There were some sourpusses in the office though. People who said “what’s the big deal? They’re just bagels.” But a good bagel is not so easy to find in Philly! There’s South Street, with their recent Best of Philly win, and there’s some place north of Rittenhouse which is pretty mediocre. That’s all that comes to mind. Except for…

The Philadelphia Bagel Co.
The place is in a strip mall at the intersection of Washington Ave. and Delaware. You’ve probably seen it a million times but never stopped in. Next time you’re driving by in the morning do yourself a favor and check it out. Not only do they supply Whole Foods and most of the better hotels in the city, it also has a really nice selection of bagels, their own cream cheese blends, bagel pizzas and even my favorite, the bialy!

Their best feature though is their genuinely friendly and helpful attitude. If you ask for a bialy with cream cheese you may have a concerned bagelier (that belongs in the dictionary, btw) asking you if you’d like the top half placed upside-down, so the garlicky-oniony goodness doesn’t all fall off. There may also be a “hon” or “sweetie” thrown in for good measure if you’re a lady, and I can practically guarantee some heartfelt good wishes for the rest of your day. You canNOT walk out of there without feeling like you made a new friend. Plus they have salt bagels, which I love. And pumpkin cream cheese!

You can find an in-depth discussion of Philly’s bagel scene on Chowhound if you want. I’ll admit I have yet to check out South Street, so I’ll update this post when I do. But apparently I’m not the only one who thinks that Philly suffers from a lack of bagel options. Consider this piece from a bit on phoodie.info

As a Jewish boy raised on really good bagels growing up in D.C. of all places (not exactly a deli/baglery hotbed), I’ve been shocked since moving here twenty years ago Philly doesn’t have good bagels. Just about the only exception I’ve found is the bagel maker on Delaware Ave. in the strip mall where American Applicances used to be. There bagels are definitely the real deal, hot out of the oven after being wonderfully boiled. Good commitment to the basics with some allowance made for those weirdos who like things other than sesame or poppy seeds on their bagels. Don’t know the name, it might just go by “Bagels”…

That place is, without a doubt, Philadelphia Bagel Co.
1100 S Columbus Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 19147-5513
(215) 336-7211

12 miles by bike doesn’t seem all that tough at first glance. But when you put that 12 miles through center city Philly and add in an 80 degree day and make the last few miles uphill while lost and well…it still doesn’t seem as desperate as we felt by the end of that ride. The chafing, sunburn and sore butts melted away after a few minutes and a couple of beers at Tom and Peggy Baker’s Earth, Bread and Brewery. Pics in the extended!

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(recipe)

The real fun came when I saw this though:

!!!

The Century Egg is something that I’ve heard of before and have been excited to try. This was the first time seeing it in a shop though, so I got all silly and excited.

From Wikipedia:

he century egg, also known as preserved egg, hundred-year egg, thousand-year egg, thousand-year-old egg, (Chinese: ??; pinyin: pídàn; literally “springy egg”, or, Chinese: ???; pinyin: s?nghu?dàn; literally “pine-patterned egg”) ; (Vietnamese: h?t v?t bách th?o) ; (???????????? khai-yiew-ma (in Thai)) is a Chinese delicacy made by preserving duck, chicken or quail eggs in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, lime, and rice straw for several weeks to several months, depending on the method of processing. The yolk of the egg is concentrically variegated in pale and dark green colors while the egg white is dark brown and transparent, like cola. The yolk is creamy with a strong aroma and an almost cheese-like flavor. The egg white has a gelatinous texture similar to cooked egg white, but has very little taste. Some eggs have patterns near the surface of the egg white which are likened to pine branches.

Karen joined me by trying a curry turnover.

(Sorry for the poor quality of the cameraphone pics)

It wasn’t as clear or jelly-like as the pictures I’ve seen and it was sweeter than I’d imagined. This might be because of how it was baked or what it was baked in though. It tasted like a sweet and buttery plum-sugar concoction. The yolk part was more chewy and gelatinous than the white.

I’m still not really sure if it was a real Century Egg or a pastry version. The counter person told me her favorite was the Salted Egg though, so having both for some reason makes me think they’re the real deal.

We continued around Chinatown feeling happy and adventurous.

What we found:
New Harmony Bakery (google maps)
Total Cost of Date: $1.40 per person
Go for the steamed pork buns, go back for all the other pastries and the bubble tea, go crazy and try the preserved eggs! Very inexpensive. Friendly service.