A variety of New York-style bagels and cream cheese are made on the premises each morning at Go Bagel.IF YOU GO
Where: Go Bagel, 819 Chestnut St.Phone: 423-531-0383Hours: 6 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-FridayPrice range: $2 to $7
Until last Tuesday morning, I had never had a freshly made bagel and homemade cream cheese.
Now I'm spoiled - thanks to Go Bagel, a breakfast/lunch cafe across from the Sheraton Read House on Chestnut Street.
The variety of bagels ranges from the more typical ones, such as plain, poppy and pumpernickel, to more exotic fare, such as jalapeño, cranberry orange and sprouted wheat.
The bagels, promoted as being "Chattanooga's only New York-style bagels," are made on the premises each morning. The owners grew up in New York City, where fresh bagels are as common as fried chicken is in the South.
THE ORDER
My daughter, Kacee, and I stopped for breakfast at Go Bagel before heading to work. She was already a fan of the cafe, having eaten there on several occasions for breakfast and lunch.
Kacee ordered her favorite - jalapeño cream cheese with egg on a jalapeño bagel. While too hot for my sensitive taste buds, Kacee says the flavorful jalapeño ingredient gives her just the boost she sometimes needs to start her day.
I opted for the salt-encrusted bagel with apple cream cheese. It was delicious. The cream cheese was as flavorful, but richer, than apple butter.
We both ordered the cafe's signature gourmet coffee, and I also got an orange juice. Our total tab was $12.30.
THE MENU
While the cafe's specialty is homemade bagels and cream cheese, the menu offers additional selections for lunch.
The Go Bagel breakfast menu has at least 14 bagels that vary from day to day. Because the bagel menu varies, customers wanting a particular bagel can call a day ahead to order a preference.
The breakfast menu includes plain or reduced-fat homemade cream cheese, in addition to the specialty flavors of vegetable, vanilla, honey, orange, apple and more. Lox, capers, onion, butter and peanut butter are optional selections. The bagels range in cost from $2.19 (with cream cheese) to $7.99 for bagels with cream cheese, lox, onions and capers.
Hot bagel breakfast sandwiches with egg and cheese are $2.99; with the addition of a meat, $3.99.
The lunch menu offers hot grilled panini sandwiches, with most any type of meat, cheese and vegetable for $6.99-$7.29. The sandwiches are served with chips.
There are also deli sandwiches, all priced less than $7, and salads, including a house salad, $4.99, or chef salad, under $7.
The soup menu (tomato basil, carrot cilantro, potato bacon, broccoli cheese) varies daily. A cup is priced at $2.99, and a bowl is $3.99.
Daily specials, $3.99 to $4.99, will be a choice of tuna or chicken salad, chicken and dumplings, chili and New England clam chowder.
THE SPACE
The cafe, with six tables that seat four, three tables that seat two, and two lounging chairs, is clean, spacious and inviting. There's free Internet. The cafe offers discounts to University of Tennessee at Chattanooga students.
Metered parking, as well as parking garages, are nearby.
THE VERDICT
I will go back. The staff was super friendly and the food delicious. I want to try most every bagel and each flavor of cream cheese, as well as items from the lunch menu.
Contact staff writer Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/karennazorhill.