Espresso Buzz Bagel with bacon and cheese at Einstein Bros. Bagels. (Photo by Mark Gilliland)More Info
EINSTEIN BROS. BAGELSAddress: 7737 E. Brainerd Road and 5237 Hixson PikeHours are Monday-Friday from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.Phone: 423-355-5380 (Brainerd) or 423-877-2447 (Hixson)
I arrived to Hixson’s Einstein Bros. Bagels on a recent Friday and was surprised to find it packed with patrons. I checked the time: 10 a.m. Was it a holiday that I had forgotten? No — apparently, bagel-lovers need no excuse to make their way to Einstein’s any time of day.
Indeed, Einstein’s made-fresh-throughout-the-day bagels are so much more than the baked goods I remember from my childhood. The restaurant’s selection includes classics such as Asiago and cinnamon raisin, and creative takes such as spinach Florentine and pretzel. Recently, Einstein introduced perhaps its most unique bagel of all time: the Espresso Buzz Bagel, a bagel chock-full of caffeine.
“It’s got as much as a can of Coke,” said shift leader Elisa Calderon. “We get more questions about that bagel than any other.”
The Espresso Buzz Bagel — which tastes subtly of brown sugar — is just one of three new bagels offered through the summer, and is available either a la carte or featured in a hot sandwich. Another new, slightly tamer offering is Einstein’s Savory Parm Bagel, baked with chopped mushrooms and topped with melted Parmesan cheese. Elisa described the taste as Italian-like.
“Like that bread you dip into spices and oil at Italian restaurants,” she said.
The Savory Parm Bagel is also available either a la carte or featured in a hot sandwich, which comes with eggs, bacon, cheddar cheese and melted cream cheese. Finally, there is the Cherry Chia Bagel, which Elisa compared to a multigrain bagel, but with chunks of cherry, oats and chia seeds. Its hot sammy counterpart comes with egg, ham, Swiss and butter.
“The flavors just go great together,” Elisa said.
And if that trio of new-age bagels isn’t what draws the crowds mid-morning on a Friday, then perhaps it is Einstein’s introduction of iced coffee. Until now, its coffee bar had four different blends of self-serve drip coffee as well as an array of specialty coffee and espresso drinks served hot, iced or frozen. But, as Elisa pointed out, iced coffee is ideal not just because it is less bitter, but also because summer has officially arrived in the Scenic City.
And that, to me, is a good enough excuse to take the morning off and enjoy a bagel and coffee at Einstein.