You're too old to lose it
Too young to choose it
And the clock waits
so patiently on your song
You walk past the cafe
but you don't eat when
you've lived too long
Another Tuesday... another Taste. Huh.
[SCENE MISSING]
This week we're still looking at more breakfasty type foods by checking out a very well regarded bagel mini-empire here in Toronto. Get ready to fan the flames, it's time to leave the frying pan and check out Bagels on Fire. (Not to be confused with Scarborough's own Pizza On Fire...or the famous Alicia Keys song...)
While they currently now have three locations in the city (one inside the shiny food court of The Well and the other on Queen Street West) the origin of Bagels On Fire actually begins down here in my little stretch of town, The Beaches. Founded in 2013 (a year before I moved down here), husband and wife owners Julio and Hazel Penullar first worked together in The Bagel House... gradually saving up money over years until the right opportunity came to open up a bagel shop of their very own.
With that aforementioned expansion, it's safe to say the Penullar's little bagel outpost has been a firey success (sorry). One crucial element that makes Bagels On Fire significantly different than your typical supermarket fare is how they specialize in the Montreal style bagel. What exactly is or makes a Montreal style bagel, you may be asking? I'm glad you maybe asked! Having just researched this myself, the key to a Montreal bagel is in the preparation: fresh dough that is hand rolled then boiled in honey water before baked in a wood burning oven. This article gives slightly more information.
I recall going to the famous original location of St. Vitaeur in the Mile End area of Montreal (along with similarly renowned Fairmount Bagel just a few doors down, this is definitely the famous block for such bagels) many years ago and just seeing dozens upon dozens of bagels strung up everywhere in that tiny space... the smell of fire and sweet dough thick within the air. Quite a sensory delight.
I'll discuss those distinct flavour and texture attributes later as we dive into the food itself. For now, it was a very sunny morning, the streets were still infested with excessive amounts of snow and I could not get back to sleep. Why not go walk for eighty seconds and get some breakfast? Yes indeed... I've written well over a hundred food reviews at this point, with maybe another hundred in my future (who knows)... and I guarantee no other review I may ever write in my entire life will require less travel to get to. The stop for the streetcar is farther away, fer cryin out loud.
The inside of the Beaches Bagels on Fire has very limited sitting, with most of the space dedicated to the ordering counter and a considerable amount of supplies in the back. There are a few small tables and chairs inside, with even an adorable little patio outside by the window (you can see it in the photo)... maybe not the ideal spot to eat a freshly baked bagel when the snowbanks beside you are swallowing parked cars, but adorable none the less.
I've been on an obsessive breakfast sandwich kick lately (to be continued) and so went for the Bagels On Fire version of those on a poppy seed bagel, along with an everything bagel (considered one of their best sellers) with a chive cream cheese.
All in (tax and tip) it registered at around fourteen bucks... which isn't all that bad. Sure, if you went to Tim Horton's this would easily be under ten dollars... but as my reviews have hopefully established... Tim Horton's food sucks (they've been in a gradual downward death spiral, as it were). Besides, these here are Montreal style bagels! Right? Well, lets finally dive into that.
The breakfast sandwich is probably the better one wherein the qualities of the bagel itself are more present: cream cheese tends to dominate the palette and especially on an everything bagel... there's a quite an dual overwhelming factor on there despite such a simple item.
My first thought on my first bite was how odd the texture of these bagels were (it'd been maybe fifteen years since I had a Montreal style one). There's a good baked exterior but then within... a gummy chewiness that initially threw me off. It's not a dry chewiness, more like a very soft yet condensed bread.
Being just not being used to this kind of baked good, it took a few bites for me to start getting into it... which I very much did. It's the perfect baked crunch of the outside that makes it work: wood fire gives such a distinct texture and flame-licked flavour (it's true for pizzas as well) and both these bagels were baked to just the precise point of keeping the crunch/soft balance.
Flavour-wise... I didn't know until afterwards about the honey water boiling aspect of Montreal bagels, as while eating this I did detect a subtle syrupy sweetness within the dough that I just couldn't place my finger (or tongue) on. Never an overpowering or sugary kind of sweet... just a little touch within the softer parts of the bagel that add a nice gentle extra flavour.
As for the breakfast portion of the equation... it's fairly straightforward as far as breakfast sandwiches go. Slab of fried eggs cooked somewhere between over medium and over hard, little bit of sliced ham (could've chosen bacon instead but... meh) and some cheddar cheese. There's very good balance between these three fillings... none of the three really dominate at any time and you get a solid taste of each on nearly every bite.
I'd have preferred more ham on here, but for the limited amount we have it's a very vivid cold cut... avoiding abrasive saltiness and just giving that classic hammy kind of taste (it's like 6am and I can't think of a good description... but don't cancel the ham!). As mentioned the fried eggs are nicely done wherein they're fluffy but without any of those dried out bits along the edges. Beyond that, the only frills this sandwich gets at all are some black pepper and a dab of standard mayo. Like I said, incredibly straightforward.
There is much less to say about the cream cheese offering (I mean it's a bagel and cream cheese, can't exactly write a novel here... or can I...???)
It's very good! The everything bagel has much more of a roasty kind of flavour to it. The smell (which is awesome) and taste of baked sesame are very prevalent throughout. There's the same honey sweetness and soft chewy texture as the poppy seed bagel, although this one has a bit less crispness on the edges (probably deliberate since all that stuff on top will burn quicker in the oven I imagine).
We can talk about the chive cream cheese as well. Not sure if they make it in house (I'd strongly lean towards 'yes they do') but I can definitely say this is notably different than just grabbing a tub of Philadelphia and spreading it all over the crackers of your sadness. Not that I've, uh, done that... nope.
For comparisons sake, Philadelphia cream cheese really turns into a weird runny... thing... when placed upon something with heat, like a bagel fresh from the oven. Don't get me wrong, Philadelphia is entirely acceptable in most situations but I think the distinction has to be made between "cream cheese spread" and "cream cheese" here, and the key is within that texture.
This chives cream cheese that Bagels On Fire uses is not like a spread at all... I mean you can spread it here, but what I mean is you'd prefer a spoon instead of a butter knife. There's much more of a lightness, a whipped quality to the overall taste and feel in your mouth... while still containing those key cream cheese elements (fullness, rich flavour). Maybe not as intently flavourful as some of those Philadelphia ones, like their salmon flavour (definitely a guilty pleasure) but you get that nice sting of real fresh chives in here more than once, and again that sort of thickly whipped texture just lends itself to the delightful levels that softer cheeses can bring.
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Overall! I can't vouch for the other two locations and I don't have much intention to... this one is around the corner from my house... and it's the original! Why would I go to the other ones?
In all seriousness though... everything I experienced here was genuinely fabulous. This was my first real experience giving a Montreal bagel an honest, thoughtful look... and there's a definite charm and tastiness within here. That exact balance of fire baked crunch on the outside with the pretty soft yet dense and sweet inside... very appealing.
Regular bagels are, strangely, much airier yet also considerably heavier on the stomach (and generally larger on the calorie count too). These Montreal style bagels are considerably smaller, which should be noted... but that compactness of the dough was just as filling as any regular grocery store bagel, while also significantly more interesting. Tasty and enjoyable in both flavour and texture.
Recommend? Damn right! Going back to the breakfast bagel, I always admire a place that can keep things simple and yet be so memorably excellent. Simplicity can bite your ass when you don't have the quality or tight execution (see my La Roma review)... but Bagels On Fire does one thing exceptionally well (bagels, bet you didn't guess that) and the other elements are high end role players bringing it all home. Nicely done...
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The Jon Dowd All-Stars
Considered by many one of the greatest, most groundbreaking sports video games of all time... 2025 marks the twenty year anniversary of MVP Baseball 2005.
Funny enough, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic I was extremely bored (shocker) and needed some kind of sports fix. I found a way to get MVP Baseball 2005 to work on my laptop and it rediscovering it (probably had been 15 years since I played it) was an incredibly fun distraction from all the surrounding gloom.
Here's a brief little video (from the official MLB YouTube account no less) getting into some of the development and stories behind the making of the classic game.
Development Done Good
I'd been meaning to share this for a while, but this is an example of Toronto taking a part of town that's fallen into little use and disrepair, and proposing to make it into something interesting and community oriented rather than just another batch of boring condos 97 percent of people can't afford. Like what they're doing with the Port Lands (yeah there will eventually be condos there I know, but at least adding plenty of public parkspace is also a priority in their revitalization).
Tuesday Tune
This review was all set to come out last Tuesday (it was indeed already mostly written), but then something happened that was pretty much like an earthquake into my general psyche. I don't care to elaborate, but a stay in a hospital was involved as are some significant lifestyle changes I'll need to actually consider seriously this time.
As such, spending most of last week not caring to do really much of anything (including leave my house)... this song kind of popped into my mind in those very dark, bleak moments. It's a classic, it's a stunner, and a timeless beauty.
Take care of yourselves everybody, physically and especially mentally... and don't spill that mustard.
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