I am here at a place called The Bagelry in Santa Cruz, California, USA, Planet Earth. I will rate this little eatery, located on the edge of the downtown area, according to a hodgepodge of criteria as they occur to me.
My first request was for a Bathroom, and despite the fact there is none in sight, the young woman behind the counter directed me to a door leading to the kitchen area. After a couple of turns in the bowels of the back room, I came upon two roomy, clean individual restrooms each labeled with a Unisex placard. In Santa Cruz, any establishment with a Bathroom the customers are allowed to use, is worth two points in my book.
Anyways, so goes First Impressions. More importantly, The Bagelry has a scrumptous menu of things I've not seen in any of the other bagel shops, cafes, or coffeehouses I've been haunting. At this moment, I am munching on "The Cruz," a whole wheat bagel covered with hummus, tomato, and a ton of sprouts. When I asked for a garlic bagel, they gave me a choice of white or whole wheat. This, along with one of my favorite refreshments, Sobe's Elixer, (containing carrot juice and orange juice), made my day.
Although, I was not pleased at standing in front of the counter for five minutes unacknowledged, when I finally did get waited on the young bagel woman behind the counter was quite pleasant, lacking any of the superficiality required of public service. When I inquired about the "Tofu Tom" spread, she gave me a sample taste on a plastic spoon.
Unlike many places I have visited, The Bagelry does not feel claustrophobic. Their eating area is circumscribed by one long circular church-like pew with square tables pushed up again them. Seven tables form the perimeter and two tables sit in the center. The tables I noted were just a tad bit larger than average which I appreciated since I am usually hauling my backpack and like to spread out to read or write in my journal.
I was a bit dismayed that The Bagelry had no ice machine so my request for a cup of ice was denied. They evidently are more accustomed to their customers imbibing in warm beverages and swilling the cooler items directly from the bottle. The bagel lady was a bit reluctant to give me a cup for my drink and I thought perhaps she had mistakenly thought I asked for for table flowers and a lit candelabra.
The Bagelry like many places in Santa Cruz offers free wireless access to the Internet, but there was only one outlet in the whole eating area. One has to depend on a good laptop battery which I did not have.
Although I do not find it particularly pleasant to be sitting beside loud, screaming kids when I am writing or reading and sipping on coffee in the early morning hours, The Bagelry was definitely kid-friendly. As I was scanning the restaurant with my eyes, since my mouth was enjoying the scrumptious bagel sandwich, I noted a stack of sturdy, wooden high chairs for kids. They, along with the built-in shelves used to house alternative magazines and brochures, appeared quite solid, simple, and functional.
The clientele in the The Bagelry Santa Cruz consists of an older, alternative, hip crowd. The magazine rack and bulletin board offered an array of announcements and information about musical venues, poetry readings, and other art events in the Santa Cruz area.
Overall, I liked The Bagelry's menu and magazine rack, and bulletin board. But I do not now if I will go there often because of the lack of electrical outlets to plug into and a subtle coolness that excludes those who are not the regulars.
