Argo Tea (and Coffee)

An Argo Tea outpost opened up recently in the lobby where I work, and it seems to be doing a bustling business, as it's almost always packed. Most of their items, from quiches to sandwiches, include tea infusions of some kind, and they offer a dazzling array of beverages, too. I'm in this building enough that I'm starting to learn the off times, and will slip out of the studio just long enough to refuel with some iced coffee and a snack. Here's a sampling of MY samplings:

Green tea yogurt parfait--strong but not off-putting green tea flavor to the yogurt. I don't LOVE green tea, but I like it, and I liked this parfait. I wish they made a slightly smaller size as I couldn't finish this all, but it was still a good purchase. 5 bucks is a bit pricey for a parfait, but when you're stuck all day in a studio and packing a lunch just didn't happen, this is a better option than spending 15 bucks somewhere else on not-so-healthy portions/fare.

Iced coffee and raspberry-almond rugelach. I had high hopes for the rugelach, which promised a mix of two of my favorite flavors, but it was pretty bland. Hardly any taste of almond to it, and the pastry dough itself was a bit gummy and just yuck. I like my rugelach to have the tang of cream cheese in them--this bite was just lifeless and disappointing. The iced coffee, however, was bracing and strong--just the pick-up I needed in the middle of yet another 16-hour workday.

And my most recent try? The Chai Curry Chicken bowl. I was at the end of a 12 hour day and needed FOOD. Not a snack, not a nibble, but a MEAL. My coworker Jenna recommended this bowl, which comes with sliced grilled chicken (only 3 small slices, but it ended up being enough), a chai sauce, quinoa and spinach leaves. This has almost the same amount of calories as one slice of (lousy) rugelach, and yet is so much more filling (and good for you).

I also tasted way more chai than curry, so don't let the idea of curry frighten you--the flavors were pronounced but not too strong, and deliciously interesting.

So far the items (except the rugelach, sigh) have been consistently delicious. Every other one of my coworkers has reported having rude or inattentive service, but this hasn't happened to me. Sometimes the wait is a bit long, but I think that's due to customer volume. So far I've been fortunate enough to have smiling, nice people help me! Argo has locations in Chicago and NYC, so if you're in either city, stop by and check them out--might be worth a taste!

Who's Your Bagel??

A recent trip out for bagels turned into quite the journey, but one well worth the effort. Street scenes like this one below were all that greeted ABF & me one weekend in Long Island. I'd taken the train in Sunday morning to Rockville Centre, and after picking me up at the station, ABF set a course for his favorite bagel place, Bagels Plus in East Rockaway (they don't seem to have a website, so here's some basic info). I'd never been, but had long heard about how great they were. It took us almost 30 minutes to make an otherwise 5-minute drive, because old, beautiful trees had been torn up overnight due to the insane hurricane-like storm.

We finally arrived to Bagels Plus (their slogan on the sign outside: "Who's Your Bagel??") and saw a line winding around the entire store. Apparently a lot of folks were eating out for breakfast that day. ABF & I waited in the quickly-moving line and discussed what we wanted.

I saw my favorite cream cheese (scallion) and was a little surprised to see it was completely green. I don't know if this was just for St. Patrick's Day or if it's always that green, but as long as it tasted good I'd figure I'd work past the jarring sheen.

We filed past case after case of nicely presented food, from smoked fish to green-hued goodies (as I mentioned, it was almost Saint Patrick's Day, and they were ready to go in the bakery!)

I, however, had a one-track mind; I was there for bagels. Salty, soft, savory bagels.

And, maybe, rugelach. Yeah, I saw the raspberry rugelach and decided to get two pieces as well as our bagels.

ABF tried a bite, but he's not even half the raspberry fan I am. I thought this was good, but I didn't finish it all. I have had some amazing rugelach here in NYC, but I never seem to be able to remember where! Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments. ;)

Back to the bagels: we brought home half a dozen: 2 poppyseed, 2 garlic (they were out of onion) and 2 everything. Yum. Look how soft they are! It took no effort to squish them, and they bounce right back to their puffy size!

We tried toasting the first bagel in the toaster, but it turned into a charred, smoky mess, so ABF decided to take it up a notch: he put a thin layer of olive oil on each half and then toasted it in his Calphalon pans. They came out a beautiful brown hue, had a satisfying crunch, and did not set off any smoke alarms! Holy COW was this genius! ABF also made a sort of kitchen-sink omelet, tossing in bits and pieces of food from the fridge: fresh chives, 2 mushrooms, scallions, etc, and seared up some sausage patties. It was super delicious and a fun, enjoyable way to welcome a rainy Sunday morning.

I've eaten many a bagel in my years on this delicious planet, and these are definitely top contenders. I would say it was definitely one of the best, freshest, most flavorful bagels I've ever eaten, and I hope ABF and I go back there on the next rainy weekend morning.