve a coffee itself that is pumpkin-flavored).
The Bagel Factory
Tucked away on Glenwood Road in the west side, The Bagel Factory is a staple on any bagel bucket list. Skip the parmesan bagels — they’re a little dry — but the bacon bagels mean business. The Bagel Factory has a dozen different cream cheeses at any given time, including crazy flavors like spicy buffalo wing, and you can buy them by weight. Be warned: This place is not a hangout spot. The carpeting appears to date back to 1985, and it’s a gloomy establishment overall. Take your bagel to go, and make your classmates salivate with hunger and jealousy.
Bagel Recommendation: Whole wheat bagel with maple bacon cream cheese.
Pair with: Skip the subpar coffee and go for a delectable milkshake.
Einstein Bros. Bagels
People either love or hate Einstein’s, but in my opinion the taste and quality does not differ from the off-campus establishments. If you decide to jump on the Einstein’s bandwagon, be prepared for your meal plan to run out by Thanksgiving. Don’t forget to ask for a stamp card: There’s one for drinks, breakfast sandwiches, lunch sandwiches, coffee; basically everything except bagels. Don’t ask why.
Bagel Recommendation: Literally anything with pumpkin cream cheese. You could smear pumpkin cream cheese on a piece of cardboard and it would be delicious. For the non-vegetarians, get the BAT sandwich (Bacon Avocado Turkey) on a honey whole wheat bagel. Tiny people will get two meals out of this bad boy, and the chipotle sauce on it will take you to new bagel heights.
Pair with: Skinny vanilla-hazlenut latte (hot, don’t EVER get it iced; the syrups separate in the most disgusting way, and there’s about $4 at stake) are the perfect reward after a hard test.
Wegmans
Last, but not forgotten, is the grocery store mecca. If you’re late to the Wegmans bakery game, I am so sorry. Starting at the left side where the awesome apple cider bread is located, make your way past the fresh cookies, muffins and croissants, and find yourself at the bialys and bagels. Mix and match in a bag and lie shamelessly at the register about how many you have because the honor system is just asking to be abused.
Bagel Recommendation: Cinnamon raisin, ancient grain, cinnamon sugar, sesame, the list goes on…
Pair with: Swing by the dairy section and grab a Wegmans brand flavored cream cheese. The pumpkin spice is possibly better than Einstein’s, and the lox cream cheese blows the competition out of the water. All puns intended.