Store: In all facets - store, bagel, and spread - the customer experience of PopUp bagels deviates from the 'Everything is Everything' grading rubric. But the experience is significant enough that it's a worthwhile exercise to try see where expectation meets innovation. The store is fairly squat, with perhaps 90% taken up by bagel production. The remaining 10% is a mash-up of customers either waiting to order or waiting to receive their order. The crowd was not large enough to utilize the rope line established outside, and as a result was likely extra chaotic. I entered the store and as I was asking around to see who had ordered already, two folks came in from behind and ordered before me. Waiting for one's order feels similarly ill at ease as people excuse each other to come and go, though the pumping house music overhead is a nod to the understanding that this is simply the situation given the space constraints. Bagels cannot be ordered in less than quantities of three. Instead of preparing the bagels for you, you are given a tub of spread and a knife to apply it. You can also choose the rip and dip method of consumption. The pricing is comically both too much for a single person and a great value for multiple people at $12 dollars for 3 bagels and ample cream cheese for each. In a bagel 'meta' that is going increasingly towards open-faced offerings (Courage Bagels, Apollo Bagels) that are counter to the grab-and-go culture of NYC, it's a fascinating counterpoint to see a style that is even further in the direction of takeout, deconstructing the sandwich experience and inviting a walk and talk communal experience with friends. Come with a small group and walk around Washington Square passing the schmear back and forth, or order ahead and bring the bagels to a friend's brunch. Just don't expect the bagel to be prepared for you. 3.75

Bagel: Served steaming hot just after noon time, a claim very few stores can make. On the smaller side, served in a brown paper bag. As a matter of personal preference, I do not like consuming bagels just purchased from a store in rip and dip fashion. For me, it's as satisfying as eating cereal from the box with your hand and drinking a cup of milk - something I've done on occasion, but lazily at home without paying for the pleasure. Given that store preparation is simply not an option in this case, expectations must be calibrated accordingly. Judging the experience on its merits, the comparison to the new style of bagel at Courage & Apollo (among several others) again feels apt. Popup features a much doughier, dense bagel than these other options, yet in a smaller package that is less likely to send you into a food coma. The topping coverage is double sided and all encompassing, to the point where it contributes a whole shell of texture on its own. It's possible with the hype being generated around both these philosophies that we're seeing two evolutionary tracks for bagels appear before our eyes. 4.5

Cream Cheese: Served in a branded tub at a good viscosity. An impossible amount to eat for one bagel and a bountiful amount for 3 bagels. The spread is bright and fresh, powerfully oniony and tangy. It straddles the line of dairy ripeness beautifully. It's calibrated so well that it even seems to match its function as a dip better than most spreads would. 4.5