Store: Highly polished interior, white tiled walls with menu written in thick black lines. Black Eyed Peas on the radio for some reason. Great display of lox and cream cheese with pre-packaged offerings as well. Very limited pastry selection but what's there looked good. The broad bialy selection more than compensates. What's not accounted for is the lack of drink selection and slow service. 4

Bagel: Medium-large bagel. Toppings on both sides, with excellent topping density and salt ratio. A textbook "rewarding chew," gripping and ripping each bite. The fight possibly made tougher by the advanced hour. Great browned shell adding crunch along the way. All the self-styled appetizing bagels store seem to follow a similar, tough-chew bagel philosophy. This belongs in the higher tier of that class. 4.25

Cream Cheese: Served deli case cool. A good amount, though a little messy on packing. Wonderfully fresh and smooth flavor. Scallion only reveals itself in the bite journey when appropriate. 4.25