Alice M.
Yelp
Visiting Houston and had a hankering for a bagel. Daughter recommended a place nearby, but alas, they did not have any fresh bagels. So she said try The Hot Bagel Shop which was just about 2 miles away. Now, do not be fooled, 2 miles in Houston traffic at 9 am is nothing to sneeze at. Anyway, made it there, however, the navigation did not take me directly there, made me turn on a street before it which did not have access to the small parking lot. No biggie, went around the block and entered from the right side of the street anyway. OK, I digress here.
Cute, smallish place in a small strip center. Saw a few tables to sit and eat at. Kind of like an old timey, hole in the wall place. Smelled delightful upon entering and looked clean. Different from these fancy schmancy places all over Houston. There are large glass cases so you can see the bagels available. Also another glass case that housed the bagel dogs, bagel pizza (that looked absolutely delectable, and I may go back for) and mini bagel dogs. There was also offering of different flavored cream cheeses in different sizes. Sandwiches available there too I think, but was not going for that, so I didn't really study the menu. The staff was polite, quick and efficient. Whenever you cannot see what is going in the bag, one wonders if when you get home, it will be right. Feeling the bag on the way out, it was still warm, hence the name Hot Bagel Shop. I wanted to eat the thing right there in the parking lot, but was on a mission to bring home food for the family. I only ordered 4 bagels, everything, garlic, plain and blueberry. The everything and garlic were nicely covered with the toppings. Daughter enjoyed her plain bagel. They toasted up nice and had a good amount of chew, yet crisp. I grew up in the northeast (but got to Texas as quick as I could 45 yrs ago) so I like to think I know what a good bagel should taste like. I will definitely go back there during my visit here. $1.50 per bagel, $6 total. Not bad for what we got. Job well done!