2/20/13: Bruegger's 30th Anniversary Event with Excecutive Chef Philip Smith

I had the joy of attending a blogger media event at Bruegger's Bagels to celebrate their 30th Anniversary of baked fresh bagels.  I was lucky enough to learn how they make their bagels directly from their Corporate Executive Chef Philip Smith and their baker at their location in Melrose, MA!

Chef Philip took the time with us to explain the process for making bagels. 

Did you know that Bruegger's Bagels are only made from 5 ingredients?  Salt, flour, water, yeast and barley malt.

  That is it!

 Here are the bagels ready to be boiled.  Bruegger's continually makes bagels fresh all day long.  Their bagels are best eaten 3-4 hours after being made but can be bagged in a plastic bag for the next day.  Another tip they gave us is that you can slice them and freeze them.  Then they are ready for your toaster and will be fresh.  Their bakers and managers get in to their shops at 4:30 in the morning to start the process so that when you get there for breakfast your bagel is ready and waiting!

 Cinnamon raisin bagels, one of my favorites.  Even the cinnamon that is used is well thought out, they use Korintje Cinnamon so you get the best taste.

 Every step is done by hand.  No assembly line here.

 Taking the boiled bagels to prepare them to go in to the oven.

 For our bagels they made Everything Bagels so here the baker is adding the toppings.

 Toasting up nice and golden brown.

I can't even tell you how good this smelled and tasted fresh out of the oven!  It was amazing!

 Plus they have so many varieties.

 You can't have a bagel without cream cheese, but at Bruegger's they use Vermont Cream Cheese and it is so good!

 Plus there are so many flavors.  My personal favorites are the Honey Walnut with the Cinnamon Raisin/Cinnamon Sugar bagel and the Garden Veggie with almost any other type of bagel.  The bacon scallion is awesome on their breakfast sandwiches.  I also heard rave reviews on the Maple cream cheese.

 Of course there is great coffee too.  I posted earlier about the bottomless mug program which I highly suggest if you go there often.

 The chef also showed us his culinary talents by whipping up this Smoked Salmon and Dill Strata made with Bruegger's Bagels.  It was really good!  You can find this recipe and more on their website here.

 If you are looking at cutting down on carbs they have a skinny version of their bagels.  The benefit is you get to pick any bagel flavor you want and they literally cut the middle section out of it.

 Here are I am with the group of bloggers that attended the event along with Chef Philip Smith.  I truly appreciate him welcoming us in to his kitchen, showing us the tricks of the trade and letting us break bread, oh I mean break bagels with him. 
Happy 30th Anniversary and here is to 30 more years of yummy bagels!

Go Like the Bruegger's Facebook page

Sign up for "Fresh News" on www.brueggers.com
You can also follow them on Twitter:  @Brueggers

Disclosure:  Bruegger's Bagels provided me with a lovely sampling of products, coupons for products, and a wonderful experience.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

10/7/12: Bruegger's Bagels and Bottomless Mugs

We love bagels, especially when they are right out of the oven at Bruegger's.  I took the kids there for lunch.  We went to their location in Andover and the staff was so friendly.  They were out of plain bagels which of course is what my kids wanted.  With only a 15 minute wait for them to be done we decided to wait.  The kids loved this because they got to see them being made.  The manager was so nice, he came in to let us know they would be out soon and despite ordering only 1 he gave us 2 since we had to wait.

 Here is the piping hot bagel right out of the oven.  Evan was so excited when he saw it coming out.  No need to toast it as it was still nice and warm.

 Yum!

This was my sandwich.  I love their bacon and scallion cream cheese.

Another great thing they have there is the Bottomless Mug.  This mug allows you to receive free coffee, tea and soft drinks for an entire year.  This includes seasonal coffees like Pumpkin Spice, which is perfect for Fall.  I personally love the Hazlenut and Kahlua Coffee.   

The 2013 Bottomless Mug goes on sale on October 24th and can be used immediately giving you 14 months of use.  

Membership in the Bottomless Mug Club is approximately $160 (depending on location).  Members can choose between a travel mug, card or key fob.  If you think about it, at $2 per coffee if you drank coffee 300 out of 365 days in a year that would come to $600!  That doesn't even include soda you may drink.  Plus is is a very large mug that keeps your coffee warm.

Today I got Hazlenut Coffee in mine and after that got some Diet Coke. 

 Plus, a portion of the proceeds from each mug sold will benefit Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. In 2013, Bruegger's hopes to raise $100,000 through Bottomless Mug sales and their annual Free Coffee Day which I posted about earlier.

The other thing I noticed is that with this mug there are also specials only given to Mug holders.  For example today it was $1 off a Bagel sandwich with the mug.  So on top of drinks the whole year you get to enjoy special discounts.

Like the Bruegger's Facebook page

Sign up for "Fresh News" on www.brueggers.com

You can also follow them on Twitter:  @Brueggers

Disclosure:  Bruegger's Bagels provided me with a 2012 Bottomless mug and coupons for products.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

6/7/12: Bruegger's Yummy Bagels, Free Iced Coffee Day and Clicks for Kids Campaign

I had the joy of attending a blogger media event today at Bruegger's Bagels.  I have always loved their bagels but I was lucky enough to get to sample some of their bagel sandwiches and a new iced coffee which is Kahlua flavored!  Yum!  I also got to bring my daughter Lauren who is a big bagel lover so she was excited.  Read on to learn how you can get a Free Iced Coffee and about the Clicks for Kids Campaign!

We were at their location in Winchester and their staff is amazing!  They were so friendly and eager to help.

Lauren and I enjoyed the food and drinks, and Lauren was especially excited to hear they are coming out with a Chocolate Chip Bagel in 2 weeks!  I love them because they carry Salt Bagels which I can never find.

The new flavor of Kahlua coffee is coming out soon and I can tell you it might just replace my normal Hazlenut flavor.

Bruegger’s also impressed me with a new campaign they are doing to benefit the kids and families served by Children's Miracle Network Hospitals® (CMNH) across the country.  Beginning May 29 through June 21, Bruegger’s will transform its Facebook page into a fundraising hub with its Clicks for Kids campaign. Facebook users, Bruegger’s guests and supporters of local children’s hospitals can simply “Like” Bruegger’s on Facebook and the bagel leader will donate $1 to CMNH, with all proceeds going to benefit local children’s hospitals.

Plus on June 21st Bruegger's will start of the first full day of summer right with its first Free Iced Coffee Day, a CMNH fundraiser at all its 300+ locations. Guests can enjoy the coolest drink of the season while also helping out their local children's hospital by donating at canisters located by the register. To get a free iced coffee, guests can download the required coupon from Bruegger’s Facebook page.  Members of Bruegger’s “Fresh News” email club will receive the coupon via email, and those who sign up for “Fresh News” at www.brueggers.com before June 19 will also receive a coupon.

Would you believe since 2009, Bruegger’s and its guests have contributed more than $100,000 to provide comfort, treatment and hope to millions of sick kids each year?  How wonderful!

So what do you need to do?

Go Like the Bruegger's Facebook page

Sign up for "Fresh News" on www.brueggers.com before June 19th

Get a free iced coffee on June 21st and put a little cash in the canister by the register to help out local children's hostpitals.

You can also follow them on Twitter:  @Brueggers

Disclosure:  Bruegger's Bagels provided me with a lovely breakfast and coupons for products.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.