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Fourth Avenue may be busting at the seams with condos of dubious architectural merit, but until recently it’s lacked the most basic of New York amenities: A bagel shop. Now that Brownstone Bagel & Bread Company has opened on the corner of Union, that is—very happily—no longer the case. The store boasts tin ceilings, a tiled floor and nine kinds of bagels (photo on the jump). Even better, the owner is looking to keep the joint open 24-7, which would definitely be a boon to an avenue where wee-hour options basically begin and end with KFC and Mickey D’s. Anyone sampled the goods yet? GMAP

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  1. r u kidding??? the place is good… i go there every morning, have a great cup of coffee with my plain bagel and sundried tomatoe cream cheese.
    last saturday i had a prosciutto, roasted pepper w/capers sandwich on the focaccia and it was to die for…
    the owner is always polite and courteous and waves to me when i walk home.. def works too many hours 🙂
    taksa get a life…….its a bagel shop not le cirque

  2. I live 1.5 blocks away and was very thrilled to see this place being built. After giving them 4 tries, I’ve got to say that BBB is a big disappointment for the following reasons:
    1. The bagels are very mediocre. A perfect NYC bagel should be chewy/doughy on the inside and it should have a thin, but crispy crust. BBB’s bagels are either too dried out or undercooked and the crust is very thick.
    2. Other breads are equally mediocre and quite flavorless.
    3. They keep their breads out in the open on top of the main counter. I’ve seen several customers leaning over them, breathing on them and even sneezing on them. These are the same breads that your sandwiches will be made with. Yuck.
    4. They have a huge beverage fridge, but it’s stocked with a dismal selection of cold drinks.
    5. The coffee is truly awful, muddy and grainy tasting. Even the nearby corner delis make a better cup of coffee.
    6. They constantly run out of things you want. And they don’t know how to make their so-called signature sandwiches. I ordered a sandwich that claimed to come with “shaved reggiano,” but I wound up with some soft and bland cheese (maybe Muenster?).
    7. The “baby field greens” for my sandwich came out of a large cardboard box sitting on the floor near the cooler. Yuck again.
    8. Yesterday I ordered a sandwich and witnessed the staff arguing about it in front of me. The sandwich maker asked one of the kitchen helpers to get him something from the cooler and the guy yelled back: “Get it yourself!” They were all so pissed off, I was worried that they may be doing god-knows-what to my food in the back.
    I will not be buying anything “freshly made” from this shop, perhaps just packaged goods.
    I was impressed that I was able to get food there at 4:15 in the morning, but that’s about the only positive thing I can say about this place. Taksa

  3. I went there last weekend, and the bagels were great, but I missed my typical latte on the side, had to drink regular coffee instead. The ever-present owner, who was greeting everyone at their tables, said the espresso machines would arrive soon. hopefully they don’t go too expensive, if they stay cheap I’d definitely hit them most mornings.

  4. Brownstone Bagel & Bread Company is a charming place that I welcome to the neiborhood. The owner was very nice and the staff was great! Not to mention the tasty bagels… yum..! You MUST try them all!

    Looks like i found my new breakfast place!!!!!

  5. Walked in this morning and I have to say, WOW. The smell of the fresh Bagels were so overpowering that I had to order a full dozen hot bagels for my co-workers(im sure i will have one or two more on my way in to work) and that was after I ordered my own bagel with cream cheese. Bagel I got was fantastic and the service was equally good. I was in and out in under 5 minutes. Looks like I found my morning breakfast shop right before I jump on the R train….

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