Savory (Using any savory flavored bagel (Onion, Everything, Asiago Cheese, Egg, Garlic) or Plain)

• Herbed goat cheese with an olive tapenade – sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, and green olives (stuffed or not stuffed).
• Brie cheese with sliced red seedless grapes on top.
• Hummus (any flavor) with a vegetable medley (I would recommend a Greek Salad mixture with chopped red onion, red tomatoes, kalamata olives, cucumber, and crumbled feta.)
• Jalapeño cream cheese spread with heirloom tomato and avocado pieces on top. (You could melt cheddar cheese on top to keep the ingredients together on the small pieces, or put all the ingredients on the bagel half and toast it – although keep in mind that cutting this into smaller pieces will be more difficult.)
• Garlic pesto sauce with tomato slices and melted cheese on top (Any kind of cheddar goes great with pesto, but you can really use any cheese you’d like.)

Sweet (Using any sweet flavored bagel (Cinnamon Raisin, Strawberry, Blueberry, Chocolate Chip) or Plain)

• Strawberry cream cheese spread with sliced strawberries on top.
• Blueberry cream cheese spread with pineapple slices and walnuts, almonds, or any nut of your choice.
• Cinnamon raisin bagel honey almond cream cheese spread and any slices of fruit on top. (I would recommend strawberries, peaches, or apple slices that have been tossed in a cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar and granulated sugar mix and have been baked in the oven for a quick 15 minutes at 350°F.)
• Chocolate chip bagel with creamy or crunch peanut butter (or Nutella, or both!), with banana slices on top

These are just a few of the several different combinations you can create for your bagel hors d’oeuvres. That’s the beauty of bagels, you can really put whatever you want on them and they’ll still be delicious. Regardless, your visitors will be left with the memory of these delicious treats. But be careful, you may end up hosting more parties than you anticipate!

Debbie Lawrence is a content editor for an online schooling blog at OnlineSchools.com and a culinary school master site Chef2Chef.net. When she unwinds from work, you can find her cooking or baking in the kitchen, debating the various culinary schools in Florida that she has been wanting to attend. You can reach her at dlawrence2[@]quinstreet.com or chat with her on Twitter here.

We’re looking to hire a full-time donut baker for our new location in Largo. Responsibilities include all aspects of the donut production process, with the exception of final stage decoration, as we have a special person who already takes care of that.

The ideal candidate will have his/her own means of transportation, be drug free and punctual, and, most importantly, have prior experience working in a (preferably donut) bakery. Please note that if you’re selected for the second round interview, we’ll request to see a few professional and relevant references.

If you are interested in this position, please send your resume along with a well-crafted explanation of why you believe you’re qualified for this position to Lukas Pleva, St. Pete Bagel Co. Director of Marketing, at lukas@stpetebagelco.com.

Please, no phone calls about this position. If you are selected for an interview, we will notify you individually.

To make the celebration more fun, we’re offering all of our Facebook fans an exclusive coupon — redeemable at both of our locations — for a free bagel with plain cream cheese!

Getting the coupon is super easy — just head over to our Facebook page and click the “2012 Bagel Day” link in the left sidebar. A form will load with further instructions. Alternatively, if you’re already logged into Facebook, just click here to access the form directly.

If you have any questions, comments, and/or concerns, just shoot us an email!

To purchase, just click here. Hope to see you in the store soon!

In 1997, a Florida woman received nearly a million dollars in damages after she sued Bankers Insurance Group for withdrawing her job offer on the basis of testing positive for poppy-seed induced opiates. Similarly, in 1990, a St. Louis police officer tested positive in a random department drug test after eating four poppy seed bagels on the morning of. Unfortunately, morphine and codeine can stay in the blood stream for up to 48 hours, and by some accounts, even a single bagel can trigger a false positive, according to our friends over at Snopes.com.

In all, it turns out that in approximately 87 percent of cases in which opium is identified as the offending drug, the positive is overturned in a more comprehensive retest.

Now, don’t get any funny ideas, folks! If you find yourself making one too many trips to Afghan poppy fields, blaming bagels just won’t do the trick; a more thorough drug test can help doctors differentiate food opiates from genuine drug opiates.

So remember: Play it safe and stay poppy-free for at least a few days before your drug test!

Have you or any of your friends been caught in this sticky situation? Tell us your thoughts in the comment box below! We would love to hear your feedback!

Caitlin Reardon is a rising sophomore at The University of Chicago and a freelance content writer for St. Pete Bagel Co.

The common story about how the bagel became a quintessential symbol of Jewish cuisine takes us back to 17th century Poland. Rumor has it that the bagel was a creation of an anonymous Jewish baker as a tribute to King John III Sobieski in return for saving Austria from Turkish invaders at the Battle of Vienna in 1683. But that legend has its share of critics. Maria Balinska, author of The Bagel: The Surprising History of a Modest Bread, for example, argues that the story was born out of popular folktales that were based on the special relationship that Sobieski had with the Jewish people.

So why do bagels go hand in hand with Jewish culture? Balinska explains that part of the story is true – bagels did originate in Poland, but more than half a century earlier than the popular myth. The first mention of bagels occurred at the 1610 Jewish Council of Krakow, which instituted regulations for how much money families could spend on celebrating the circumcision of a baby boy. The word bagel actually comes from the Yiddish word “biegen”, which means to bend. It is thought that bagels developed in concert with other popular breads of the time, such as pretzels and the strikingly similar Polish counterpart, the obwarzanek.

Have you heard any other stories of how the bagel came about? Let us know on our Facebook page or via the comments box below.

Caitlin Reardon is a rising sophomore at The University of Chicago and a freelance content writer for St. Pete Bagel Co.

Montreal Style Bagels

You see it on our website, our menus, our ads, and even the promotional billboard outside our store – our bagels are baked fresh daily and are authentic “New York style”. It’s a feature that we couldn’t be more proud of, but beyond all the advertising hype, what does it actually mean for a bagel to baked New York style?

It all comes down to the technique – a New York style bagel is produced differently than its popular Canadian counterpart, the Montreal style bagel. First, consider the ingredients. NY style bagels are made with malt and salt, while Montreal bagels are made with malt mixed with sugar and contain no salt. Then there is the method of cooking. New York style bagels are first boiled in water and then baked in a standard oven. Montreal style bagels are boiled in honey-sweetened water and then baked in a wood-fired oven.

Although these differences seem small and unimportant, the end result is two completely different bagels. The Montreal style bagel is smaller than standard bagels, contains a larger hole in the center, is crunchy, and tastes very sweet. The New York style bagel is puffy and moist – the bagel we all know and love.

Have you ever had a Montreal style bagel? How does it compare to its NY counterpart? Let us know by leaving a comment below and check in with us every Monday for a new bagel-icious post!

Caitlin Reardon is a rising sophomore at The University of Chicago and a freelance content writer for St. Pete Bagel Co.

Many dieters, myself included, do not possess the self-control it takes to completely eliminate all “bad foods” from their diet. I am here to tell you that you no longer have to! Well, at least as far as bagels are concerned. Bagels, when consumed correctly, can be a delicious AND nutritious start to your day.

Here is a list of the top three ways that you can enjoy bagels while still keeping your health in mind. If you follow these guidelines, you can have your bagel and eat it too!

1. Whole wheat bagels make the world go round: By choosing whole wheat over other flavored bagels, you increase your nutrient and fiber consumption. Fiber is essential to any successful diet because it fills you up so that you don’t have to snack between meals. Starting your day with a dose of fiber will keep you full and productive until lunchtime.
2. Low calorie bagel toppings: A low fat cream cheese is the best way to fulfill this guideline. Other toppings, such as regular cream cheese or lox, are high in calories and fat, and are an absolute no-no in the dieting world. By making a small sacrifice, such as switching from high fat to low fat cream cheese, you can still enjoy your bagel without having to feel guilty.
3. Pair your bagel with a traditionally healthy food: You can compensate for the low nutritional value in a bagel by itself by pairing it with a fruit or a vegetable. This may seem difficult and unnecessary, but is actually very easy and tasty! For example, you can pair your whole wheat bagel and low fat cream cheese with some Splenda-sweetened strawberries for a sweet, but also healthy, breakfast! The strawberries add a kick of Vitamin C and fiber, both of which are important for healthy living.

These three little tricks can go a long way in helping you survive your diet and change your lifestyle. By making some small changes to how you consume your favorite foods, you can maintain a healthy lifestyle without having to give up everything. But every once in a while, feel free to reward yourself with a bagel and high fat toppings. You deserve it!

We want to know what you think! Share your tips for healthy bagel eating by leaving a comment below.

Caitlin Reardon is a rising sophomore at The University of Chicago and a freelance content writer for St. Pete Bagel Co.