Bagel Jay’s

I visit mostly every Sunday morning and am quite surprised how often a simple order for 2 gets messed up. Food is good, but if you’re ordering from the drive-​thru — CHECK YOUR ORDER before you drive away!

I came here for breakfast bagels a few times. They were just okay. I think what takes away from there food is that they use super thin sliced meat which is drowned in all the bagel. The bagels are okay, your average bagel choices. Nothing too amazing about the food here.

I hate these kind of reviews, the kind that could have been so easily avoided. Similar to the majority of my fellow Unilocalers, I judge a restaurant on two criteria, 1) quality of food and 2) quality of service. What gets me is when someone has a good product but delivers it with awful service, because good service isn’t that hard.
So I try not to eat bagel’s all the time, they do have as many carbs as 5 pieces of toast, but when I do, Bagel Jay’s is one of the few local offerings. To their credit, they do make a good bagel, so I won’t knock them there.
What I will knock them on is service… let the story begin!
The Set-​Up:
So a friend of mine picked me up in the morning from the car dealership where my car was being serviced. As a reward for this, I was going to treat him to Bagel Jays… I know, what a friend right. Now, it just so happened that I had an Entertainment coupon for by one get one bagel and large coffee (times are tough, need to watch the pennies).
The Order:
So we being to order, I get a bagel with smear (cream cheese) and he orders the same, but, in addition to smear, he wanted to have lox on his bagel. For those Curb Your Enthusiasm fans, this is known as a «Larry David» sandwich.
The Drama???
We go to check out and I present the coupon. I tell you, you would have thought I insulted the cashier’s deceased grandmother based on the expression she gave me. She replies «we cannot accept that!?» Take aback for a moment, trying to piece together what I might have done wrong to offend her, I simply ask, «well why not.» Then proceeds… «SIR, you have LOX on the bagel with cream cheese, as such, it is a SANDWICH not a bagel with cheese.» Not trying to be a smart a$$, I simply say, I know, but in that there is a bagel with cheese, so I do have two bagels, both with cream cheese, its just one has lox. Noting my stubbornness, she calls over the manager. Manager comes over, doesn’t even look me in the eye and with the same abhorrence she say «we cannot accept that» and walks away.
Now if I had more time and if there wasn’t a line forming behind me, I might have actually tried to rationalize with them… but it is 2013 and instead of causing a scene, I did the next best thing… I Unilocaled.
Listen, do I really care that I didn’t get a free bagel… no, I can afford to buy a bagel and coffee, no biggie. What grinds my gears is just the matter in which this was handled and how down right rude these people were. I mean, this is breakfast, this is how we start our day, is it too much to ask for some friendly service??? I don’t expect this review to change anything, but one can only hope… in the meantime, for service with a smile, looks like I need to go elsewhere.

A fill and a schmear all in one stop? Don’t mind if I do!
I was on my way to work this morning and the drive-​thru line at Horton’s was already backed up onto Millersport (at JJ Audubon Pkwy). Not going to even try to tackle that beast, since I’m usually running 10 minutes late to begin with! Had already flown by Subway (I like their breakfast subs, so sue me!) and had no breakfast in my tummy… So where to?
Mobil and Bagel Jay’s!
I needed gas anyway…
The Bagel Jay’s in the gas station is very nice– similar to how the one on Klein Road is, minus the ambiance (it’s a gas station for heaven’s sake!) but the bagels are still the real deal! Good customer service too. I ordered a lox and cream cheese on rye bagel, toasted.
This is a favorite of mine at the Klein Road location… Well, I was a bit disappointed in the lox. The bagel and schmear were delish… The lox was SUPER salty, fishy, and… spongy. Weird. I wouldn’t order it again. I should have gotten the eggel bagel. Shoot!
There’s always tomorrow…