Toasted Or Not?

Here's a piece from last year, but the subject is always relevant: what are the best bagel flavors? (The article is a bit provincial, saying it's hard to get good bagels outside of New York or Montreal.  Of course, I'm old enough to remember when it was hard to find a bagel at all throughout much of the country.)

Anyway, here's the list, from bottom to top:

13. Blueberry
12. Chocolate Chip
11. Whole Wheat
10. French Toast
9.   Poppy Seed
8.   Garlic
7.   Cinnamon Raisin
6.   Asiago
5.   Sesame
4.   Onion
3.   Pumpernickel
2.   Everything
1.   Plain

This list is just weird.  It starts well--Blueberry I don't go for, Chocolate Chip is more a cookie than a bagel, and Whole Wheat is sort of dull.

Then French Toast.  Is this even a bagel?  I'm not sure it should be on the list at all.  Then comes Poppy Seed, one of my favorites. I agree it's not as good as Sesame, but it's way too low.  Garlic is too low as well.

Cinnamon Raisin is about right.  I generally don't approve of sweet things on a bagel, but this is the one that works.  But Asiago?  Get that cheese out of there--it should be banned from the bagelverse.

Sesame should perhaps be higher.  And Onion is a classic--perhaps #1.

Pumpernickel is an oddity--not always in the mood, but it's the most different of the regular bagel flavors.

The Everything is rated too high.  It can work, but I'd rather concentrate on one flavor at a time.

And Plain is #1?  Good old Plain?  There's nothing wrong with Plain, and it allows you to build--cream cheese, tomato, onion, lox, whatever.  But if it's #1 then why put any flavors in a bagel to begin with.