This popular chain, which has several Tucson locations, refutes old-school bagel logic. Although many cantankerous transplants from back East have been known to insist that real bagels are hard, tasteless hockey pucks baked without the benefit of asiago, sun-dried tomatoes, raisins or blueberries, Bruegger's proves bagels can taste delicious and not destroy your dental work. They generally offer 17 varieties of bagels, 13 choices of cream cheese and some tasty bagel sandwiches, such as the herby turkey, the leonardo de veggie and the radishy roast beef, which in recent years have been upgraded to appear on bread, in wraps and a "Softwich," which is described on the menu as "sort of like a bagel, only bigger, softer and square."
2. Einstein Bros. Bagels, 4708 E. Sunrise Drive, 615-0508; 7151 N. Oracle Road, 219-1220, www.einsteinbros.com
3. Brooklyn Bagel Corp. (formerly known as The Bagelry), 2575 N. Campbell Ave., 881-6674