What: Southwest turkey sandwich on an asiago bagel
Where: H&H Bagels, 73131 Country Club Drive, No. C10, Palm Desert
How much: $14.90
Contact: www.hhbagels.com
Why: It’s tasty!
Bagel fans across the Coachella Valley rejoiced on April 16, when New York-based H&H Bagels opened their doors in Palm Desert.
H&H first opened in 1972, and thanks to franchising, stores have been popping up around the country in recent years. H&H taps into the myth that New York City water is somehow special, resulting in pizza crusts, bagels and other baked goods that can’t be duplicated anywhere else. According to the H&H site, the bagel dough for all of the locations is kettle-boiled in NYC, then shipped to stores around the country to be fresh-baked. Clever!
Given all the hype, I decided to check out the new Palm Desert location … and there was a line out the door. I didn’t want an H&H bagel that bad, so I did a few things and returned a bit later, when the line was not out the door, just to the door. I ordered an everything bagel with plain cream cheese ($4.80) for the hubby, and the Southwest turkey sandwich on an asiago bagel for me.
Were the bagels good? Yes! Were they any better, in my humble opinion, than the similarly boiled-then-baked offerings at Townie Bagels, the reigning Best of Coachella Valley readers’ pick? No! (Townie also has a larger selection, fwiw.) But they were quite good!
I will definitely get the Southwest turkey sandwich again. It was packed with turkey, bacon, avocado, pepperjack cheese and a “spicy Southwest sauce” that nicely tied all the ingredients together—and the asiago bagel that cradled all of those ingredients was excellent.
We don’t have a lot of great options for bagels in the Coachella Valley—so hooray for the arrival of H&H Bagels!
