The broken neon sign indicates quality and authenticity.
Montague Street Bagels, or "Hot Bag" as it's known, is reliability itself. There is an incredible variety of things to eat, the staff have been pleasant every time I've come in (easily more than ten times), and even though it's never closed the food is always fresh.
There are over 10 different kinds of Bagels and you can get almost anything you can imagine as a filling. There's a different soup every day that comes with a free bagel, usually for under $5, and there are three blends of filter coffee for $1.25 for a medium.
While you generally make your own combinations, it would almost be unethical of me not to recommend
the Lox (Salmon) with Cream cheese on Poppy seed. No matter what Permutations of this I ask for (capers, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese etc), the staff have an almost uncanny instinct to balance the flavours, textures and proportions, and I've never been skimped on Salmon, Bacon, or anything else I've asked for. A fully loaded meal-size bagel will usually cost around $7, which is not bad for a sandwich that's as tall as it is wide from being so stuffed with fillings.
The staff are fantastic. Always up for a laugh, and always patient at 4:00 AM if people come in all dishevelled and obnoxious. When a regular customer realised on the way in that he had lost his wallet, an employee on the way home offered to lend him $10 on good faith just so the guy could get a bite to eat. This is how much Hot Bag will reward customer loyalty and go out of it's way to give you a good experience.
If you're visiting New York and want to see what the City of Bagels has to offer, look no further than Hot Bag. The food is fantastic, there's a great variety of choices, friendly service, and the prices are very good for what you're getting.
