Bagels get star treatment at sandwich-centered cafe

Few ever take the time to consider the bagel. It’s a most serviceable form of food, providing cheap fuel or a sturdy base for lovely lox and nice and fatty cream cheese. But rarely is the bagel ever considered in the same lofty leagues as a golden, crusty French baguette, herb-infused focaccia or buttery brioche.

Terumi Drake wants to change our perception of the humble bagel. After buying Lox of Bagels in 2008, Drake said she couldn’t help feeling that there was more to bagels beyond being slapped with cream cheese. The bagel could be the basis of more substantial, creative fare, and she set out to prove it. With a handful of recipes and more to come, she’s rebooting bagel culture via an extension of her business, Cafe Grace, named after her daughter.

The new cafe is on the makai end of the Imperial Plaza at 725 Kapiolani Blvd. It’s home to breakfast, lunch and dessert sandwiches, all delivered atop Lox of Bagels’ many flavored bagels — which are matched with specific toppings.

The menu is entirely different from the one available at Lox of Bagels’ 1111 Dillingham Blvd. location, but due to the popularity of the bakery’s chicken-and-grape salad sandwich, a curry version ($7.75) was created for the new site. 

The price is more reasonable when you consider that the savory sandwiches come with a small salad of mixed greens for a complete meal. And, in keeping with today’s sustainable ethos, ingredients are sourced locally whenever possible. 

The cafe is beautifully appointed with a lounge area up front, though to make the space for it more practical tables are pushed close together on the opposite side of the cafe. A counter accommodates singles and twosomes when the tables fill up, which is almost always the case during the busy lunch period. 

Get started in the morning with bagel-and-egg creations such as a red bell pepper and onion omelet ($7) with smoked applewood bacon, cheese and spinach on a purple taro bagel or a jalapeno omelet ($7) with Italian sausage and pepper jack on a cheese bagel. I have yet to try the banana-walnut French toast bagel ($5.50).

Before heading back to the office, pick up a team-building box of plain, blueberry, jalapeno, spinach, strawberry and other bagels at $1.25 each, as well as plain cream cheese ($1.50) or a selection of savory (garden vegetable, jalapeno cheddar, spinach herb) or sweet (guava, honey, strawberry) cream cheeses at $1.75 per choice.

At lunchtime, savory options include an entree-styled Alfredo chicken melt ($7.50) with spinach, mushrooms, bacon and provolone. And you won’t miss the traditional rye bread when hot pastrami ($8.50) and sauerkraut are piled on a warm, toasty whole wheat bagel instead. This showcases the idea of the bagel sandwich at its best.

There’s a local touch in the form of the "Taste of the Islands" ($8.50) sandwich comprising kalua pork topped with lomi salmon on a taro bagel.

And if you’re hungry for traditional lox, that too, comes with the plus-one of jalapeno egg salad that delivers an attention-getting sting of heat. For $9.25, it also comes with arugula on a spinach bagel.

As for desserts, you could get sweet chocolate hazelnut with strawberry and banana slices spread atop a strawberry bagel ($4.95), cream cheese with berries and bananas atop a blueberry bagel ($4.95) or opt for more traditional fare made by Lox of Bagels, such as a Hawaiian bread pudding ($3.50) that you’d never guess started with bagels, mango parfait ($2.50), and light, Japanese-style cheesecake ($3) that comes in Kona coffee, raspberry and lilikoi flavors.

It doesn’t take much of a commitment to check this place out, and those who still eat gluten may find themselves pleasantly surprised by this new "bread" option.

Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.