We spent the Easter holiday in Minneapolis. I like Minneapolis a lot. There are many differences between Grand Forks and Minneapolis. The size difference I get. With larger size comes options. There is the Mall of America. I can get by with about one visit to “The Mall” every couple of years. The Twins are a great draw. I even have tickets. There are lots of fine coffee shops, interesting books stores, and people who look different than me. I like that too. However, you don’t need to be any larger than 30,000 or so for a decent bagel shop.
What I can’t figure out is why Minneapolis and nearly every other place I have visited has fresh bagels and Grand Forks does not. The frozen kind you ship in do not count and neither do the soft kind that seems to be some form of donut without the sugar. I am talking the kind you boil and that has a crust. There actually have been a couple of great bagel shops in Grand Forks over the years. I arrived at one on Saturday morning a few years ago and found the front door closed with a chain and padlock. I kind of figured that was the end. There was another shop and it was even owned by lawyers so I thought the chain and padlock was less likely. It just closed. No chain and padlock, but closed just the same.
So, why don’t the fine folks in Grand Forks eat bagels. We have lots of Mexican restaurants even if you don’t count the chain store variety. There are plenty of places to eat steak. We have several Chinese places – even the kind with that big heating surface they throw the stuff on that you pick out yourself. Bagels can’t be that complicated and the modern bagel can be eaten so many ways. There is the traditional way with cream cheese and maybe lox. Or, you can pretty much substitute a bagel for a sub bun and repurpose the offerings at a Subway. I am a big fan of the breakfast bagel (see above).
I thought for a while I might open a nice bagel shop when I retired. It would likely be a bagel/coffee combination with Internet access. I am thinking there is easy money in coffee drinks – the kind that requires heated milk in some form or another. Probably a dumb idea. Maybe I will just move to Minneapolis.