Claire Ortiz and Luke Szyszkiewicz, Staff Writers

Long ago in the semester, a friend of ours, Andrew Plunkett, suggested a bagel place that he frequented over the summer due to his work commitments in the city. He told us that we just HAD to try it, and that we wouldn’t regret it. Having taken his advice, Claire and I, along with a large group of friends, made our way down to Rittenhouse Square where one of a few locations of Spread Bagelry exist within city limits. The other two are on South Street and in University City. 

The first thing we noticed about this place on the frigid Saturday morning was just how bustling it was. Other places we had been to have been busy, but none quite like this. When we arrived, there were only a few types of bagels left from the menu, with everything, sesame, and blueberry lemon being the only that had survived the busy morning. Sad news! Claire couldn’t get her poppy seed bagel this week. Not to worry. She ordered a sausage egg and cheese on a sesame bagel, while I ordered a sesame bagel with maple bacon cream cheese. 

The amount of cream cheese on this bagel was delectable. I really enjoyed it. The seeding of the bagel was also quite nice, with enough seeds for everyone to be satisfied. Claire really enjoyed her bagel sandwich this week. Stealing a bite, I could see why. The eggs were perfectly fluffy, even though they were scrambled, the sausage was delicious, and the cheese was melted just right. The coolest thing about this bagel place was its exposed wood fire oven, where we saw the bagels being made in front of our eyes in real time. 

This is unlike any place we had been to before, and really elevated its whole vibe for us. Overall, between the ratings, we would give it a 3.5/5. Some things it could improve on were the bagel selection (not entirely their fault, Saturdays are the busiest day) and in making slightly larger bagels. We did really enjoy it and thank you to Andrew Plunkett for the recommendation!