Bagel Review: Terrace Bagels, Inc.

Terrace Bagels, Inc.
224 Prospect Park West
Brooklyn, NY
/ 5 Bagels

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One and a half blocks due south of the southwest corner to Prospect Park, in the quaint, but lively community of Windsor Terrace, mouth-wateringly delicious bagels can be found aplenty at Terrace Bagels, Inc.. As this was my first time in the Windsor Terrace area, I decided to walk around for a few blocks to see what local competition this highly-recommended bagel had. Connecticut Muffin Co. was the only brunchery (you know what I mean) as close to as busy as Terrace Bagels. When I was walking home through the park, I noticed that a lot of people had Connecticut Muffin Co. take-out coffee cups. Perhaps they have some good joe. I'll have to go back and check them out. Anyway, no real competition nearby.

Terrace Bagels is split in two—a sit-down café on the left and take-out, the right. To be fair to the other establishments that I've already rated, I needed to choose carry-out. Plus, it was an unseasonably-warm and beautiful day and Prospect Park was so close by. Refrigerated display cases lined the left side of this shop which were chock full of salads, cheeses, meats, and other sides. On the far wall, many Jewish-bakery-style sweets filled the plexiglass display case. And just to the right of these sweets, the counter/cash register. Stroller-in-the-park dads, Sunday-morning-brunch-preppers, and Patagonia-wearing-Brooklyn-yuppies were all standing in line ahead of me around 10:30 on that Sunday morning. Not too crowded, but definitely not an in-and-out line.

With quite a selection of bagels to choose from, I opted for the standard—poppy with cream cheese. Now this was a big bagel. Almost the size of a What's a Bagel bagel. I added the usual shmear and got a cup of really good coffee for less than $3. While waiting in line, I also noticed some good-looking rugelachs in the display case. I asked for one and the man gave it to me for free. I assumed that this was either a) SOP (standard operating procedure), b) a choice not to weigh a single rugelach on the scale, or c) just a whim on this beautiful morning. The rugelach was small, but very flavorful.

The bagel's hard, poppy-encrusted shell encased a soft, warm, and rich doughy (though cooked) interior. Somehow, the cream cheese on this bagel did not melt, despite the bagel's overall warmth. I conjecture—here comes bagel physicist Alton Brown—that the small and large air holes in the dough allowed heat to escape and (somehow) not melt the shmearing. Let's just say someone with a thermomolecular understanding beyond my eleventh grade physics education could do a better job. Regardless of the explanation, the bagel and shmear were truly delicious.

Grade: A-
The bagel and coffee, together, were top notch. The price for the pairing, though, was just top. Granted the coffee has been the best at the places I've reviewed, I'm still not ready for a $3 shmear deal. (Call me Midwestern, or Ishmael). Oh, and to get to Windsor Terrace requires a little more public transportation know-how (especially on the weekend) than some of the other places I've been, so far. I will return though, and perhaps, eat in.