There's nothing better than finding a restaurant that consistently serves your favorite comforting dishes. Luckily, it's easier to get in Flagstaff than you might think.
For me, the comforting food is bagels. What some call simple is the perfect blank slate for creative food combinations. At home, a toasted bagel slathered with cream cheese is an easy snack. At the restaurant, bagel sandwiches are a feast.
biff's bagel and fat bagel There are two stores I go to in town. I started researching which Flagstaff people prefer more. Reactions were mixed, and a surprising number of people had never been to either, so I took matters into my own hands.
Biff's Bagels is a locally acclaimed, family-owned bagel shop that opened 24 years ago. The store's name incorporates the owner's beloved dog and a message of support for family businesses.
Owner John Conley said: fat olive and salsa brava, opened Fat Bagels on the east side of town in December 2023. Conley learned the art of New York bagels to protect his reputation as a fine-dining restaurant owner. Winner of Best of Flag Award 6 times He already does that between his two restaurants.
I went to both bagel stores and picked up my usual order. This is a classic breakfast bagel sandwich with egg, cheese, and ham on a toasted bagel.
During my journey to find the perfect bagel, I compared the two based on three criteria. The location, the menu, the quality of the food. Disclaimer: Both establishments serve delicious food. However, one stands out more than the other.
Biff's Bagels is located next to the railroad tracks on Beaver Street. This area promotes walkability and is well-suited to weekend crowds where parking is required three blocks away.
This prime location has made Biff a household name in the community. Macy's European Coffee HouseThe store across the street almost always sells bagels past Biff's manufacturing date.We also sell bagels Bookman's Entertainment Exchangeproving that the fabric is widespread in our town.
Biff's dining room is large and open. There are about six bar stools on two high-top tables and two long bar-style counters. If you've ever wanted to stand up and eat a bagel, this is definitely the place for you.
Fat Bagels is located on Route 66 on the east side of town. There's a mini drive-thru so it's never crowded. It's okay to drive further.
The dining room at Fat Bagels is a little more cozy, with a good number of tables and plenty of chairs.
The next thing to compare was the menu. Biff's Bagels has a standard menu of bagels with schmear, breakfast, and hot and cold bagel sandwiches. The store also offers a variety of bagel and cream cheese flavors, including Rosemary Garlic Bagel, Spicy Everything Bagel, and Sriracha Cream Cheese, so the combinations are endless.
The Spicy Everything Bagel, known as the Spicy Mish Mash at Biff's, is a delicious twist on the classic bagel. The only different ingredient is the red pepper flakes in the seasoning, which adds the perfect accent. This bagel is so popular that it always sells out whenever I go there.
Biff's is well aware of the community's love for spicy mishmash, so they came up with a compromise. The store offers bottles of regular and spicy mish-mash seasoning for customers to dip into their bagels at home.
Fat Bagel may not have its own spiciness, but what it lacks in bagel and cream cheese flavor it makes up for with a wide menu of unique options from your standard bagel shop. In addition to bagels with cream cheese, we also offer hot breakfast bagels, breakfast burritos, bagel sammies, croissants, salads, parfaits, steel cut oats and more.
Fat Olive's Italian menu inspired the Fat Bagels menu, which includes a breakfast version of the signature Miss Piggy pizza.
Now, about the bagels I ordered for each. I was disappointed that Biff's didn't have spicy or plain mishmash, but decided to try the rosemary garlic. This was a pleasant surprise. The meat, cheese and eggs were nothing special, not bad, but nothing to write home about. The bagel itself, which I asked to toast, came out burnt and chewy, which is common at Biff's.
I would rate Biff's bagels a 7/10, but the rosemary garlic bagel gets bonus points for its flavor. Unfortunately, this wasn't the best bagel I've had at Biff's and at $11, I was a little disappointed.
Fat Bagels features a classic breakfast sandwich on a toasted Everything bagel. The bagel was cooked perfectly, maintaining a crispy crust and a soft interior of the bagel. The seasoning on “everything” was more flavorful than anything I've ever had at Biff's or anywhere else.
Having the perfect bagel is a great foundation, but having good ingredients is just as important. Fortunately, that wasn't an issue with Fat Bagels. Unlike the biff, which tasted like something you could make at home with a little practice, the eggs, cheese and meat were clearly restaurant quality. Fat Bagel's high-quality ingredients allow each element to play a perfect role in the overall bagel sandwich experience.
I rate this bagel 10/10. This was his cheaper option of the two and a much more satisfying meal than Biff's.
I think it's clear by now that fat bagels are the winner for me. I would like to emphasize that both locations are great local restaurants. But it's equally important to support and support Flagstaff's various local businesses. Fat Bagels is a new restaurant, but it needs as much love as Biff's to become the city staple it deserves.
