Utopia Bagels Mini Everything Bagel with Lox Spread: I never once had a decent bagel when I lived in the Bay Area, so I'm relieved to now have an abundance of options back in NYC. One popular bagel shop I had yet to try was Utopia Bagels, located all the way in Whitestone Queens. Arriving at around 11:30am, the queue to order snaked around the entryway, and for a New York institution, the pace was extremely slow; from getting in line to leaving with food in-hand took about 45 minutes. Not being too hungry, I ordered their snackable mini bagel and chose their lox spread (from the many they have on offer). Toasted, the bagel was a bit burnt at the edges but had just the right amount of cream cheese. Texturally, though, the bagel lacked the softness and chew that I expect from a really good bagel shop. Overall, both the bagel and the lox spread were just ok - better than anything I had in SF, but that's not saying very much. As far as a NYC bagel goes, it's pretty middling. Might I suggest Best Bagel (midtown) or Absolute Bagels (UWS) instead? 2.5/5.0

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