Does this “New York-style deli” deserve the title?

The famous round bread with a crispy outside shell, fluffy warm inside, and hole in the middle, is an iconic New York staple. If you’ve ever had the privilege to eat a bagel from The Big Apple, you know there’s just no competition anywhere else. A true native knows how to order a perfect bagel filled with various cream cheeses and toppings to create an unforgettable breakfast experience.

Here’s how a typical Saturday morning works back on the East Coast: You walk into your local bagel shop with your order already in mind, as the fast-paced culture of New York requires. You approach an old-fashioned counter and the server behind it. Pen and pad in hand, he quickly greets you to prevent slowing the line down. You order your bacon, egg, and cheese on a toasted everything bagel with SPK (salt, pepper, ketchup, duh), without even having to ask for the complimentary pickle and potato chips. As the server scribbles away, you grab your choice of beverage, iced coffee or maybe a chocolate milk. He then rips off his barely legible note and hands it to you. You head to the cashier, who somehow manages to read and enter your order, you pay and get out of the way. Your order is called no more than eight minutes later, even in the busiest of hours. You grab the brown bag, a handful of napkins, and find a spot to enjoy your perfect breakfast sandwich. So what happens when a Jersey girl enters the Midwest and dares to try a bagel? Well here’s how it went for me:

I woke up on a Saturday morning craving the experience of heading to my local hometown bagel store. I decided to go to Gotham Bagels, what Madison calls their “New York-style deli.” I went to the store with my friend and was immediately overwhelmed by the crowd waiting for their food. Instead of ordering at an old-fashioned counter, I typed in my order on a kiosk, swiping through the different cream cheese options on the screen. When I finished crafting my bagel, I swiped my credit card right there. We then scouted out an empty seat in the overflowing store. After about ten minutes, we began to notice no one had received their orders yet. Chatting away, the time just kept growing. After about forty-five minutes, my name was finally called. I opened my bag and unwrapped the toasted everything bagel with veggie cream cheese. I took a bite and was pleasantly surprised. “Not bad” I thought. The crispy outside and toasted warm inside certainly met my very high expectations. The cream cheese-to-bagel ratio definitely did not compare to that of an East Coast bagel shop and could use some reworking. No New Yorker would have accepted the small amount of shmear that this bagel was topped with, but it was not as bad as I had expected. I finished my bagel and was mildly content, though I wished I had a pickle or potato chips to finish off the job. Sitting there, multiple customers had asked, “How long did you wait for your order?” To which my half-satisfied belly responded, “Too long, you should probably just go to Starbucks.”

Needless to say, my Gotham Bagels experience was simply okay. Sure, the bagel was tasty, but the overall ambiance of the store did not satisfy. Nothing beats the hustle and bustle of a New York bagel shop, where your order is always perfect and timely. With my experience, Gotham Bagels does not deserve to call their shop a “New York-style deli.” Moving to the Midwest for college, I understand my privilege to have grown up in an area with an outstanding volume and history of bagels, where the service is consistent and the quality is flawless. I think the next time I’m craving a little taste of home, I’m going to have to mobile order ahead of time.