Long Island City was always a dead zone for bagels. Clever Blend? Yeah, right. LIC Bagels and Deli? No, thanks. It wasn’t until last weekend when I thought I had discovered the oasis in the bagel wasteland of Queen’s western-most neighborhood: Bricktown Bagels & Cafe. Situated on the LIC waterfront and just a five minute trip from Grand Central, this exposed-brick bagel shop could easily draw upon the bustling tourist hordes of midtown Manhattan. But is it worth the trip? I had to find out.
Like most people, I arrived on a frigid February morning in my rollerblades. For those of you wondering, this place is rollerblader friendly (points for that).
Service
After ordering I noticed the service was quite slow. As usual, I don’t place a great emphasis on service. What matters most is one thing: bagel quality and quality to price ratio.
Quality
When my bagel arrived it was very warm with a generous portion of cream cheese melting off the side. These were the bagel’s big strengths in my opinion.
The texture of the bagel itself was correct. After taking a bite it had the right amount of crunch while still being slightly chewy and fluffy on the inside.
I’m going to be harsh here: it could have been better. The disappointing end to the bite was the severe lack of flavor. I ordered a cinnamon raisin bagel and it lacked that distinct kick you expect at the end of each bite. Fewer raisins than expected and an overall lack of cinnamon left a surprisingly bland taste in my mouth.
Price
The cozy atmosphere and fair price point (only $2.75 for bagel and cream cheese, about $0.75 less than manhattans main competitors) make up for it a bit, but in its current form I can’t describe this as top tier.
Recommendation
It’s the best bagel I’ve had in LIC, but the bar is low for that. It’s good in a pinch, but needs a more sophisticated flavor profile to truly win over this bagel boy.
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