Seattle Bagel Bakery is situated nicely between the Daily Dozen Donuts and Saffron Spice in Pike Place Market and there is a convenient seating area nearby too so this was an easy choice for my 52 weeks of new-to-me Pike Place Market restaurant project. I also happen to love bagels and cream cheese but I’ve never eaten here before because I’m really picky about the bagels I do like and I was too scared to try them.
I have a lot of history with bagels. I grew up eating bagels at the long-gone Tradewinds Cafe at the Mount Vernon outlets when I’d ‘come to the States’ with my parents to shop from my hometown near Vancouver, Canada. These bagels were probably grocery store bagels but they oozed with cream cheese and came with a handful of grapes and tall glasses of hot chocolate and this whole meal has grown unattainably more delicious every day since the cafe closed. When I was in high school, the cafe across the street had bagels that were pretty delicious too. And then when I got to university, I’d stop at Solly’s bagels, an adorable bagel shop that is way too close to UBC and I still visit Siegels in Granville Island when I visit my hometown. The only bagels that I’ve really loved since moving to Seattle are the ones from Eltana. So because of all this nostalgia, I’m very picky about trying new bagels.
And because I noticed some stuffed pocket like things in the pastry case at Seattle Bagel Bakery, I didn’t even end up trying a true bagel on my first visit even though they looked pretty good. My mushroom and eggplant bagel pocket came with hummus and I picked up a mango smoothie from nearby Saffron Spice to go with it.
I had a nice lunch. But I thought about eating bagels the whole time. Isn’t this what always happens with missed opportunities? So next time I stop in at the market, I will need to come back and try a bagel. I’m sure it will be delicious and I love that in a bunch of years I’ll have some great memories of the bagels from this place too!
(PS. I can’t believe I’m about 1/3 finished my 52 weeks of Pike Place Market! There are still so many restaurants left to try!)
(PPS. If you love checking out the flowers in the market, I’ve started to see lilacs and peonies!)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)