They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It certainly is nutritionally, but it’s even more so because breakfast food is simply delicious.

I like pancakes, waffles and eggs just as much — or perhaps more — as the next person, but sometimes I get hit with an outright bagel craving. What can I say? Sometimes I just need carbs.

Of all the bagels I’ve eaten, homemade ones are the best. Unfortunately, homemade bagels take time to make, time I just don’t have.

So the next best thing is smaller, batch-made bagels, like the ones available at Bagelicious Café, located at 475 Irving Ave. The cafe, a short walk from Syracuse University’s main campus, is inside the Madison-Irving Medical Center.

Breakfast is available any time, which means so are the bagels.

There were several different kinds of bagels available the day I went, including blueberry and cinnamon raisin. I chose an all-seed bagel with cream cheese.

Bagelicious says its cream cheese is homemade, which is confusing, as it uses Philadelphia Cream Cheese and then just adds in different ingredients. Regardless, it was nice having options other than plain.

That day, the cream cheese flavors included concoctions like cheddar chive and strawberry, but I opted for honey cinnamon. My order cost $2.35. My friend ordered a snack wrap and Caribbean Colada Smoothie for $1.99 and $2.79, respectively.

It took a long time for us to get our food, maybe 10 minutes or so. We even had to wait a while just to pay.

Admittedly, it was a little strange to have lunch in a medical building and see doctors and nurses in scrubs as we decided what to order. I worried that because of its location, Bagelicious would have a sterile, cold environment, as medical facilities often do. Thankfully, this was — mostly — not the case.

The cafe is located downstairs and is separated from the rest of the building. Probably in an attempt to seem more welcoming, Bagelicous’ tables all have umbrellas. It kind of made you forget you were in a medical building — emphasis on “kind of.”

Established in1982, Bagelicious has been serving what its website claims to be “the finest water-boiled bagels, fresh, hand-sliced smoked fish and homemade cream cheese.”

Bagelicious serves omelets, sandwiches, soups, wraps, French toast, quesadillas, smoothies and, of course, bagels. I was most impressed with the prices: You can get a bagel for a buck.

The bagel had sunflower and sesame seeds on top, but it didn’t have nearly as many seeds as I expected an “all-seed” bagel to have. I prefer my bagel toasted with a slight crunch when you bite into it. To my disappointment, this bagel was very soft and only crisp around the edges.

I also got more cream cheese than I bargained for. The one-fourth-inch thick layer of cinnamon honey cream cheese on both halves was too much. The cinnamon was also too dominant and honey flavor almost nonexistent.

The snack wrap had turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise in it. My dining companion was impressed with the size of the wrap for its price and I agreed, especially by the quantity of turkey and bacon. As far as taste, there wasn’t much special about it.

The smoothie was also a good deal for its price. My dining companion liked this drink a lot, but I thought the taste was completely artificial. I don’t like chemical flavorings and wouldn’t have ordered this.

Bagelicous is worth visiting if you’re looking for cheap eats, but taste-wise, it’s nothing to call home about. I would consider stopping by one of the cafe’s other locations, since they have more expansive menus, but I won’t be back to the Irving Avenue location any time soon.

Hopefully, though, my bagel craving has been quenched for now.

Published on April 24, 2013 at 1:24 am

Contact Riddley: rsgemper@syr.edu