I tried PopUp Bagels in Boston so you don't have to
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PopUp Bagels' everything bagel with Homer's Blend cream cheese. Photo: Steph Solis/Axios
PopUp Bagels, the chain that wants you to rip apart pieces of your bagel like a caveman and dump it into a vat of cream cheese, is taking on the Boston breakfast scene.
- Against my better judgment, I tried it.
The intrigue: What began as a pandemic experiment in a man's Westport, Connecticut, home has expanded across that state, New York and now Boston.
- PopUp appeared in Wellesley and the Seaport and recently secured a lease to set up shop in Harvard Square.
Catch up quick: The concept of ripping a bagel chunk and dipping it into a cream cheese container feels wrong. But I volunteered as tribute.
- Actually, my editors asked me to go. Maybe they were entertained by the shudder I let out when the topic came up.
- Who am I to deprive them and the readers of some fun at my expense?
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Anyway, that's what I told myself as I pulled apart a chunk of everything bagel and dunked it into a container of Parmesan-garlic cream cheese. (Yes, I spilled seeds and spices all over my table.)
My seven-word review: I wanted to hate it. I couldn't.
Zoom in: The bagel was almost as chewy as a New York bagel, with a crispy crunch around the edges.
- The Parmesan and garlic were tasty, but not overpowering.
Between the lines: If you or your kids ever watched SpongeBob SquarePants, you might remember that Squidward, the grumpy octopus Krabby Patty employee, insisted he hated the burgers.
- Then he bit into a morsel of a patty, and — to his dismay — it changed his tastebuds forever.
- I'm not saying this is Krabby Patty good. It's just better than I'd like to admit.
The bottom line: Try the gimmicky thing. Sometimes you'll enjoy it.