Collegetown Bagels

A CTB Order for Every Zodiac Sign

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Aries — March 21 to April 19 

The Southwest Breakfast Wrap has a little bit of everything with a spicy kick to pair with an Aries’ spunkiness. Aries are not afraid of a challenge and can take on this monstrous burrito filled with scrambled eggs, black beans, green peppers, jalapenos, salsa and pepper jack without hesitation. Easily bored, they opt for the seasonal lemonade to keep things fresh and new. 

Taurus — April 20 to May 20

Tauruses fall in love with the soothing aromas of this CTB order. The Stewart Parker provides a turkey and cheese combo on a buttery croissant that makes Tauruses feel at home. This simple order neglects out-of-the-ordinary ingredients that would scare a Taurus away; the addition of a hot tea provides a few minutes of much needed relaxation before returning to their studies.

Dining

Real Bagels: A CTB Retrospective

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Returning home after this semester was a bittersweet experience. I was sad to leave the friends and university that COVID-19 has shown I value so much, but seeing my family and having a real bagel lessened that sadness. As I have mentioned before, I have a slight personal vendetta against Collegetown Bagels, and as I spent time away from home I started to have doubts about how harsh I was to the famed establishment. While many agreed with me, others brought up well framed arguments in defense of CTB and made me have a minor crisis of faith. When I came home to New Jersey at the end of the in-person semester, I realized that I had never been more correct in my life. 

There are few breakfast foods in life that are as versatile, sustaining and simple as the humble breakfast sandwich.

Dining

Three Must-Get Fall Flavored Treats

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With fall’s arrival, there’s nothing more exciting than looking at new seasonal treats. It’s always been a joy for me to look at the innovative additions to restaurants’ and cafes’ temporary seasonal menu. So, I decided to visit local eateries and try out some of their seasonal items, focusing on pumpkin and apple. Collegetown Bagels — Pumpkin Bar
Starting off with this iconic treat, the pumpkin bar is a three layered dessert bar with a graham cracker base, cream cheese frosting in the middle and a layer of pumpkin spice cream cheese topped with whipped cream. The pumpkin bar looks nothing but delicious and offers a great variety of flavor.

Dining

Coffee in Ithaca: Top Picks at Local Cafes

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For a town that boasts more restaurants per capita than New York City, Ithaca does not provide many options of coffee shops. There are only three spots where the main output is coffee, and around six other locations that serve a variety of coffee drinks. Interestingly enough, there are many upstate New York coffee roasteries, whose beans are used in Ithaca though few have their own cafes. College students generally require coffee to function, and especially as it gets colder and greyer, caffeine becomes even more necessary. Over my two years in Ithaca, I have tried the coffee at almost every cafe, breakfast spot and farmers market stand.

Dining

CTB Might Offer More Than Just Nostalgia

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Gabe Schiffer’s column on Collegetown Bagels is extraordinarily colorful and eloquent. Unfortunately, it misses the larger picture about this iconic, decades-old, family-run local business. CTB has been around for nearly half a century, initially known in the 1970s as The Bagelry. Its expansion, unparalleled by any other business in Ithaca, has created a huge number of jobs in this community: At any given time, CTB employs hundreds of staff. CTB sources much of the electricity they use from solar power, recycling and composting are daily rituals and they actively seek to source their ingredients from local suppliers.