On a recent hunt for bagel sandwiches, other equally bagel-oriented freshmen and I stumbled upon Nashville’s newest Benji’s Bagels, which opened in January 2024. With other popular bagel shops near campus, like Proper Bagel, we wondered if Benji’s could be the secret to a more delicious breakfast.
Shortly after their opening, news outlets like The Tennessean and Channel 5 Nashville covered the story of their opening and revealed that wait times to get your hands on a bagel were through the roof.
We hoped after the trek over to Charlotte Park, we would be content with our choice. At least the weather was good!
Immediately, the baked goods caught our eye. They had a selection of muffins, cake, and even hamantaschen!
Now, I’d like to excuse myself for the quality of these photos, because I forgot to take better ones both times we were there. Sue me!
This was the spread the first time we went. Chelsea got an iced vanilla latte, a hamantaschen, and “The New Yorker” bagel sandwich on Everything. I got a salted chocolate chip cookie and “The Albanian” sandwich on a Cheddar bagel.
I made a few changes like no prosciutto, added tomato, over hard egg, and extra arugula the first time around.
Chelsea loves burrata cheese, so she got that on the side. I obviously snatched some of hers; it’s called the friend tax.
I’d say despite them missing the extra arugula, the sandwich was great the first time around. When I came back the second time, I changed the cream cheese from Feta Olive to Sundried Tomato, and added avocado, both of which made a huge difference and improved it even further.
I know I’ll be back. I also know I won’t be trying any other bagels. The Cheddar is great and whatever you do, get avocado on it. You won’t regret it.
If you make your way over to Benji’s Bagels, we hope you like it! Until next time… peace!
