[EDINVA]

In New York City, of all places, buying a Starbux bagel makes NO sense. I don’t even like their coffee, but their fare beyond that is horrible. Better to go to Panera if you want chain bagels or coffee.

[mountn man]

I agree about Panera. I don't go there often, but a lot more often than Starbucks. I'll head up to Wisconsin about 3 hours away, for the day. And stop at a Panera about 1 mile from home, opposite direction of going to Wis. Get a large coffee and apple pastry, for the beginning of the ride. Just for pleasure.

Then I stop at Cracker Barrel, about an hour away, for breakfast (Mmmmm...Cracker Barrel).

Didn't NEED the Panera, just wanted the treat, an indulgence.

[fatnotlazy]

Me? I miss the old Mom and Pop bakeries. We had quite a few of them around here, but they’re all gone now. Back when I was a youngin’, no one knew what a bagel was. People ate doughnuts, cruellers, pastries...plenty of sugar and fat. This one bakery near me looked like a dive from the outside, but it had some of the most decadent baked goods in the world. Then the froo-froo chains like Starbucks came along. Pretty much ruined the bakeries and coffee shops. Sometimes new is not better.