Finagle-A-Bagel

Just another fake bagel. So close to NYC, but misses the mark by so much. If you are in Boston, avoid these places and instead go to Kupel’s in Brookline.

If you grew up eating bagels and stuff you won’t like it here. They don’t get it.
I had a craving for a toasted bagel with cream cheese and sliced tomato as any good Jewess would. I happened to be walking through dowtown crossing, so i stopped into this dump and since it was lunch time I decided to add smoked turkey.
Bagel was doughy and cream cheese had consistency of Elmer’s Glue but with out the tang. Worse yet, was that the offending cream cheese was only slathered on one half of the bagel. See? They Don’t Get It.
Tomato was anemic.
Smoked turkey however was surprisingly good. real turkey not deli pressed gelatinous meat-​like substance.
2 stars for the good people watching location near downtown crossing and the complementary Lake Champlain chocolate.

Crazy slicing machine = awesome. It’s amusing to see all the adults in line hypnotized by the buzz saw.
Bagels:
Lots, and I mean, lots of choices — salt, everything, wheat, cinnamon, sesame, egg, french toast, etc.
I usually get a toasted egg bagel with scallion cream cheese. It’s pretty good. Just something to note, they’re pretty heavy handed with the cream cheese so I ask for it on the side. I tried the grilled cheese and soup, nothing to write home about. It seemed a bit overpriced ($ 7?) for something so basic. I would stick with the bagels.

If you have any sort of food allergy (or even intolerance I suppose) don’t eat here. I can’t eat cheese. Three of the last five times I’ve been to this Finagle, I’ve order a bagel sandwich «without cheese, because I. Am. Allergic. To. Cheese.» only to watch them put cheese on the sandwich, then read the order, then scrape the cheese off, and then give me the sandwich.
WFT?

A cool spot to watch you bagel get cut… bagel gets tossed on to a treadmill then a saw blade chops it in half and shoots it down the belt way then it’s over last about a quarter of a second longer if you are lucky. Has an average lox bagel with all the fixin’s (plain cream cheese, tomatoes, lox, and onions) was only missing the capers. Beware of the vegetable spread it is slightly subpar, but not awful (just was not for me I guess). All and all an average bagel shop to pick up a quick bite.

So I love me a bagel. I also love me a salad. How does Finagle a Bagel manage to screw them both up?
I would like a salt bagel with reduced fat cream cheese.
— I get — A everything bagel with regular cream cheese
I would like a mediteranean salad with NO dressing
— I get a salad covered in dressing
Now, don’t get me wrong I love me a tuna melt from there its really good. But sometimes I just get frustrated at their inability to complete an order, and also when you take it back to get it fixed the servers get all angry. I would worry that my food would get spit in but I watch them with hawk eyes.
Sorry finagle I’ll stick with my dunks until I have another craving.

This place has a fun little buzzsaw to cut the bagels. Other than that, everything is pretty mediocre. I got a bagel with cream cheese and they hardly put any on at all. Now I know some people don’t like a lot of cream cheese, which is fine, but you can always take off extra cream cheese. You can’t magically make more. I asked the staff for a small additional container since there was hardly any on the bagel itself, they gave me one for free which was nice.
Bottom line, as far as bagels go, there are plenty of better places.

Yummmm…
Not as good as a dunk’n donuts bacon egg and cheese on an everything, but they have a much wider selection.
And they have that crazy bagel slicing/​shooting contraption that entertains you while you wait.

I’m updating this again to say that finagle has the best iced coffee I’ve had in a long time. Seriously.
Also, I’ve become a big fan of the melt sandwiches. They are amazing!

OK, + side, the bagels are good! sandwiches always pleasing, havent been dissapointed. thats the only reason its getting two starts instead of one.
bad side, — they should just stop at bagels, I got a salad and there were enough rotting greens in it, to make me throw half away. Why? is this acceptable?, yes those little greens rot easilly. But i really dont give a rats A** if the establishment bought to many or was unaware of how long they last. you just dont serve people rotten salad greens. it should be that simple, but sadly it happens too often. people who do so should be force fed a whole bowl of rotten greens! well not really. that would be cruel and unusual, but thats how mad it makes me. aside drom that, there was way too much dressing, they dress it themselvses, and too much cheese. BARF! STOP SERVING CRAP!

My routine for getting into Boston involves taking the commuter rail from Providence into town, heading over to the Park Street Station and walking over to Finagle for breakfast.
No matter how many times I see it, but the buzzsaw bagel cutter makes me smile. It’s just such an incredible feat of over-​engineering for something as seemingly insignificant as a bagel… truly we live in America for these moments.
The beauty of the bagel buzzsaw though is that there is space left next to the saw, adjacent to the glass windowpane facing the «audience.» The space allows for 90% of the bagel to get cut, leaving an uncut side that keeps the bagel together and makes managing the bagel during eating much easier.
Thoughtful.
Multiple bagel varieties to choose from. Multiple schmears as well. We had the vegetable which had bits of carrot in it. Also had the cinnamon raisin which was also tasty. All spreads are whipped and airy. Bagels are toasted just enough to have some crisp resistance prior to sinking your teeth into the dense center. At $ 2.50 for a bagel with spread though, that’s a little more pricey than I’dve expected.

I’ve been here several times over the years, and decided to finally post a review after stopping in here today. I’ve never ordered any food sans a bagel with cream cheese, and I wouldn’t really want to. The bagels are pretty good themselves though.
I had a jalapeño cheddar bagel with jalapeño cream cheese. Delicious.
And yes, I will note the neat buzz saw that the bagels pass on their conveyor belt. I will also note the disgusting bathrooms.

Whats up with all the haters on this finagle a bagel?
Compared to some wannabe mom and pop bagel shops in the area, their speed, efficiency, and food quality is amazing.
I love watching the bagels get cut on that dangerous looking wheel. And their strawberry cream cheese spread is amazing. AND their creamy tomato soup and grilled cheese special is even more amazing. I’ve ordered it three days in a row last week.
Also, they are really nice and fill up my water bottle with hot tea. And they give me two tea bags for the price of one!
My only gripe about the bagels is that they are super sweet. And many of them are coated in large sugar crystals! Whats up with that? I just want a bagel, not cake.

Allow me to restate the obvious:
The coolest thing about this location is the fact the bagels ride down a conveyor belt until they get to some sort of apparatus out of Predator, and then said bagels go shooting down to the end where they’re prepared.
The parts before it, overpriced coffee and sandwiches, and after it, mediocre bagels and bland service I could do without. And yes I am from New York, and no these are not bagels either.
I don’t know why this thing mentions parking. Please don’t drive here for these. If you’re driving, you might as well drive up Mass Ave to Bagels by US in Arlington. That’s as close as I’ve found.

everything bagel, toasted with butter can’t be beat.
holy crap that bagel buzz saw is awesome.
if you are just a casual bagel fan, the saw will make this place a worthwhile stop. yah, the bagels here arent stellar, but they are better than your average mediocre chain donut/​bagel/​coffee shop.
the coffee here is ok too, but its no gourmet shit but its better than some freeze-​dried tasters choice.

Ok, no I didn’t have any bagels here, but I did witness the bagels being sawed as they passed by on the conveyor belt. Genius! I’m thinking about installing one of these in my kitchen.
Anyhow, I was feeling soup, so I went with the lobster bisque since it was a downright nippy day and I needed a bit of warming up. It was pretty tasty, even though I burnt my tongue eating it. It was a generous cup of soup and even came with flavored bits of bagel to add to the soup.
I’d go back for the soup, and of course I’d like to try the bagels. They also have a ton of sandwiches and salads available.

–Abysmal coffee
–Average bagels
–Unfriendly staff taking your order and giving you your abysmal coffee
+Friendlier staff making your average bagel and giving it to you
+Convenient location when I worked in Tremont on the Common
+Fun bagel slicer
–I’m from Long Island… I do not do abysmal coffee or average bagels. Seriously.
The name «Finagle-​a-​Bagel» gave me so much hope. Honestly, before I lived here I thought the name was so amazing and could not wait to come here and try it. Then… I tried it and realized there is something worse the Dunkin’ Donuts. It’s a quick bite to eat, sure, but there is nothing here that you cannot get anywhere else and the quality just is not there.
Sorry…I’m finagling my bagels elsewhere.

Not terrible, but not great. I got a whole wheat sesame bagel, and it was really sweet. I don’t know if it was actually honey wheat (I wish they’d told me) or sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. Either way, it was far too sweet for me, especially with an egg sandwich. Coffee was just fine, but not great. All in all, it was adequate and filling.

This place is a perfectly adequate breakfast or lunch spot if you work in the greater Downtown Crossing/​Common area. It’s better for you than the junk you’d get at McDonald’s and served to you in roughly the same amount of time.
My standard is a salmon and cream cheese on a whole wheat bagel, and they do it just fine. No complaints at all, and I’ve been here a bunch.

Not cheap. How can two bagels with cream cheese and 2 juices come be so expensive?
I had a chunky vegetable bagel with jalapeño cream cheese. It was just ok. Brueggers is much better.
The location is a plus. It is close to many hotels and across the street from the T.