The Quest

I'm originally from the east coast, from the Philadelphia area. What that means is that I can drive in snow, I believe football games should be played when it's cold outside, and I know that soft pretzels taste best when you've bought them from a guy on the side of the road. It also means that I grew up eating really good bagels. My family are such bagel fans that even now, my father regularly drives 45 minutes to stock up on what my parents consider to be the best bagels in their area, storing them in the freezer so he doesn't have to schlep out there too often. (For anyone in that area who's interested, their place of choice is Fill A Bagel in Jenkintown.) Now, that's dedication to a good bagel. When we moved back out to California last year, my quest to find a decent bagel commenced. Notice I didn't say a good bagel. After the first few I'd tried, I would have been perfectly happy settling on "decent." Thankfully, the search only took a few months (and more than a few really icky bagels), and I finally found OC Bagels. They're as close as I can come to the perfect bagel out here. They have a nice skin on them, but the inside isn't cake-like. It's bagel-like. It's delicious! Like my father, I tend to stock up, taking advantage of the specials they run on Mondays. But there's nothing better than a nice, fresh, and GOOD bagel to start your day!!!