Alon Z / Art / Teaneck bagels

An instrumental string guitar melody is playing in low volume as I open the back door of Adams' car and place my backpack in the gap between the front and the rear seats. I quickly close the door and open the front one, get inside and give Adam a fist bump. Without saying anything Adam pulls out of the parking spot and accelerates on grand street towards the bridge crossing the East rivers into manhattan. There’s almost no traffic at 7am on a Saturday and before we know it we turn right into Clinton Street followed by another right turn to Houston street and a left turn into the FDR.

We talk about job search strategies and Adam says that bit manipulation challenges are his favorite assessments, and that they are not that difficult once you get the basics idea. My personal experience has proved me different so far, but I’m trying to keep an open mind. Freddie Mercury is now singing “The show must go on" in the background as Adam switches the topic to tell me about his new dough proofing basket and the disadvantages of using a wooden pizza peel with just flour and no parchment paper, and that he is concerned about using parchment paper in an oven hotter than 420 degrees. A fast moving vehicle with shaded windows passes us when we approach the U.N and then another vehicle of the same maker with normal windows repeats this action when we reach Randalls Island, making me wonder if I am experiencing a deja vu. I try not to think about it and assure Adam that I used parchment paper in 500 degrees or even hotter temperatures and it was fine, “you do have to make sure to pull it out half way through” I say repeatedly as we merge into the Harlem river drive and onto the lower level of the George Washington bridge.

We talk about dough blends and if it’s better to use 50-50% white to whole wheat ratio or 50-40% and 10% rye mix. Then Adam says that he started making his own oats flour for pancakes and that I have to try it. I don’t have much motivation for pancakes I say, but I’ll be curious to try it on a crepe. We take exit 72A and merge into New Jersey 4 west and then take the Teaneck Rd exit and park in the back of the Teaneck bagels parking lot.

When we get out of the car, I open the back door and reach into my backpack to get my credit card. I always pay when we get bagels since Adam owns and pays for the car and it’s ongoing maintenance that enables the trip. Neither Adam or I ever made a bagel I realize, but we stop here every time we go on a hike.

A group of nurses are standing in line ahead of us, giving me the time to decide on getting a poppy seed bagel. Adam will be getting his usual plain with cream cheese. We wait for them to prep the order then go and eat the bagel in one of the seats of the frozen yogurt store next door. Adam says that today's hike is an undocumented trail with 1,800 feet elevation. As he mentions that he was able to download half of the map area to his phone, I realize that I brought a sliced tomato to put on the bagel from home and left it in the car. I'll eat it for lunch I think without saying anything.