The Brief: The internet is divided over bagel slice technique after a photo of St. Louis style bread sliced bagels went viral.
DEEP DIVE
On Monday, a man named Alex Krautmann posted a photo on Twitter of a dozen or so Panera bagels sliced into about 9 pieces each with the caption “Today I introduced my coworkers to the St Louis secret of ordering bagels bread sliced. It was a hit!”
As it turns out, this ended up being an incredibly divisive tweet. The most riled up folks seem to be from New York or St. Louis. There’s even been debate about whether or not Panera’s (St Louis Bread Company’s) bagels should be called bagels. And, because people love calling anything remotely scandalous something-gate, this has been informally named #Bagelgate.
Public opinion seems to be just as sliced up as these bagels are…
Original tweet and responses
Today I introduced my coworkers to the St Louis secret of ordering bagels bread sliced. It was a hit! pic.twitter.com/XNGbljtpYz
— Alek Krautmann (@AlekKrautmann) March 26, 2019
1. If you didn’t buy them in New York City or New Jersey, those are not bagels.
2. I’m reporting you to my rabbi.
— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) March 27, 2019
okay i live in St. louis and would like to clarify that we are not ALL sociopaths
— pony starwars (@tigersgoroooar) March 27, 2019
It seems that opinions about bagel slicing techniques are deeply embedded in cultural and regional loyalties. A few people dared to speak out in favor of bread sliced bagels, but the loudest voices are opposed to bread-sliced-bagels.
One dude bread slices a bagel and now st.louis out here like . pic.twitter.com/seo2nKNVPc
— Tony X. (@soIoucity) March 27, 2019
im just gonna say it
this is a good idea.
do not @ me or ill call the cops
they wont show up but my seriousbess will be illustrated https://t.co/xqHZtZ84iF
— tracy the emotional support penguin (@brokeymcpoverty) March 27, 2019
If you order a cinnamon crunch, sesame seed or onion bagel, for example, and have it sliced traditionally, the bottom part has none of the flavoring. Bread sliced allows you to enjoy the flavor with every bite.
— Randy Karraker (@RandyKarraker) March 28, 2019
As a Panera employee, this is the devils work. PLEASE for the love of God do not come in and order a dozen bagels and then ask us to bread slice all of them😩 https://t.co/JOfXptvCtE
— ❃ molly conlin ❃ (@molly_conlin) March 27, 2019
Keep it https://t.co/Z37Y1cfr2j
— Ira Madison III (@ira) March 27, 2019
Even Chrissy Teigen weighed in:
I mean you can, and should, slice them once, horizontally.
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) March 28, 2019
Some people shared other questionable bagel consumption methods:
I respect the structural perfection of my bagels so much I don't even chew them, I carefully push them down my throat with a blunderbuss loading-rod.
— Mark Lisanti (@marklisanti) March 27, 2019
I showed @broderick the correct way to eat a bagel like a real New Yorker pic.twitter.com/k78cyl8bYE
— Katie Notopoulos (@katienotopoulos) March 27, 2019
(opening a box of bagels that have been put through a paper shredder) it’s bagel slaw, that’s how we eat them in orlando
— Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub) March 27, 2019