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Absolute Bagels
- Nearest Transit:
-
Cathedral Pkwy (1)
103 St (1)
116 St - Columbia University (1)
- Price Range:
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$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
319 reviews for Absolute Bagels
Review Highlights
"Tasty bagels and some pretty incredible cream cheese."
(in 157 reviews)
"Much lighter and air-ier than H&H."
(in 42 reviews)
"Their lox spread will change your life."
(in 13 reviews)
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319 reviews in English
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Review from Grace M.
New York, NY
2/4/2012
best bagels on the UWS hands down!! i always order a cinnamon raisin bagel with strawberry cream cheese (they do give you A LOT of cream cheese though, always end up scraping more then half of it off)
*hint - order one bagel with cream cheese on it and then order a second bagel plain with no spread, then take half the spread from the first bagel and spread it onto the second one
the iced coffee is pretty good too
lines on the weekends are always out the door but worth the wait and the lines move relatively quickly -
Review from Alyssa M.
1/23/2012
I've been here about 3 times, and when I tired it the first time I thought "wow, this bagel is amazing!"...but I think I just got caught up in the hype.
To me, the bagels are good, nothing extraordinary. I've never even bought the cream cheese here because it's just way too overpriced. Maybe I need to try it though as great cream cheese could boost the rating up.
To be honest, I think the bagels I buy at Associates Market are just as good and cost 1/2 as much.
Maybe I'd take an out of towner here and we could grab some bagels and spreads. I'm not rushing back here myself though anymore. -
Review from Vic F.
Manhattan, NY
1/3/2012
Not only are the bagels here fantastic, but they even have whole wheat everything bagels.
Definitely worth a visit! -
Review from MEIJU C.
Manhattan, NY
2/8/2012 1 Check-in Here
Prefer Starbuck or Flavor more because Absolute Bagels is kind of tough
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Review from Bjorn F.
Manhattan, NY
1/31/2012
The best bagels in NYC. And I've had a lot. Have the everything bagel with scallion cream cheese.
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Review from The Immature A.
Granada Hills, CA
12/31/2011 1 Check-in Here
What's the meaning of life? Wait, forget that--there's a more meaningful question to answer: Who has the best bagel in Manhattan?
Yelpers seem to love 3 bagel boilers in particular: Essa Bagel, Absolute Bagels and Murray's Bagels. To judge them fairly, I ordered the same sesame seed bagel with cream cheese from each, and ate them on the spot. Disappointingly, none of the three was still warm when served, but like the song says, "Every bagel is beautiful in its own way."
The winner? Me--for getting to eat all those bagels! Seriously, my NYC bagel taste test winner is (drumroll please) Murray's!
Don't get me wrong, Essa and Absolute still satisfied my carb cravings, but only Murray's had what I was looking for: a crust with a chew, that makes a noticeable crunch at first bite.
Coming in at #2 was the Absolute Bagel, which had the perfect density and fluffiness but lacked that crunch.
My 3rd place ribbon goes to Essa Bagel, which was good, but was the most dense and also lacked crunch.
In the consoling words of every P.E. teacher I ever had: "While there could be only one winner, there were no losers." -
Review from Stephanie B.
Hartford, CT
2/6/2012
I'm always on the hunt for the perfect bagel. Absolute Bagels does well. Their everything bagels are generously coated with toppings. Their iced coffee is also a favorite. The line gets long but the staff are efficient so it moves pretty quickly. Seating is cramped but adequate.
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Review from Stephen C.
Berlin, NJ
12/31/2011 1 Check-in Here
I picked up a 1/2 dozen for breakfast with the kids. 2 everything, 2 plain, 1 raisin & 1 sesame. The bagels were all great, firm and crisp on the outside, soft and chewy inside. The herb cream cheese was great not too over powering.
This place is a gem and a definite go back too.
Just a quick point, be prepared to order when you finally make it to the front of the line. -
Review from Jessica G.
Manhattan, NY
12/10/2011
It is time to speak out.
I live on 105th St., so I've been going to absolute for quite some time now. For the past 2 years, I have LOVED their bagels and their flavored cream cheese (mmmm jalapeno...) But I have to say that lately I have been kind of bothered by the practices they seem to be adopting in order to cut costs.
First came the price increase a few months ago. A bagel with flavored cream cheese is $3.80...if you get it with tomato the order comes to over $4. This is very pricey for a bagel in the area. And I promise I wouldn't complain had they maintained their awesome quality. But I feel like with the price increase, they also began decreasing the size of the bagels at a gradual pace. At first I thought it was my imagination and completely in my head, but a friend of mine commented today about how small her bagel was, so now I suspect that I'm not crazy and this might be another change they are making to increase profit margins. Recently I've also been given everything bagels with almost zero toppings. I hate to complain about this stuff but when you are spending $4 for a bagel it's really annoying to take it with you and then unwrap it to find a mediocre quality bagel.
Has anyone else noticed the change in quality? I with they would raise prices or make the bagels smaller, but not both. I have a hard time believing they need to do both since they have a monopoly on bagels in this area.
I am hoping that those who experience the quality difference let them know so that they can make some changes, because I have noticed a definite change in this place over the past 2 years. Until then, a $2 so-so bagel with flavored cream cheese is a better deal for me than a $4 hit-or-miss bagel from absolute. Absolute, if you read this, please look into quality control...when your bagels are done right, they are awesome, and worth the ridiculously high prices. -
Review from Mostly S.
San Francisco, CA
12/12/2011
Ripped off!
A reviewer not too far below me wrote about how price changes/quantity have changed, so I'm not the only one.
I really liked this place when I first went there in September. The bagels were delicious, and yeah, a lox bagel was expensive, but it's an expensive, labor intensive process to make good lox. And Absolute Bagels piled it on. Like a whole half inch of delicious lox. And they also piled on the creamcheese, which I don't mind scraping off.
I haven't been there in a couple of months. I'm in the middle of this horrific project and decide to take a break and get some lunch and a coffee. I order my usual, a lox bagel with tomato, light on the creamcheese, on a sesame bagel.
I get home and that glorious thick slab of pink "fish bacon" (as my little brother likes to call it) has been replaced with a measly single slice. ONE SLICE OF LOX. Even a bagel shop that buys their bagels and lox from costco would have the decency to put on a bit more, especially at 8.75 (extra .25 for the tomato). This is obscene.
So yeah, I gave them an extra star for the bagel, which was the same, great quality. But I'm not going back there for anything more than just a bag of bagels.
If you're reading this owner, I expect you to respond. I'm not the only one who has noticed. Maybe you'll get away with it from the tourists and visiting parents of Columbia students, but not from the rest of us! -
Review from Josh K.
12/22/2011 1 Check-in Here
Good bagels and good shmear. They make them on site and you can see the whole process behind the counter. Make sure you know what you're getting when you get to the front of the line. BTW, you can ask for half and half shmear if you want to try several different kinds (I got lox and chive garlic.)
They are very generous with the shmear and I would almost suggest that instead of getting two topped bagels you should just get one topped and one plain and migrate some shmear over to the plain bagel!
Also, a madhouse on the weekends during the busy brunch hours, and practically idle most other times, so either time your visit wisely or just come on an off day.
Most likely not the best in the five boroughs, and honestly I'm not qualified to make that judgement anyway, but it's close to my house and they are freshly made... that's really all a guy could ask for. -
Review from NYCYELP R.
New York, NY
1/25/2012
Most bagels in supermarkets have the softness and texture of cotton. Not Absolute.
Most bagels have no flavor. Not Absolute.
Most whitefish spread is sweet and filled with mayo and celery. Not Absolute.
Most shops don't give you the option of a mini-bagel Absolute does!
Please don't whine about the cost of a great product. Most bad sandwiches cost five dollars or more. Subway Sandwich shop has horrible products and charges more than Absolute.
Pros: They work hard round the clock with never a day off. The quality of their products are stellar. You get the excellence you pay for.
I sometimes wish the older service staff/owners were more friendly in manner, but I think that's a cultural difference. The flowers and live plants say it all. They care about what they do and IT SHOWS.
People who just want cheap bready starch should probably not come here. Everything has gone up in price at the supermarket in the past two years...milk, eggs, flour, sugar, oil., coffee. It's strange to think that won't affect your local, family-owned bagel store. -
Review from Candace Q.
Manhattan, NY
1/17/2012
Umm, I'm still waiting for the New York City bagel to live up to it's promise. While their bagel wasn't half bad, it was lacking flavor. This place is definitely buzzing though, it clearly has a following and there has to be a reason for it. Maybe I'll venture out of my comfort zone next time and try something different than my normal, everything bagel, toasted with cream cheese. They do get an A for their cream cheese though.
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Review from Erica D.
New York, NY
12/18/2011
The line is always hanging out the door on the weekend. This creates the illusion that Absolute Bagels is to-die-for amazing, but I think the length of the line is more of a testament to how slow they are and how much people in this neighborhood love to be gouged.
Absolute is overpriced to being with and then they try to nickel and dime you on everything. If more than 6 people show up around the same time, this place just implodes. I wouldn't wait in the line or go out of my way to come here, but on the rare occasions that grabbing a bagel here isn't such a hassle, they actually are really good and it's nice to find the always elusive pumpernickel raisin. -
Review from Sandra s.
12/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
My boyfriend and I had a major craving for bagels the other day, so we did a Yelp search and Absolute Bagels came up. It had the most reviews and ratings, and it was around the neighborhood too. We must be crazy because we walked 35 blocks to come here! But it was worth it.
We had a total of 3 bagel orders: 1) egg w/ bacon and cheddar cream cheese on a wheat bagel; 2) nova scotia salmon w/ cream cheese on an everything bagel; 3) strawberry cream cheese on a wheat bagel. Our favorite was the nova scotia salmon one. It was very delicious. The bagel was very soft and chewy, salmon was savory, and the cream cheese was very light. This is probably the best nova scotia salmon w/ cream cheese on a bagel that we both have eaten so far. I also liked the egg w/ bacon and cheddar cream cheese on a wheat bagel one too. We thought the strawberry cream cheese one was ok; nothing special.
The listed above + 2 cartons of Tropicana OJ cost us a total of about $22. It is a bit pricey, but the quality of the bagels w/ the cream cheese is excellent! We are not planning to eat this very often, but once in a while is a good splurge for us. The portion size of the bagels w/ the extras (salmon or egg with cream cheese) was not that large, so you might be a bit hungry after eating 1 bagel. I ate a total of 1 and a 1/2 bagels (the 3 bagels were shared between my bf & I), and I was not full.
Ordering system was not that difficult, but understanding the lady (with an intense thai accent) was a bit hard. Other than that, their freshly baked bagels and assorted cream cheese were very delicious! I would recommend anyone to come visit Absolute Bagels for a good NY bagel! -
Review from Pathu S.
12/8/2011
Absolute Bagels is absolutely amazing! Sorry that was lame but I definitely see why Absolute Bagel is such a hit with my fellow Columbians.
Because of its deliciousness, I am willing to 1) walk all the way there (I rarely go South of 110th unless it's downtown) 2) wait in the long yet speedy line. Yes it is Asian-owned and yes it is amazing! I'd say the lox cream cheese is a MUST with any bagel (your preference). I have not tried their sandwiches but the pictures make them look so yummy.
Also, they have Thai ice tea and other variations of Thai caffeinated drinks. Bagels and Thai iced tea! How awesome is that!! -
Review from Chris S.
New York, NY
Updated - 12/28/2011
Consistently the best every time.
1 Previous Review:
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2/7/2009
Really great bagel. When they are fresh and still warm they're heavenly.
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Review from Sara H.
Manhattan, NY
1/5/2012 5 Check-ins Here
The superiority of Absolute Bagels over the neighborhood competition is laughable. This means you, Nussbaum and Wu!!
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Review from Ban W.
Blacksburg, VA
1/10/2012 1 Check-in Here
Okay. I'm a bagel fiend, but an egg and bacon with cheese on plain, and one everything bagel at Absolute Bagel = Best breakfast ever.
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Review from Jeff S.
11/15/2011
This place is far far away from where we were. Literally I think it was on the edge of Central Park north. When we got here the line was out the door.
We decided since it literally took us 40 minutes to get here what was another 20 in line. Thank God we waited...
We got:
1. Garlic Bagel with Nova/Cream Chease and the works ( lettuce/tomatoe/onion)
2. Garlic bagel toasted with bacon/cheddar cream cheese.
Oh wow wow wow both were amazing. The coolest thing is the cream cheese they have here. Literally their strawberry cream cheese has jam/real strawberries, their bacon/cheddar has chunks of bacon/cheddar etc etc. I only wish we had more time to try different bagels with different spreads.
Pricing is also not too bad and it's most definitely a mom and pop run place. Amazing food for amazing price, gotta love it. -
Review from Hilary P.
10/5/2011
These are absolutely the best bagels I've had in the neighborhood. My usual (everything bagel, toasted with lox spread) is definitely done justice by these folks. That line out the door on a weekend between 11am-2pm? Worth it. Also, the coffee is drinkable.
Bring cash.Listed in: Morningside Heights and…
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Review from Laura Y.
Brooklyn, NY
11/8/2011
I just had a garlic bagel with the lox spread there along with the small chicken salad, and I have to say that I am that impressed. Don't get it wrong, nothing was bad, in particular, but for a place with 4.5 stars, I thought I would like it A LOT. But I didn't. The chicken salad was really small. I got the 1/4 lb (small) one and it was the size of my palm. It wasn't particularly savory, nor was it chunky, how I like it, but I guess this place is a bagel place. My bagel was pretty good, though. I'm actually glad I found out about this place because I never seem to know places with good bagels.
By the way, the ordering system could be complicated. Well, at least it was for me. I learned it the hard way after waiting past at least 5 customers getting their orders. There's a lady collecting the cash at the register, but prior to that you should give your orders to one of the men behind the baskets of bagels. Essentially, you repeat your order twice, pay, and then get your bagel.
Also, my friends and I noticed how happy everyone here was. Everyone behind the counter was smiling and laughing like a family, and that lifted my moods up. The people lining up for bagels were not as happy, though, probably due to the long line. -
Review from Sarah S.
New York, NY
10/6/2011
I tried their wheat bagel with smoked salmon, garlic & chive cream cheese ($8.50) + lettuce, tomato & union ($.50) + tax = $9.35
I heard that this place was really good, but def. was not expecting that price, but then again, I realized I got the smoked salmon which was ABSOLUTELY amazing! worth every penny!!! If you don't want to go all out, then you can get bagel + flavored cream cheese (a lottttt to choose from!) for about $3.80ish!
They LOADDDD your bagel w/ cream cheese and even though I like to go easy on my bagel most of the times, I know I'm gonna be craving this sucka a lot.
The workers are super friendly & there's a lot of tables inside!! This is one of the places that actually lives up to its hype! :) -
Review from Jin C.
New York, NY
12/23/2011
It would cost you an extra dime to toast your bagel - but why would you when it is so perfectly fresh and warm with a soft, fluffy interior and a crusty exterior? In comparison to Ess-A-Bagel, Absolute's bagel is a lot less dense, more airy, fluffier and much easier to tear off. I tried their pumpernickel bagel, which I don't think is spiced as much as Ess-A-Bagel's, but still decent.
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Review from Anna C.
11/30/2011 1 photo
Yelp led me to Absolute Bagel during my recent trip to NYC. Not much else I can say that hasn't already been said by nearly 300 other reviewers. But seriously, best bagel I've ever had in my life. Fresh out of the oven everything bagel for $1 = orgasmic.
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Review from Matt E.
9/14/2011
Absolute Bagels is like no other place in New York for bagels. You can get some tasty bagels here but I wouldn't say they're anything like a true New York bagel. They're very light, fluffy, and quite frankly, addictive. The place is run by Chinese so maybe they've infused some of the fluffy bun type procedures and married it with the classic way of making bagels (which you can see being done right there behind the counter). The bagels are smaller and when you bite into one light airy texture gives into to the pressure. The store is also light and airy but also a bare bones type of set up. There are plenty of tables and the location is near public transportation so it's easy to get to.
Overall Bagel: 7
Taste: 9
Texture: 7
Store: 8
Service & Value: 7Listed in: NYC Bagels
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Review from Allan H.
San Francisco, CA
9/13/2011
Asians not only make asian food well, but they make bagels good too.
This place, hands down, has the best lox spread I've had in the city. Perfectly sized chunks of salmon in the creamy cream cheese. Whatever bagel you get, it will be toasted to perfection(they have an assortment of bagels to choose form ), and will pile the cream cheese on to your liking. So do yourself a favor, go to Absolute Bagel, and get some lox spread. The Asian ladies are nice too.kinda. It is a bit pricey... 3.90?!?!?!?! I need to stop going there twice a day. -
Review from Taipan L.
Los Altos, CA
12/24/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Excellent selection of bagels and spreads. If you plan to eat 2 bagels, order one with the spread and the other without - there is more than enough spread for both! Line can be long during breakfast on weekends. They are even open on Christmas Day!
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Review from Vina A.
New York, NY
11/16/2011
Possibly the best bagels in NYC.
Hot, doughy, chewy and soft. This mom and pop shop makes them fresh and consistent every day and I've never gone in there without seeing them taking a fresh batch of hot yummies to the front.
Note they do not keep much longer than a day. Best if you get it fresh. -
Review from Anna L.
Los Angeles, CA
12/31/2011 1 Check-in Here
4 stars but it should have been 5!!!!
I waited in a line out the door to try these bagels and it was definitely worth it!
There are three steps to ordering- which you should be ready to do when you get to the counter- name your bagel, your spread and whether or not you desire it toasted.
The bagel texture was great, slightly crisp on the outside and airy with a bit of chew on the inside.
The cream cheese here is also great- I love the scallion spread with the onion bagel and the walnut raisin spread with the cinnamon raisin bagel. It tastes authentic- soft, creamy and flavorful.
The toasting/prep aspect is where Absolute Bagels looses a star in my eyes. I've seen some pretty lightly toasted bagels in my time and these took the cake! I know the attempt was made because I saw it but by the time the bagel made it my way there wasn't a hint of a toast left. The bagel was so barely touched with heat that i concluded that it can't possibly come down to me saying, "toasted well done," (unless this is relativism at its finest) because toasted still means toasted.
That being said- great bagel.
Disclaimer: as my profile states, I'm not a New Yorker and therefore no authority on bagels. -
Review from Lydia H.
Manhattan, NY
11/6/2011
So delicious! I know this may sound like an exaggeration, but I really have never eaten bagels this good before. There's just something about the texture that's hard to describe in writing. My current favorite at Absolute is their BLT served on an everything bagel, but I feel like it would be hard to go wrong with anything on the menu. They have seemingly every variety of bagel imaginable (whole wheat everything or pumpkin, anyone?), too.
Also, the value is excellent. Just remember to bring cash, since they don't accept credit or debit cards. -
Review from Taryn C.
9/11/2011 6 Check-ins Here
OMGGGGGGGGGGGG. I am forever ruined on bagels because of this place. Every place that suggests or even implies that they have "NY bagels" is a liar. This place is the real deal holy feel, and I can't even go back to the piddly places that are within walking distance to me since I came here.
First things first - their service rocks. They have a big clientele and they know it. There is usually a long line (when I got there, I was close to the door, but when I left the line was OUT of the door) but it moves very quickly.
Another thing that struck me was that there was a woman with, shall I say, "bad line etiquette." She had a stroller blocking the path to the register and the bagel counter. They STILL made it a point to direct us around her and to the register to pay. What a novel idea! GOOD AND PROACTIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE.
As far as the bagels what can I say? My gold standards are usually everything or onion. The everything bagel is very flavorful and I got scallion cream cheese. The bagel still warm from the oven, had gobs of cream cheese on it. Not stingy like other places. It's pricey (I think $3.80 for the whole thing) but it was so so sooooo worth it. I can't wait to try their bacon/cheddar cream cheese or blueberry!! I need to come here every day! -
Review from Joanna N.
Santa Ana, CA
10/6/2011 1 photo
LOVED IT!!!!
I'm a huge fan of bagels with LOADS of cream cheese!
There are lots of choices of cream cheese here!
And the cream cheese is very light, so you can stand to have it slathered on! =)
I had the scallion cream cheese on a plain bagel.
The hubs had strawberry cream cheese on a plain bagel.
$3.80/bagel w/ cream cheese, cash only. -
Review from Paskesz K.
New York, NY
12/14/2011
My kind of bagel store. Not a fancy interior, but a bit worn down, yet clean. Bagels are truly excellent; not too big, not too small, sized right. Has a slightly chewy consistency, as it should have. Friendly counter help.
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Review from Tiffany C.
Manhattan, NY
12/1/2011
Best bagels I have had in NYC!! I went on a Saturday morning and the line was down the block. My friend and I waited for about 20 mins for a bagel and boy was it worth it. I got an everything bagel with tomato cream cheese and it was great! They do put a lot of cream cheese so you could share the cream cheese with another bagel :) def take the trip to get a delightful bagel
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Review from Alex F.
Manhattan, NY
9/26/2011
Sometimes when I'm really tired and sleeping in, my girlfriend will walk down to 109th, pick up Absolute Bagels and bring it back without even telling me.
I live for these mornings.
The bacon cream cheese spread on an egg bagel makes for a very very good morning. -
Review from Sarah C.
11/12/2011
Between Absolute and Lenny's, the UWS is bagel heaven. FInally convinced the boy to take me here and wait in line for our breakfast in a NYC Marathon empathetic carbo-load. My bagel was perfect.
Listed in: UWS
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Review from Mark R.
Manhattan, NY
12/10/2011
Simply put: the best bagels in the city.
Thanks for making those minis...they offer a guilt-light option for getting your bagel fix! -
Review from Uncle K.
Key Largo, FL
Updated - 11/29/2011
Today I witnessed first hand the "Bagel Nazi" behavior described in some other reviews. While enjoying my bagel (they are still stellar) with a friend, a near brawl erupted when a patron, initially kindly, noted that he had asked for his bagel toasted. He was still at the counter, so it really shouldn't have been a big deal, but they refused to toast his bagel. It almost got out of hand! I am an untoasted guy anyway, but do remember they toasted mine by accident once. I didn't say anything, and now I'm glad I didn't, because I would have gone over the counter!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/31/2011
Superior bagels, 2 dozen or so spreads to choose from. Just extraordinary, go out of your way for… Read more »
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Review from nick l.
New York, NY
8/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
This is absolutely the place you need to go to in the UWS to get a hearty delicious bagel. Heck, I would even argue anywhere in NYC. Absolute B. serves bagels that not only tastes good with all the right textures, but also RETAINS the soft, chewy and flavor even after 2 days of purchasing.
Tip - Buy the bagels and cream cheese separately. Ask for the cream cheese in the little cup. It's actually cheaper.
