My journey with Lynlee to The Bagel Beanery was certainly an interesting one.

First of all, it wasn’t our destination.

We had braved the freeway with the intent of having lunch at Palio GR. But when we arrived, Palio GR had been closed for the afternoon for a special event. We walked back to my car and spent the next ten minutes debating where we could go for lunch. After picking at least five places and then realizing they too were closed, we settled on The Bagel Beanery.

A little shop on a corner just off the highway, The Bagel Beanery honestly doesn’t look like much from the outside. But it turned out to simply be another example of how much you can miss out on if you judge something based on a first impression.

Walking through the doors of The Bagel Beanery is like stepping into the TV show Friends. You’re met with the tantalizing aroma of baked bread, still warm from the oven, and freshly brewed coffee. Blackboards hanging behind the counter hold an array of choices. But the one that most caught my eye was the namesake of the cafe, the bagel board. There was the typical, “Panera Bread” choices: plain, cinnamon crunch, etc. The real draw, though, was in the Specialty Bagels: Black Bean, Wild Berry, Salt, Cheddar Herb, and my choice, Apple Crunch, to name a few. To match their wide variety of bagels was a wide variety of cream cheese choices. It was like a mix and match heaven. You could go every day for a long while and never have the same combination twice.

Although it took us a while to make our choices, we were still left waiting to order for quite some time. But, having worked in a customer service setting before, I understand that sometimes that just happens. So in no way did I let that take away from how much I enjoyed lunch at The Bagel Beanery.

Once served, Lynlee and I walked further into the cafe and were delighted at what we saw. Cute wooden booths, bright and lively decorations, and lots of windows pouring natural sunlight into the room. It really did look like the cafe from Friends. We settled into a booth and basked in the sun, or at least I did, while we dug into the food.

The look on Lynlee’s face after she took her first bite was priceless. A look which was soon mirrored on my face. The bagels, which we had gotten toasted, had just the right amount of crunch. The cream cheese just a little melty from being put on while the bagels were still warm. We quickly devoured the food, taking breaths only to praise how amazing it tasted.

To try a larger range of things, I had ordered a small bowl of mac and cheese on the side but found myself too full to finish it after eating my bagel. Lynlee added a giant brownie to her order, but she was also pretty full after our bagels. You’ll have to ask her if it was any good or not.

Between the mouth-watering food and inviting atmosphere, it was a great place for a quiet lunch. And is definitely a place I’ll be visiting again. So maybe The Bagel Beanery wasn’t our original destination for the day, but I’d say we ended up in just the right place.