The Great American Bagel

All around airport win. My bagel was soft and fresh (and tasty!). Egg and cheese sandwich was very hot. Service was friendly, and she let me modify the menu item. There’s also a good amount of seating in the area — including rocking chairs.

Seriously, how can a restaurant close at 5:30 PM on a busy Friday evening at the airport. And have the staff say «no we can’t do a salad»… instead of «i’m sorry we’re closing and we have already closed the salad bar. Owners I’m sure would love to know that there were several sales that would have occurred with 20 more minutes of staff time.

What is there to say about airport bagel shops, other than A-​OK?
The bagels seemed fresh (but it was 5am, so I’d hope they were fresh…) though the workers seemed a little grumpy (but it was 5am, so I don’t blame them) and the service was pretty quick (but it was 5am, so no one else was dumb enough to book flights that early).

For an airport sandwich shop, in Nowheresville, Maine, this is an excellent choice for sandwiches, salads, bagels and coffee. Deli meats were tasty, bagels and baguettes soft and fresh, coffee nicely brewed, and the salads fresh and healthy. Everything is made to order right in front of you, and the staff is very polite. Great place for a quick sandwich or snack before your flight!

Is this the best bagel you’re ever going to have?
Nope.
But — it is an EXCELLENT option for those of us who are a) vegetarian and/​or b) prefer a quick food option that doesn’t need to be eaten right away because c) it travels well. On my most recent trip out of Portland (over to Detroit — nearly three hours in the air) I decided to grab a bagel here to bring with me that way when the beverage service was ready to come around (with my cup of coffee and tomato juice — why yes, I am 80 years old at heart) I could have a mid-​air brunch for one.
Know that the menu for Great American Bagel doesn’t apply to ALL of their locations. Some of the bagel options I was most excited for weren’t represented at the Portland Jetport. As a matter of fact they only had a few options: regular, blueberry, and jalapeño-​cheddar. I went with the last option schmeared vegetable cream cheese (strawberry and plain were the only other two options there). «What a great combination,» the younger woman remarked as she toasted my bagel with a smile. «That’s definitely one of my favorites.» Such a friendly disposition! That, unfortunately, didn’t carry over to the other (much older) woman working. She rang me up while I was still poking around for other food. I grabbed a banana and she rolled her eyes dramatically (which is always REALLY amusing on an older woman, by the way), «I already ran your card.» She handed over my brown paper bag and walked away to loudly complain to the other girl about cup lids. I put the banana I was going to buy back and left dejectedly like George Michael in Arrested Development.
The bagel itself was good (as in: I’d order it again if I was hungry, needed something quick, and flying more than a couple hours away)… but definitely nothing revolutionary. It was really sandwich bread-​y in texture and had barely any hint of jalapeño or cheddar. The vegetable cream cheese was FULL of veggies, but I couldn’t really taste them individually.
All of that being said: my bagel was still being eyed lustfully by other passengers.
So, I still feel like this was a winning choice!

I needed a sandwich to take with me so I would have some food during a long trip back to LA. Found this place, and got an egg and cheese bagel. It really hit the spot.