If there are any great bagels this far west of New York, I haven’t found them yet. East coast college students have brought a lot of great things to Ann Arbor, but, unfortunately, a great New York bagel spot isn’t one of those things. Michiganders rave about the doughnuts and cider in the fall, but the harsh reality is that no doughnut in Michigan can give a great New England doughnut a run for its money. Neither of those things change the fact that we still crave bagels and doughnuts on Sunday mornings (or every morning). Ann Arbor has a solution to satisfy both of your breakfast cravings in one glorious creation, the fragel.
There is only one place where you can get the full fragel experience: the original home of the fragel, MD Bagel Fragel. Formerly located on South U right by campus and called The Bagel Factory, MD Bagel Fragel was an Ann Arbor institution frequented by students for over thirty years. Rising rent prices forced the bagel shop to relocate to a location on Plymouth road by North Campus. It’s a hike for most students now, but it is one worth doing at least once. Make sure you go early in the day because the shop does run out most days. You can totally take an Uber there…if you don’t have the app yet download it using the code JLUBER to get your ride for free! (Yeah, she just did that.)
Photo by Alex Weiner
The fragel is simple. It is just normal bagel dough with some raisins thrown in deep fried and coated in cinammon sugar. The result is delicious, hot and chewy bagel dough with a crisp fried outside. The raisins in the dough add a little bit of sweetness but really do not add or take away much from the fragel. Just pick it up and eat it like a normal doughnut with nothing on it and you’ll be in fragel heaven. The fragel is more proof that everything is better fried (as if we needed it).
Photo by Alex Weiner
As the name suggests, MD Bagel Fragel does have bagels too. They’re good. Not New York City good, but also not Bruegger’s bad. MD Bagel Fragel sits at the top of my Ann Arbor bagel rankings, although the competition isn’t exactly fierce. Employees at the shop wear shirts that read, “Our bagels are out of this world.” Unfortunately, so is their location. If not for that, MD Bagel Fragel would still be the Ann Arbor institution that it once was.
Not in the mood for a bagel? Check out Quickie Burger for breakfast.
Address: 1760 Plymouth Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Hours: Sun-Sat 6 am to 3:30 pm