Sunday, March 13, 2011
The long and winding dough road leads to Sam's.
It was a contest fraught with various tastes, between corporate and independent bakers, and lots of extra calories for a certain writer. When the smoke (flour) cleared, one local bagel emerged as champion. Ladies and gentlemen, the 2011 Caldwells Patch Best Bagel of the Caldwells crown belongs to ... Sam's. Looking back, you may have had an inkling about the final choice, or maybe not. Until the 11th hour before press time, it truly was a toss up. In Contrast: The Super-Close Runner Up, Bagelwich Second place Bagelwich certainly makes a great bagel that goes the distance. They too have a big following, and have previously won awards for their bagel product. In fact, in this contest, Bagelwich actually took Sam's in one category: size. …
40.849844
-74.294325
Sam's Bagel & Deli
757 Bloomfield Ave, West Caldwell, NJ
/articles/2011-bagel-battle-we-have-a-winner
50044
/locations/3666341
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Some observations before the winner is revealed next week.
Readers, it's been a bagel battle for the ages. The official 2011 Best Bagels of The Caldwells event has been a taste test with clear, marked distinctions between entries (and yet a virtual dead heat in who will emerge the winner), but also some interesting corollaries. Before we crown a winner next time, let's look at some. In The Dough: Observations 1) The bagel business in the Caldwells has expanded – in two opposite directions. That's right – it all started with Bagel Inn, but now bagels are out, and about, in no less than 9 major places where bagels are sold "fresh," every day. Four are mom and pop businesses, one is a chain where the bagel is touted as a main product, and the rest market them in a "thrust business" fashion. In …
40.849844
-74.294325
Sam's Bagel & Deli
757 Bloomfield Ave, West Caldwell, NJ
/articles/bagel-battle-how-things-stack-up
50044
/locations/3591673
40.848198
-74.29106
673 Bloomfield Ave, West Caldwell, NJ
/articles/bagel-battle-how-things-stack-up
/locations/3591674
Sunday, February 27, 2011
The search for the area's best bagels continues...
Okay Patch readers, the Caldwells bagel battle rages on for one last week — this time with another corporate faceoff, between West Caldwell's Panera Bread and Manhattan Bagel. Panera Bread, of course, is an overall eatery, with an eat-in, hang-out vibe where Sally-The-Retired-Crossing Guard might meet Hilda-The-Former-Receptionist for lunch — surrounded by a group of Caldwell Chiefs kids. Panera Bread is sort of a baked goods Mecca. Never mind that salad, soup, and sandwich line. But above it all, on the back wall, are the bagels, placed in baskets. Panera Bread offers bagel flavors that might make an old-school bagel fan wince, or even laugh. The vanguard asiago cheese is present, along with the "signature" chocolate chip and the "new" …
40.850406
-74.295856
Panera Bread
804 Bloomfield Ave, West Caldwell, NJ
/articles/best-bagels-of-the-caldwells-2
49676
/locations/3601562
40.849919
-74.294529
764 Bloomfield Ave, West Caldwell, NJ
Manhattan Bagels
/articles/best-bagels-of-the-caldwells-2
/locations/3601563
Sunday, February 20, 2011
The latest stop in the Best Bagels of the Caldwells contest.
It's time to evaluate Sam's in West Caldwell, a place that actually has quite the good reputation. When mentioning the place, many folks exclaim, "Oh, they're the best!" and so on. The store definitely comes off as though it means business. Situated in half of the old Bonanza restaurant (if you get the reference, give yourself a gold star), at the tail end of the strip mall across the street from Panera on Bloomfield Avenue, it's practically a movie set version of a bagel shop. And it's in Broadway Square. Sam's Setup The walls are lined with deli cases, beverage fridges, a coffee bar, and a counter – with Boar's Head deli products in it (ever think about that name?). Right down the middle is where you queue, with the line ending toward …
40.849844
-74.294325
757 Bloomfield Ave, West Caldwell, NJ
/articles/sams-goes-under-the-microscope
/locations/3452710
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Bagel Contest stop No. 4.
Welcome back to the bagel battle ... let's get ready to rumble! This week, we are going to have two coffee giants square off in a bagel cage match: Starbucks verses Dunkin' Donuts. These two international companies have been fighting one another for quite some time, even by trying to be one another at times. Example: Starbucks offers some more goodies than they have in the past, and budget-priced quick-brew java, and Dunkin' Donuts added lattes (in fancier cups) to their beverage lineup, seemingly much to the chagrin of their workers. I know that Starbucks is outnumbered 2 to 1 in the Caldwells, but in the spirit of professional wrestling, let's pretend that Starbucks has a foreign object in their trunks to balance things out. Bagel Bias …
40.837271
-74.272818
Dunkin Donuts
226 Bloomfield Ave, Caldwell, NJ
/articles/cage-match-dunkin-donuts-vs-starbucks
49674
/locations/3402604
40.851284
-74.295434
584 Passaic Ave, West Caldwell, NJ
/articles/cage-match-dunkin-donuts-vs-starbucks
/locations/3402605
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Stop No. 3 in the Best Bagels of the Caldwells contest: Bagelwich.
Welcome back to a battle bigger than the Super Bowl: The Best Bagels in the Caldwells! This time, we're visiting a location that chronologically housed the second bagel-based business ever in the area, Bagels 4 U, which opened in 1991. (Did Prince name it?) As a delivery guy at the nearby Aponte's Pizzeria at the time, this writer enjoyed many a chocolate chip bagel from the place, which in hindsight were sometimes more chocolate than bagel. Today's occupying bagel business is really Bagelwich, Part 2. The original is on Bloomfield Avenue in Verona, with this sister location popping up sometime in the mid-2000s. Even if you have never been to either store, you may have had its food – in the recent past Bagelwich has run the food …
40.848198
-74.29106
673 Bloomfield Ave, West Caldwell, NJ
/articles/a-battle-bigger-than-the-super-bowl-continues
/locations/3303736
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Second stop in Best Bagels of the Caldwells Contest.
Caldwell's Bagel Loft is the first store of its kind uptown in decades. Situated in the newly rehabbed strip of stores between Park and Smull avenues, Bagel Loft has a cool, earthy vibe. Soothing, pale avocado green walls frame the wood tables and floors. Even the artsy menus hung over the work area reflect the theme. In spite of its stylish, planned-out decor, Bagel Loft (it's actually one word, "Bageloft," in a cool logo on the storefront) has had no less than three floor plans in its customer area, mostly involving counters and refrigerators. There’s also a Winston Churchill quote painted on a wall: "I am easily satisfied with the very best." Another fixture (probably on the weekends) at Bagel Loft is a cute little girl who bears a …
40.840555
-74.277392
BageLoft
359 Bloomfield Ave, Caldwell, NJ
/articles/best-bagels-of-the-caldwells
50357
/locations/3210207
Sunday, January 23, 2011
West Caldwell bakery offers much more than fresh bagels.
Anyone who's lived in the Caldwells for awhile will be familiar with Lou's, or more specifically, its location. Situated in the Essex Mall, the place sits on hallowed ground. It's where the venerable Bagel Inn was located in the '70s and '80s, decades before Sam's made its first bialy. What's more, throughout ownership changes the store has remained in the business of bagels. Historians better (well, older) than this writer might know for sure, but Bagel Inn was also the first – and only for quite some time – bagel maker in the area. The Look of Lou's Inside, not too much has changed layout wise. There's a wall now in the back obscuring the bagel-making area. Years ago, customers could basically watch the whole process. There's a grill …
40.851761
-74.299823
897 Bloomfield Ave, West Caldwell, NJ
/articles/bagel-mania-begins-at-lous
/locations/3142160
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Announcing the 2011 Best Bagel of the Caldwells contest.
A definition of a bagel: a hunk of round boiled and baked bread that is one of our morning musts. There's a lot of ritual attached to them; during the week, for many time-constricted folks they are half of the one-two punch (the other: coffee) of ingestion they inflict upon themselves to get going. On weekends, dads take the kids along on a lazy drive through town to get a bag and belly full. And like java, if we don't get them the exact way we want them, look out. In the coming weeks, the Caldwells Patch is going to visit every bagel business in the area, and see who comes out on top. Included will be additional information about the stores themselves, the varieties offered, stuff they put inside them, and other (hopefully) fun and …
40.850406
-74.295856
Panera Bread
804 Bloomfield Ave, West Caldwell, NJ
/articles/were-looking-for-a-few-good-bagels
49676
/locations/3142161
40.849844
-74.294325
Sam's Bagel & Deli
757 Bloomfield Ave, West Caldwell, NJ
/articles/were-looking-for-a-few-good-bagels
50044
/locations/3142162
40.851761
-74.299823
897 Bloomfield Ave, West Caldwell, NJ
/articles/were-looking-for-a-few-good-bagels
/locations/3142163
40.849926
-74.294519
Manhattan Bagel
764 Bloomfield Ave, West Caldwell, NJ
/articles/were-looking-for-a-few-good-bagels
49396
/locations/3142164
40.84046
-74.27717
359 Bloomfield Ave, Caldwell, NJ
/articles/were-looking-for-a-few-good-bagels
/locations/3142165
40.848198
-74.29106
673 Bloomfield Ave, West Caldwell, NJ
/articles/were-looking-for-a-few-good-bagels
/locations/3142166
40.837271
-74.272818
Dunkin Donuts
226 Bloomfield Ave, Caldwell, NJ
/articles/were-looking-for-a-few-good-bagels
49674
/locations/3142167
40.851284
-74.295434
584 Passaic Ave, West Caldwell, NJ
/articles/were-looking-for-a-few-good-bagels
/locations/3142168
Thursday, January 6, 2011
D'Lites offers flavorful, healthy treats.
Everyone's New Year's resolutions almost always include losing weight, which can mean giving up ice cream. Yes, the beloved frozen concoction of our childhoods and edible companion of our TV-watching adulthoods ends up on the chopping block – at least until February. Just in time to fit in with your self promises to get fit, comes D'Lites in West Caldwell. Owned and operated by Robin Garman of North Caldwell, the new store serves a unique brand of low-fat ice cream that claims to reduce the amounts of things you don't need in excess like sodium, sugar and cholesterol. Some varieties and cones are gluten-free. What's left is simply good soft-serve ice cream that excites your taste buds, and won't expand your mid-section. And those with …
40.849386
-74.297371
D'Lites
554 Passaic Ave, West Caldwell, NJ
/articles/an-ice-cream-dream-come-true
1835949
/locations/2963318
Jeanne Thiemann
5:01 pm on Sunday, March 13, 2011
Given the number of pizza places in town, perhaps that would be a good competition! more ›