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diocboedskes t1_isz82ga wrote

It never ceases to amaze me how many people think Cupertino’s are real bagels. To me they’re on par with a Panera bagel. Chewy’s is the only good bagel in Richmond, with Nate’s somewhere in between (but Nate’s loses a lot of points for rudeness).

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resident16 t1_iszd81w wrote

Nate’s also made me wait a hour for two bagel sandwiches. What the hell!!

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shalomfromus t1_it0t5zk wrote

I find “I waited an hour (or longer) for my meal” posts like this fascinating. I’d be so impatient after like 15 minutes I’d peace the fuck out.

I’m not even being snarky! I honestly don’t know how people have such patience and self control.

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resident16 t1_it22sac wrote

I’m right there with you. Only reason I waited was because I had to pay during the online order.

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Saxmuffin t1_iszsuco wrote

Did you order online and schedule a pickup? If not that’s on you

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resident16 t1_it017qw wrote

I ordered online but did not schedule a pickup. To be honest I just assumed a bagel place would be quick.

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darockerj t1_iszelc9 wrote

I remember liking them when they had them at the café at my old job, but I don’t think I’ve had one since. Might be nostalgia goggles.

IMO Chewy’s has the best bagel in town, but Nate’s lost me even more when I started having to wait so long for my order.

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crono_fan t1_iszo50d wrote

I haven't tried any of these places but I am curious what you mean by "real bagels". What is the distinguishing factor between a Panera bagel, per your example, and a real bagel

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MaybeZoidberg t1_it027wt wrote

A bagel is typically boiled before baking. This is why a traditional bagel has two distinct textures, the soft and chewy inside, with the slightly harder “outer shell” type part around it. Panera bagels are allegedly not boiled at all, but rather steamed, making them by definition not a traditional bagel and arguably just flavored bread with a hole in it. This is a common gripe for northerners like myself living in the south or from those few southerners with a discerning bagel palette. Historically in RVA, many places either trucked in real bagels from somewhere else, or made/procured non-traditional “bagels” leaving crummy options all around. As someone born in NY and a bit of a bagel-nazi, I’ve found Nate’s to be tolerable but not particularly good, Cupertino’s to be standard but not reliable (like they fell off the back of a truck in Bushwick), and Chewy’s to be my favorite so far.

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crono_fan t1_it05rj9 wrote

Thanks for the info! This honestly clears a lot of things up, I didn't know it goes so deep with bagels.

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diocboedskes t1_it0lakb wrote

Yup, spot on. Cupertino’s falls in the flavored bread camp with Panera. They may boil their bagels but it sure doesn’t taste like it. Gotta boil to get that chewiness.

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Saxmuffin t1_iszszps wrote

Have you lived in pa/ny/nj? Nate’s is a real bagel and there is no real pizza in Richmond imo

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DefaultSubsAreTerrib t1_it24kbm wrote

> Chewy’s is the only good bagel in Richmond

Chewy's makes a competent sourdough loaf that coincidentally is shaped like a bagel---a "bagel-shaped object" or "BSO" if you will. However, they make a poor bagel.

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