Sunday, October 16, 2011

Mt. Olympus Bagels

Mention bagels to anyone in Astoria, and you will most likely hear the name Brooklyn Bagel getting tossed around.  With three locations in my neighborhood (and none in Brooklyn), Brooklyn Bagel is the popular choice for many Astorians looking for their fix.  I, however, prefer a far less hyped up joint, by the name of Mt. Olympus Bagels. While not as fancy and chic as Brooklyn Bagel, Mt. Olympus delivers fresh, delicious, and very reasonably priced bagels and coffee, which is all I really need from a bagel shop. So they don’t offer WiFi? It’s okay in my book.

What makes Mt. Olympus Bagels so delicious is the texture of their bagels. Soft and chewy on the inside, yet delicately firm on the outside, the bagels are always fresh. They are not overly huge, meaning, your bagel filling does not get lost in the pillows of dough. Being a huge fan of everything bagels, I feel Mt. Olympus has perfected the art of applying the seeds/seasonings to each side of the bagel without drowning it. You can taste the sea salt, and poppy seeds, and sesame seeds, and onion, without feeling engulfed in them.  In addition to the fine bagels (so fine, the gods of Olympus named this bagel place themselves), you can enjoy rapidly fast service, no matter how crowded, and a copy of a Greek newspaper, if you feel so inclined. All for a very affordable price.

Mt. Olympus from the outside
Mt. Olympus from the inside
My two usuals at Mt. Olympus are their ham-egg-cheese on an everything bagel, and their everything bagel with vegetable cream cheese.  Both have never disappointed me. Their ham-egg-cheese pairs deliciously with the flavors of the everything bagel, and their vegetable cream cheese is equally tasty. They are also generous with their spreads, which I enjoy.

ham-egg-cheese on an everything bagel
I wasn’t impressed upon first seeing Mt. Olympus on my initial visit. The place is a hole in the wall from the outside, and the inside is nothing special. However, once I tasted the bagels, I knew this was not your average bagel shop. Thank you, MB, for introducing me to this place that I might never have given a chance.

3 comments:

  1. Ah, the breakfast sandwich. A deliciously indulgent way to start your day. Perfect on weekends, necessary for hangovers; this is a meal that is cheap, easy to get(or make), and even easier to eat. Since the advent of the breakfast sandwich(circa 1972), breakfast again regained control of its being the most important meal of the day. Predicting the imminent technological shift to all things mobile, the breakfast sandwich was specifically designed for the person on the go. The breakfast sandwich is also highly customizable. You have the meats: Ham, Bacon, Canadian Bacon, Sausage. You have the bread: Bagel, Roll, Hero, English Muffin, CROISSANT!? not for me, but if that's what you like, sure! Toast? No, get the fuck out of here toast. There is no place for toast in a breakfast sandwich. Cheese: American. That's your only option. Listen, if you get cheddar on a breakfast sandwich then you are either legitimately insane or just plain stupid and I no longer want to know you. Anywho, I really want a ham egg and cheese on an everything bagel now from looking at that pic. Mt. Olympus, I shall climb ye soon!

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  2. I agree. American cheese in all of its processed glory! When I lived in Barcelona, I missed bagels SO much. They were hard to come by (as were things like pancakes, maple syrup and other fatty American favs). Then one day I found a place that did bagels. Now they did not do eggs on a bagel mind you, but you could get a bagel sandwich with liek chicken salad or jamon or something. I drove an hour into the city one morning, salivating, waiting to get my fix. Alas, when I arrived, it was closed. A bagel shop. Closed on Sundays.

    Mount Olympus, here I come!

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  3. Soooooo when is someone going to bring me one of those tasty looking breakfast sandwiches?!?

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