Liberty Bagel Cafe – Fords, NJ 2/6/16
Rachel, Colleen, Tina, and I visited Liberty Bagel Cafe in Fords, NJ last February on a chilly morning before going birding. Even though we visited at peak time on a Saturday morning, there was ample seating. We found the plants and other interior design to be very pleasing.
Rachel ordered a whole wheat everything bagel with sundried tomato cream cheese. She was pleased with the distribution of both toppings and “bottings.” The bagel had large salt crystals included in the toppings, which is uncommon and was not appreciated. Rachel was happy with the flavor and amount of cream cheese shmeared on her bagel. She gave her bagel a 6.5 because the salt overwhelmed her, and the cream cheese a 7.
Colleen had an everything bagel with plain cream cheese. Unlike Rachel, Colleen was not pleased with the amount of cream cheese and wished for more. She was pleased with the toppings, except had the same complaint as Rachel – too many salt crystals. Overall, the New Jersey native described the bagels as “good, but not great.” Colleen rated the bagel a 6.5 and the cream cheese a 7.
Tina ordered a pumpernickel bagel with lox cream cheese. She found the bagel to be denser and chewier than she expected. Tina also commented on the slight portion of cream cheese, but she wasn’t sure if this was a bad thing. She described the distribution of lox in the cream cheese as “adequate.” Overall, she said the bagel was a “solid B,” and rated both the bagel and cream cheese a 7.
I had an onion bagel with chive cream cheese. I found the bagel to be on the smaller side, a bit too dense, and not chewy. This made the bagel not seem very fresh, and almost reminiscent of a supermarket Lenders bagel. The cream cheese had a good texture and fresh scallions, but it was a bit salty. I rated my bagel a 5 due to it lacking appropriate bagel texturing and the cream cheese a 7.
Overall, we found Liberty Bagel to be just another mediocre New Jersey bagel place, but with a nice interior atmosphere.
Overall Bagel Experience: 6.7
Price: bagel with specialty CC – ~$2.20
