House of Bagels

… and Peet’s® Coffee


















House of Bagels, located in the Outer Richmond along Geary Boulevard, is a nice local bagelery (which is not a real word, but it gets its point across). They have been making "NY-Style Bagels" (that is where the bagels are made in the "Old World/Brooklyn" tradition; and with the attitude that if you don’t like it, "Fuggedaboudit!") since 1962 in San Francisco. They not only offer 20 different types of bagels, but many other fresh-baked NY Deli goods: everything from Challahs to Rugalahs to Hamentashen*; as well as (for you "Seinfeld" fans) Marble Ryes, and Black and White Cookies; but, sadly, neither Chocolate nor Cinnamon Babkas…

http://www.houseofbagels.com/

If any of you are wondering (as I was), the House of Bagels is not actually made out of bagels (I checked, and I will be writing a nasty e-mail to the owners as they will be paying my dental bill), as that would be foolish during the rainy season, and all of the local seagulls** would have literally eaten them out of "house and home" by now, too.

I went with a Cranberry bagel with butter AND cream cheese (plain ol’ cream cheese, as garlic or onion shmears would just be too weird on this bagel, nu?!) ~ it’s a little messier, but I am not preparing it, so what do I care; and an Odwalla® orange juice.

I had already bought my coffee at the Peet's® Coffee (since 1966) down the street. Ethiopian Fancy blend ~ nice robust flavour. They have good coffee at the House of Bagels, but I look at it this way, I don’t buy my bagels at Peet's®, so I don’t buy my coffee at bagel shops.

http://www.peets.com/

While doing my laundry at the laundromat ("What's wrong with this picture?… Wash day, right?!") next to the Peet's®, I enjoyed a little early Sunday morning sax: Boots Randolph*** and some Branford Marsalis (I am still in the "B's" on my iPod).

I had to pick up a few things at the Walgreens® across the street while doing my laundry and found this to be very odd addition: they now have many everyday (and inexpensive) items under lock and key. Since when did toothbrushes (or is the plural "teethbrushes"?), disposable razors, and deodorant become such hot ticket items on the Black Market? (Sheesh! When I was a kid we were just happy to settle for shoplifting candy bars and Playboy magazines).


Glen Bacon Scale Rating: Bagel ~ 7.0; Ethiopian Fancy ~ 6.9; Locked-up Sundries ~ 3.0


*(On their website they have the singular as "hamentash". I am neither fluent in Yiddish nor German; however, I think linguistically, as the plural is hamentashen, that the singular should be hamentashe. At least from what little German I know: "Ich glaube, Ihre Ente hat die Tollwut!" ~ "Thanks, Lowell!"; and from the best source of Yiddish I own: "The Joys of Yiddish", by Leo Rosten. But what the heck do I know: "Ich hatte meine Deutsch gelernt, in den Kneipen.")

**(Well, technically, as these aquatic birds are from the San Francisco Bay Area, they are know as "bay-gulls".)

***("Hi, Greg!" Is it just me, or does anyone else automatically think of Benny Hill lustily chasing after buxom women when listening to Boots Randolph?)