My wife is a breakfast person. I am not. She likes to start her day with coffee and some sort of nourishing sustenance. Some fruit, a bowl of cereal, or a bagel are her morning meals of choice. I prefer to tough out the morning on just a beverage and maybe something small to eat, but I typically save my appetite for lunch, a meal with much more possibilities. One morning not too long ago, we decided to start our day the right way, with a stop at Dunkin’ Donuts. Dunkin’ is one of the few places we agree on for breakfast because, well… because of donuts, that’s why. Donuts rule. My wife being more of a bagel connoisseur, ordered her favorite, blueberry. “I’m sorry, we don’t carry blueberry anymore,” the polite employee informed us.
“You don’t carry blueberry anymore?” my wife inquired, “as in, like, never going to have them again?”
“Correct,” replied the orange and pink clad harbinger of bad news.
“Wow. So NO Dunkin’ Donuts location will have blueberry anymore?” asked my wife, doing her due diligence.
“Nope,” she confirmed.
Even I was a bit shocked. I hadn’t studied up on bagel demographics lately, but I would have assumed blueberry was at least a top 10 selection everywhere.
The weight of this decision made at the Dunkin’ Donuts corporate level became even more unbearable when my wife learned that our nearest Bruegger’s (a bagel restaurant) had halted blueberry production as well. Their website still lists blueberry as a flavor under bagels, so there is still hope.
A few weeks later, on one of our weekly shopping trips, we were informed by a bakery employee at our favorite neighborhood grocer that Wegmans (the mega-grocery store of western New York and beyond) had stopped producing blueberry bagels. (update: we have since discovered that this particular report is erroneous, however, blueberry has yet to resurface at our location)
“Wow, you know I really thought blueberry was more popular,” I said, “but I guess not if everybody is dropping it.”
I took my query to America’s preferred research tool, the internet. Most lists of “most popular bagel flavors” include blueberry in at least the top 5. Here is an example: New York Bagel Cafe & Deli lists their top four most popular bagels as plain, everything, cinnamon, and blueberry.
So I guess my question is, is blueberry on the Mount Rushmore of bagels? Are the tastes of the American bagel consumer changing?
If you had to pick only four flavors as most representative of the essence of bagels, would blueberry be included? I say yes, along with plain, everything, and maybe sesame seed? Or wheat? Pumpernickel? Not sure, but blueberry is definitely in. What do you think?
The dunkin donuts here in fl have blueberry but seem to always be out. I go twice a week on my way to school and I swear its every other visit they are out by 8am! I think its rediculous! And they have blueberry waffle sandwiches, donuts, donut holes, and muffins???