Bagels in Mississauga Head-to-Head

Today we compare two popular Bagel spots in Mississauga:

The Bagel House vs What a Great Bagel 

Welcome to Mississauga Restaurants Head-to-Head, a new column where we compare two restaurants in Mississauga with similar cuisines and rank them based on taste, presentation, menu, service, atmosphere and uniqueness.

The Taste: 

This is the battle of two separate beasts, two separate schools of thought and two cities which bring their own spin on this doughy delight. The Montreal style bagel (The Bagel House) is much denser, smaller and sweeter than the New York style (the ones most commonly found in Ontario and What a Great Bagel). The Montreal style bagels are boiled in honey sweetened water and baked in a wood stove oven. This is the key to the taste advantage. I don’t know about you, but when I walk into ANY restaurant and I smell a wood burning oven I fall in love quicker than J-LO at a Latin R&B convention. 

Winner:  The Bagel House. 

The Presentation:

 I have to be honest with you, I took my bounty home and destroyed it with cream cheese and smoked salmon. The only presentation that took place was me presenting these delicious carb bombs to my gullet! 

Winner: Tie  

The Menu:

Both locations had combos for lunch, while What a Great Bagel had a small deli section which appeared to have a wide variety of cold cuts and sausages.  The Bagel House had some great looking cream cheese with lox (smoked salmon).   

Winner:  The Bagel House because fish always wins out 

The Service:

The lady that approached me at What a Great Bagel was very nice and answered all of my stupid questions with a smile. Like when I asked her If I could put my jacket in the bagel oven to warm it up (it was -22 outside). She also mentioned that since it was not busy, she could put in batch of warm bagels for me and they would be ready in 15 mins! The Bagel House staff seemed very nice and all, but What a Great Bagel wins out. 

Winner:  What a Great Bagel 

The Atmosphere:

It was the coldest day of the year when I went on my bagel mission in Mississauga. My wife was spending the day at the spa, sipping Ciroc and soda in the hot springs while I searched out warmth on these mean streets. Both places hit the spot in that regard.

Winner: Tie 

The Unique:

I honestly do not understand why Montreal-style bagels are not popular throughout Canada.  I maybe a biased Montrealer, but come on guys, get with it! The taste of the Montreal style bagel is more unique in every regard! 

Winner: The Bagel House

Price Range:

Again, if honesty is the best policy, I am cheap… VERY VERY cheap. As such, I purchased a dozen of each style of bagels and did my head to head taste test with cream cheese and smoked salmon.  The remaining bagels were used to make, like, 40 pizza bagels and I felt like I was 12-years-old again! In all this excitement, I lost the receipt that showed the exact prices but then found it!

$7.25/per dozen (poppy seed bagels)  

The Verdict: 

I can’t help it, I am a sucker for nostalgia, wood burning ovens, episodes of Maury and Montreal Style Bagels.  While both locations had delicious bagels, I believe the originality of the Montreal Bagel pushed the Bagel House ahead. 
 
Winner: The Bagel House BABY!

Map and contact info to The Bagel House and What a Great Bagel>