New York Bagel and Bialy (Lincolnwood)
4714 W. Touhy AvenueBack to Chicago.
I got home from Detroit about 4 AM Sunday morning. I slept for a couple of hours and got up about 7:30 AM to head back to Chicago. L was competing at Synchro Illinois in Evanston a little after noon central time.
I told L I would do everything I could to make it back to watch her skate Sunday afternoon. She told me it was ok if I missed it but, come on, I wasn’t going to miss it if I could get back. The only thing that would have stopped me was weather.
I ran in to a little bit of snow around Hartford and Benton Harbor but once I got out of Michigan, I ran in to blue skies and dry roads all the way to the city.
I made a little bit better time than I thought and I was hungry. I have been eyeing a bagel shop not too far off the Edens Expressway (I-94) since we started going to this competition three years ago. I’ve told myself every year I’m going to stop on my way in but I never do.
I had to pick J and B up at their hotel in Chicago near Loyola University. I was going a little out of my way to go up the Edens but I had time.
New York Bagel & Bialy is on Touhy Avenue just to the east of Cicero Avenue in the Chicago suburb of Lincolnwood. The small strip mall bagel shop is a little difficult to get in to. The parking lot runs parallel with Touhy and it only goes one way. If you’re coming from the highway, like I was, you have to go past the business and come back around to get in to the parking lot.
The shop is a pretty classic chaotic bagel shop. There are employees waiting behind the counter to take your order and there’s really no rhyme or reason to the queue. I made eye contact with a guy standing behind the case filled with fresh bagels as I walked in the door. He asked what I wanted. I looked up at the menu board that hangs above more baskets of fresh made bagels. I quickly found the breakfast sandwiches and ordered.
I was just doing a sandwich for myself and a bagel with cream cheese for J but there are a lot of options for buying bagels and cream. Their cream cheese, or schmear, is made in house and sitting in large tubs. You can buy a single serving or larger containers to take home.
There’s also a deli and bakery case where you can pick up some sweets.
And of course, a lot of bagels. You can buy them individually or as many as you need. I always feel like I should grab half a dozen to take home when I go to places like this but I never do. They also have, as the name implies, Bialy’s, which are similar to bagels but don’t have the hole in the middle.
It didn’t take very long for my sandwich to be made. I think it was about five minutes or so when I saw the guy who took my order come back to the counter with a bag. I had grabbed a bottle of Coke from the cooler which brought the total for a sandwich, a Coke, and a bagel with cream cheese to just under $15.
I love a good Everything Bagel and this place has good Everything Bagels. I used that as the bread for the Brisket, Egg, and Cheese sandwich. It’s so weird how I don’t like onions but I like the onion and garlic flavor on an Everything Bagel. This one was filled with tender chopped brisket, a hard egg, and American cheese. I love bagel sandwiches but I’m always so disappointed when I’m done with it. I always want more. This sandwich from New York Bagel & Bialy was delicious.
J just asked for a Cinnamon Raisin Bagel with plain cream cheese. I gave her to her once she got in the car and she ate about half. When we got to the rink, L found us and said she was hungry so J gave her the rest of the bagel. She devoured it despite saying she doesn’t like Cinnamon Raisin. After it was gone, J asked if her she realized it was Cinnamon Raisin. L said she didn’t care. It was good and she was hungry. There was enough cream cheese to hide any of the raisins.
I’m am so happy I made it back to Chicago. It was rough getting up after about three hours of sleep and driving in a snow storm at times on the way there and the way back but it was so worth it. L’s team had their best performance of the year and they came home with a fourth place medal. After awards, L gave me a big hug and said she didn’t think I was coming back but she was happy I did. I’m happy I did too.
I’m also happy I found this delicious bagel shop because I really needed the energy.
SW Michigan Dining 