If you can’t decide whether to have cereal or bagels for breakfast, Bagel Nook can give you both with a cereal-flavored bagel — or so they say. As a self-proclaimed bagel lover, I was eager to try the famous shop in this town I’ve just started to call a second home. After reading about their unique and intriguing flavors, including an entire cereal-themed line, I set off on a 40-minute walk there, full of anticipation.
When I arrived, though, I was immediately confused. I thought I knew what to expect after browsing their menu online, but none of the bagels or spreads were labeled. It felt like picking from a box of mystery jelly beans: colorful and exciting but a guessing game. Thankfully, the staff were kind and patient when I asked for help identifying everything, though there were so many flavors that it was hard to remember.
The front counter at Bagel Nook
Eesha Sutaria / The Daily Princetonian
I decided to sample all the cereal- and snack-inspired bagels: Oreo, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cap’n Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, and Fruity Pebbles ($2.75 each). I also ordered a quarter-pound of three spreads: Cookie Monster ($3.90), Birthday Cake ($3.90), and Maple Butter ($2.86).
With these bright, ornamented treats in front of me, my mouth started watering, even though they looked a little greasy. I tried every flavor combination, each bagel with each spread, expecting to taste 15 distinct creations. Instead, it felt more like three. Nearly all the bagels tasted identical and were plain and underwhelming. Most of the flavor came from the spreads, and even then, only Birthday Cake and Maple Butter were distinct.
The Maple Butter spread had a warm, natural sweetness that reminded me of whipping brown sugar and butter together to make a cookie. The texture was a little grainy in a pleasant way. The Birthday Cake cream cheese was very artificially sweet, as expected, tasting like buttercream frosting. However, the Cookie Monster cream cheese tasted like ordinary cream cheese tinted blue.
Would order again:
The Maple Butter spread, especially with the Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Cap’n Crunch bagels. They paired perfectly with these fairly mild bagels, creating a flavor reminiscent of cookie dough.
Would change something:
The Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Cap’n Crunch bagels with the Cookie Monster and Birthday Cake cream cheeses: For the Cookie Monster cream cheese, the color seemed to be the only addition, and it did not add anything to the taste of plain cream cheese. I would change the cream cheese and try those flavors again with more combinations.
The Fruity Pebbles bagel was the only one with any real sweetness. It didn’t quite capture the cereal’s flavor, but it was less bland than the others. However, with the Birthday Cake and Maple Butter spreads, the combo bordered on too sweet, like dessert on dessert.
Would never order again:
The Cocoa Puffs bagel, rather than being sweet, was bland, dense, and chewy like rye bread. None of the spreads helped much, and I could barely taste the minimal Cocoa Puffs sprinkled on top. Only Maple Butter added a hint of balance and flavor.
The Oreo bagel, meanwhile, looked like a twist of rye and plain dough, and tasted just as dull. Even the spreads couldn’t redeem it, though Maple Butter was the closest.
Overall, the bagels lacked the flavor their vibrant appearances promised. The concept was creative, and the designs were certainly Instagram-worthy, but the execution fell flat. Each bagel felt more like a dense roll than a distinct, flavored bagel experience.
The spreads, on the other hand, had potential. Maple Butter was the clear standout: subtly sweet, rich, and balanced. Birthday Cake was enjoyable in small doses, while Cookie Monster was all show and no substance.
In the end, I was more impressed by the idea than the taste. The Bagel Nook’s creations look exciting on social media, and the concept of cereal-themed bagels is undeniably fun. But in practice, they were disappointingly bland. Their looks were far more memorable than their flavor.
I’d recommend stopping by if you’re curious or want a good photo for your feed. While I enjoyed the Maple Butter spread, don’t expect anything close to a life-changing bagel. You would get similar quality at Princeton’s dining halls.
Eesha Sutaria is a contributing writer for The Prospect and a member of the Class of 2029. She can be reached at eesha.sutaria@princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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