Toasted? You Want That Toasted?

Are you willing to pay extra  to have your bagel toasted?
 
"Customers of Lenny's Bagels in (New York's) Rockefeller Center are coughing up 25 cents to have their favorite morning munchie toasted."
 
http://tinyurl.com/ygkchuo

That's madness! 

there was a bagel place  in the center of West Hartford,CT.that didn't even have a toaster.
I left.
that was about 5 years ago.

sk bob


there was a bagel place  in the center of West Hartford,CT.that didn't even have a toaster.
I left.
that was about 5 years ago.

In New Haven I don't recall anyone actually toasting bagels. They put them on the flat grill or in the oven.

Is this really new?   We don't have many bagel places here, but I'm pretty sure Panera Bread charges extra for toasting, and charges different prices for condiments, one price for butter, one for jam, one for cream cheese.    It does take extra time to toast and tie up the line, so why not?   

Only other place around here is Wawa, and I believe the prepared bagel costs more than buying bagel out of case.  They don't charge extra for butter or cream cheese.

If I ever found myself in this situation, I'd have the cops arrest me for committing two crimes:

1.)  Ordering a bagel in NYC and asking for it toasted.

2.)  Ordering a bagel in NYC from Lenny's in the first place.

Lenny's does alright for sandwiches and there are about 12 locations in Manhattan.  They do a brisk business with the 9 to 5 crowd but they are in no way a "bagel shop" and in a city with lots of "legit" bagel shops, it almost borders on criminal to buy one from Lenny's.    

billyboy


If I ever found myself in this situation, I'd have the cops arrest me for committing two crimes:

1.)  Ordering a bagel in NYC and asking for it toasted.

2.)  Ordering a bagel in NYC from Lenny's in the first place.

Lenny's does alright for sandwiches and there are about 12 locations in Manhattan.  They do a brisk business with the 9 to 5 crowd but they are in no way a "bagel shop" and in a city with lots of "legit" bagel shops, it almost borders on criminal to buy one from Lenny's.    

LOL, I was scratching my head, and trying to remember a toasted bagel, in The City.
 
What's a "Lenny's"?

Lenny's is a sandwich chain in Manhattan that does a very brisk business.  The are springing up in every neighborhood.  They are not a bagel shop and do not claim to be a bagel shop. Sandwiches are their thing. Oh yeah, it's not called "Lenny's Bagels" either. Whoever wrote that article would know that if they did one second of fact-checking.       

Charging for toasting is hardly news, and it's nothing new.  Lots of places charge a minimal amount, in my opinion, to discourage you from slowing down the morning line.  Ess-A-Bagel on 1st Ave doesn't have a toaster at all.  "We don't toast" is their standard comeback (although their much bigger 50th street location does toast). 

Yeah but who doesn't want their bagel toasted?

I know that in certain states restaurants have to charge tax on cooked (toasted) items and not so on uncooked. For instance...a $5 footlong at Subway in California is $5.46 if you get it toasted as opposed to exactly $5 if not.     

@Pigiron, there is a Lenny's Bagels in NYC on the Upper West Side (Broadway & 98th) that I don't think has any connection to the sandwich shop.  The writer may have gotten them mixed up.

@ETR, I have a feeling that toasting a bagel in NYC is sacrilege for a lot of NYers.  They aren't meant to be eaten that way.  In a true NYC bagel shop, there are few things better than a fresh, warm, chewy, crusty bagel on a Saturday or Sunday morning!  I can understand why people want bagels toasted though.  I grew up in Central NY and my bagel experience was limited at first to the Lenders brand in the freezer case, then the Thomas' brand on the shelves.  Eventually, the in-store bakeries made bagels and a few bagels shops like Brueggers popped up.  I would implore anyone who visits NYC and about to eat a NYC bagel to try their first one untoasted to taste it as it was meant to be eaten.  If after that first time, you still want it toasted, go for it!  (Just don't ask 'em to do it for ya at Murray's)

billyboy


@Pigiron, there is a Lenny's Bagels in NYC on the Upper West Side (Broadway & 98th) that I don't think has any connection to the sandwich shop.  The writer may have gotten them mixed up.

Billy: I know Lenny's Bagels very well.  My point was that the dolt who wrote the article incorrectly associated the bagel shop with the local news story about the toasting at Lenny's (the sandwich shop).  That's just lazy and unprofessional. 

There is no reason to toast a good bagel. period.

Agreed. NY'ers don't get them toasted; maybe toast a frozen one so you don't break a tooth, but a true NY bagel, they're perfect when they're fresh, and hot right out of the oven.