In celebration of the 35 season premiere of Dancing with the Stars, they are collaborating with PopUp Bagels to create the limited edition “Mirrorball Medley Schmear” bagel spread.
PopUp Bagels is a fast-growing boutique bagel chain, which focuses on quality bagels and unusual bagel spreads, such as flavored butters and cream cheese. Their motto is “Grip, Rip, and Dip,” encouraging their customers to rip pieces off their bagels and dip their piece into their schmears.
The chain was founded in Westport, Connecticut, founded by Adam Goldberg as a backyard pandemic hobby in 2020. Goldberg’s small hobby has now become a 51 store operation spreading down the East Coast including locations in California and Texas.
Their main focus is simplicity, focusing on quality over quantity. to make bagels with the perfect texture and taste. In addition to quality bagels, the company also makes “epic schmears that elevate the cream cheese experience with bold, unexpected flavors.”
Their schmear of the week is the “Mirrorball Medley Schmear,” which is a brown sugar, vanilla-flavored cream cheese with “Foxtrot” fudge, White Chocolate “Waltz,” Butterscotch “Cha Cha” and “Tango” toffee chips mixed in.
According to the PopUp Bagels website, this new flavor is supposed to represent “the energy, glamour, and unforgettable moments that have fans coming back season after season.”
However, there have been mixed reviews about the flavor.
TikTok creator @paytonwickizer made a video trying the flavored cream cheese with her mother. After trying the Mirrorball Medley she said, “The schmear is very, very sweet…It has a little bit of tartness because it is cream cheese.”
She rated the schmear an 8 out of 10, but her mother rated it a 10 out of 10, stating “It’s nothing like I’ve ever tasted before.”
On the other hand, creator @haileewilkes on Instagram was excited to try the new flavor, but was disappointed after trying it.
“It was a little bit of a let down. It just tasted like sweet cream cheese, no other flavor and there was barely any toppings,” Wilkes stated in her Instagram reel. She also says that the cream cheese was “kinda basic,” but also gave it an 8 out of 10.
Another creator who complained that there weren’t enough mix-ins throughout the schmear was @hancrossan on TikTok.
“It’s good, but I think I was expecting more chocolate chips. There’s nothing really in this compared to the promo videos,” Crossan said.
The general consensus seems to be that the schmear doesn’t look like the promotion TikTok and it is a very sweet cream cheese, that it needs more mix-ins like they showed in their promotion video. But, when you’re collaborating with Dancing with the Stars, who’s known for their glitz and glamour, why skimp out on the sparkle?