Where I grew up, we didn’t have Bruegger’s Bagels. So unlike many of my peers who grew up with a Bruegger’s on every other corner, when I came to the University, the restaurant was an entirely new concept to me. Tucked into a small storefront on North University, the chain is unassuming among the more exotic cultural findings Ann Arbor has to offer. Hiding behind Bruegger’s simple façade, however, lies the best selection of warm, dense, cream-cheese-laden bagels in Ann Arbor.
View the other winners of Best of Ann Arbor 2014Possibly the greatest joy of my childhood was the few times every year my babysitter would take me to Krispy Kreme. (Simple pleasures, I guess?) I was surprisingly indifferent to the donuts, but fascinated with looking through the glass windows at the perfect machinated conveyor belt spitting out donut after donut.
Walking into Bruegger’s for the first time you get the same visual experience; as you order your bagel from choices including the savory asiago parmesan, decadent chocolate chip and traditional everything, you can watch soon-to-be-bagel dough floating to the top of a giant metal bagel-maker — a magical collision of food and science.
Though simple, Bruegger’s supplies classically delicious New York style bagels with a nostalgic view of the way they are made. At just $3 a bagel, it’s hard to not appreciate this fast and functional meal.