Katz Bagels (Mission Street) in San Francisco, California: A Review

Let the giant bagel hanging precariously over Mission Street outside entice you. Katz Bages in Sa Francisco, California has some really good bagel sandwiches at a reasonable price, along with some pretty good coffee, and makes for one of the better morning stops for a quick breakfast in the downtown area.

The standby option of a bagel with egg, cheese and bacon, along with a medium coffee, will set you back about $5.50. That's certainly not where the options end, however! A simple bagel with cream cheese and a small coffee sets you back only about three bucks. From there you can expand upwards to tomato, lox, sausage, chives, chive cream cheese, strawberry cream cheese, smoked salmon, honey date or cucumber dill. Bagels on offer are plain, sourdough, garlic, whole wheat, poppy seed, sesame seed, asiago, pumpernickel, rye, egg, salt, dill cheddar, cranberry, jalapeno, sun dried tomato, cinnamon raisin, even a chocolate chip if you've got the morning sweet tooth. And while the focus is obviously on the bagels, they also do pizza slices, mini-pizzas and a small range of deli sandwiches in the afternoon.

As with any Financial District eatery the place can get pretty busy on weekday mornings, but the line always seems to move smoothly, probably mostly due to their "cash only" policy (prepare accordingly.) The place is long and narrow, with maybe seven or eight small tables for seating, but the vast majority of the business seems to be "to-go" and they also have a little hidden outdoor seating area in the back through a door that looks like it goes to a restroom. The place has always been impeccably clean every time I've been there and the staff is always efficient but polite.

It isn't the fabled "New York style", but it certainly is pretty good. And certainly a heck of a lot better than fast food, but served just as fast, and at the same price point. And in a nicer environment, too!