Confession #5: Bagels, Sanitation Workers and A Bloody Lip

I’m fairly certain that most people know how famous NYC is for its bagels.  They say it’s the water.  Whatever it is, we deserve to be known for them.  NYC bagels have the ability to blow your mind, if you get ‘em from the right place.  In Astoria, we have the Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company.  They have 3 locations in Astoria, 1 in Chelsea and ZERO in Brooklyn from what I can tell.  They just won the AOL City’s award for best bagel in NYC.  Residents of the UWS may feel this a heresy against H&H but don’t jump to that conclusion too quickly.  A comparison of the almighty everything bagel that I took upon myself over the past few months reveals the Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Co. as the runaway winner.  I didn’t count specifically but the last H&H everything bagel I ate had about 80 kinda yummy bits to the approx. 500 extremely yummy bits on the Brooklyn everything bagel.  H&H bagels now cost about $10 each so it’s just another reason for me to buy local.

I have a love/hate relationship with our closest Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Co. spot that dates back to this past summer.  I love it because it is somewhere nearby I can take Arden to.  Our first outing for bagels occurred in July when I called them at 6:01am to see if they were open yet.  I prayed that someone would pick up because my 1 year old was already driving me bananas!  It’s not even her fault.  She needed a change of scenery and I needed a red eye.

We went out into the already oppressive heat to get our breakfast. As soon as we began to dig into our food, the bagel shop became overrun with NYC sanitation department workers. I mean there were about 12 guys in there and me and Arden. They were all amazed at how much she was eating. They were also kind not to point out what a ridiculous mess she was making. It's hard to explain but at that point in time she got as much food on herself and the floor as she put into her mouth. The cute ringleader said Arden's eyes looked like, "Hey, who's that actress with those beautiful blue eyes, you know,... Annette Bening.  Yea. Her eyes look just like Annette Bening's. Well, she gets 'em from her mom". I'm pretty sure my cheeks were on fire from blushing so hard and I don't think the sanitation department carries hoses to extinguish that sort of thing.  I then realize that it's time for me to get going to work.  The only problem is that in my harried state of mind when leaving the house, I'd put on only a rather short yellow dress. So, I try to maintain my cool as I attempt to clean up Arden's mess without pulling a semi-Britney.

Last week we had another experience entirely at the BBCC. It began with the clerk calling me "baby".  I can assure you he was not referring to Arden. I was pissed. All I want is a bagel. Can I please just buy a bagel without a sexual reference? Maybe I should just be flattered that someone finds me attractive in head-to-toe snow gear with a baby strapped to my body. I don't know.

We sit down at a table and Arden strikes up a conversation with some very friendly people originally from Croatia and Montenegro. They are being so sweet to her, engaging her and complimenting her. Our bagels taste great. The XM coffee house radio station is playing some nice acoustic tunes. It's shaping up to be a lovely little outing after all when, "Achoo-BAM" Arden sneezes while reaching for a minuscule crumb and slams her face down onto the way-too-nice-quality-for-a-bagel-shop marble table. The whole place becomes silent as she lifts her head up and cries only a tiny bit. She's a toughy. She'd given herself a bloody lower lip and I felt like a terrible Momma. I know I can't prevent her from getting hurt but situations like that are the worst. Luckily, nothing can come between her and food so she happily took another sip of juice and seemed no worse for wear.

Self portrait from the bagel shop prior to bloody lip.

The sun also rises - Astoria, Queens