Hi Friends! I hope everyone has had a good week. Considering the fact that I am actively writing this blog from the Boltwood Inn after having just inhaled a delicious brunch from Coronation Cafe (yogurt parfait and a homemade soft pretzel of course), it felt fitting to update my brunch review series. For those of you who may not remember (or who are joining for the first time!), my friend Dakota and I have a tradition of meeting up every Friday for brunch, and we pride ourselves on trying every spot possible. For this week’s reviews, I decided to do a bagel competition. As a native New Yorker, I am admittedly a bit of a bagel snob, but here are the three bagel places I’ve tried and my thoughts on them!
Tandem Bagel
If you’re an Amherst student in need of a bagel, Tandem is probably the first place you’d look. The Tandem bagels in Val Dining Hall on the weekends are always a hit, and making a banana, peanut butter, honey bagel in Val has single handedly revived me on so many Sunday mornings. But, for the sake of this brunch series, I’ll focus on my experience ordering from Tandem Bagel itself. One of my favorite things about Tandem Bagel is its variety. I mean, they have SO many kinds of bagels. Though I have yet to try a ton of their flavors, some personal favorites have been their french toast bagel, the pumpkin bagel, the parmesan bagel, and of course the plain bagel. They also have a great variety of toppings to make a bagel sandwich and bunch of fun seasonal cream cheese flavors; I have a very distinct memory of driving back to New York for winter break with my mom as I ate a french toast bagel with pumpkin cream cheese, feeling like the bagel was single handedly healing me from midterm stress. Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic, but Tandem really does have so many fun bagel and topping combinations to try. That being said, I’ve found that the service can sometimes be a bit slow, the drinks can be a little inconsistent, and my bagels aren’t always heated up all the way. However, I’m still a fan of Tandem overall, so I’ll give them an 8.5/10.
Bruegger’s Bagels
Let’s say you’re walking through the town of Amherst, and suddenly, out of nowhere, you get a bagel craving. If you want a quick and easy bagel fix without having to drive 10 minutes, then Bruegger’s Bagels is your place. I won’t lie, Bruegger’s is not my favorite. The inside of the store is quite dark and sparse (but not in a fun dark academia cozy cafe kind of way), the drink options are very limited, and their bagels are pretty average. However, they do still have a decent number of bagel options (their blueberry bagel is quite yummy and though I’ve never tried it, the gourmet cheese hash brown bagel looks very intriguing), and have coffee and bagels for catering purposes. The one time I went to Bruegger’s I got a plain bagel with avocado, and while it wasn’t the best brunch I’ve had in town, I definitely wasn’t complaining. And, when I had their blueberry bagel with honey walnut cream cheese during my Tour Guide training, it was very yummy! Overall, I think I’d give Bruegger’s Bagels a 6.5/10, but in their defense, the breakfast spot is up against some pretty steep competition.
Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters
My roommate and I (hi Sophie!) have a little whiteboard hanging from our dorm room door where we write weekly prompts for our neighbors to answer. A few months ago, we asked whether any of our neighbors had any restaurant recommendations in the area. While we got a bunch of great responses (someone wrote “ROYAL CHICKEN” in massive letters that took up 60% of the board), our lovely neighbors on the women’s lacrosse team suggested Shelburne Falls. So naturally, Dakota and I had to try it out. First of all, the cafe itself is adorable. It’s not in downtown Amherst, but tucked in the main strip of Hadley, about midway between Amherst College and Tandem Bagel (I measure distance based on proximity to other brunch spots), and definitely worth the short drive. Technically I think the real focus of this cafe is their pastries and drinks, but they also have a really really delicious selection of bagel sandwiches. Personally, I’ve tried their “Shelburne Falls” sandwich, which is egg, prosciutto, brie, tomato, and pesto, and is SO good. I’ve also tried some of their seasonal drinks (including a pumpkin spice cold brew that I still think about), and when I brought my roommate back some banana bread, she said it was very very yummy. Genuinely, my only complaints about Shelburne are that the service can sometimes be a bit slow (but the people are always very friendly), and once when I ordered their “vanilla sage” latte I think they forgot to add the vanilla. But anyway! Considering the fact that they have so many pastry and drink options, and the fact that I actually think I like their bagel sandwiches more than Tandem (gasp!), I’ll give Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters a 9/10.
Well, that concludes the bagel portion of my brunch series! If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go find a bagel now. As always, if you have any questions at all about Amherst College, feel free to email me at eknauer27@amherst.edu. Bye for now!