With a name like Bagels & Kabobs, it has to be good

A friend sent me an email at the start of the week about bagels. Specifically, salt bagels, which can be hard to come by. She found them at a place in Sutton that she thought might need some good publicity because it was somewhat deserted when she visited.

The minute I heard the name, I knew I’d be going there for lunch this week. Really, how can you resist a place that’s called “Bagels and Kabobs?”

Bagels and Kabobs is at 160 Worcester Turnpike, which my friend described as “that plaza that’s next to Tony’s Pizza.” It’s funny, over the years I’ve noticed women give directions differently than men — men like to give route numbers, women get more descriptive. For years, I gave directions to my workplace as “it’s in the same office park as Frugal Fannie’s/where Frugal Fannie’s used to be” and 99 percent of the time, the woman knew exactly what I was talking about… but I digress.

The menu is exactly what you think a place calling itself “Bagels and Kabobs” should be. Yes, bagels… and kabobs. But there’s more to it than that.

The owner (I kick myself for not getting his name) is originally from Lebanon, which I shrewdly guessed by the multiple photos of Lebanon on the wall and, well, all the Lebanese food on the menu. There’s kebbee, a lamb dish, alongside babaganouj (a dish that no restaurant ever seems to spell the same way twice), fatoush, spinach pie, zaater (a spice that also has multiple spellings) pie, stuffed grape leaves and, of course, kabobs — chicken, vegetable, lamb, steak and kafta.

On the other half of the menu, there are various deli sandwiches and baked goods, all of which are made in-house except for the bagels. Those are trucked in fresh daily from a local baker — bagel-making is a space-intensive art.

I opted for a chicken salad sandwich with cranberries and pecans on a sesame bagel and the entire thing was heavenly. The salad was excellent but the bagel was just amazing — I think I’ve finally found a good bagel locally!

Bagels and Kabobs also serves traditional breakfasts. The restaurant itself is has multiple tables with lots of space and, at the moment, every spare bit of non-customer space is filled with Christmas knick-knacks. The owner said he also does it up big for Halloween.

I’ll have to test the place on my Lebanese brother-in-law the next time he visits but, in the meantime, I’ll be back for the bagels. They make the ones at Stop and Shop look like brown and serve dinner rolls and wouldn’t you like to try something better than Dunkin’ Donuts for breakfast?