"We get our bagels straight from New York. It's a little family owned business and they make our bagels fresh per order. When they have our order ready, we get our truck there and then they bring them right here to Port Isabel," explains co-owner, Mark Liberatore. Mark and his partner, Andrea Birch, use a New Jersey shipping company to haul their bagels southward. "I feel like we're providing a service for the area, not just selling a product," Mark adds jokingly. Now come on, folks, we have a small Italian family making traditional bagels brought to us by a Jersey trucking company. Does it get any more 'New York' than that?

Probably the biggest challenge Mark and Andrea deal with right now is getting people to know that the bagel isn't just for breakfast; it makes for a great lunch, too. You can have a basic ham and cheese bagel sandwich or twist that a little and have a Spam and cheese bagel sandwich. Or if you really want to put a big twist on things , you can have a Portobello mushroom with goat cheese and garlic bagel sandwich. Talk about diversity! There just aren't many places where goat cheese, Portobello mushrooms and Spam live harmoniously on the same menu, but at BadaBing Bagels, they really do.

The diversity doesn't end with sandwich choices; you also have to decide what kind of bagel you're having and which one of their seventeen spreads to have with it. Their spreads range from jalapeno to salmon to honey-almond. Mark and Andrea have two specialty spreads, strawberry and shrimp that are available with one day's advance notice and a minimum of a ½ pound order. All spreads are also available in a low fat version and can be prepared with a one day advance and ½ pound minimum.

Just as man cannot live on bread alone, Mark and Andrea do have a life outside their Port Isabel bagel shop. Mark enjoys fishing and Andrea is an avid golfer. Which when you look at the fishing and golfing opportunities in our area, you might think that would be the reason for their move, but it goes a little deeper than that. Although the two were raised in different areas and worked in different fields, they have been working toward the same goal: to live a simpler life in a resort area on the water. From the looks of things, it would appear that they're reaching that goal and they are proving the old saying is very true; man cannot live on bread alone. He needs a good spread and the occasional slice of Spam, too!

To enjoy a real New York bagel with original, homemade spreads, stop in to BadaBing Bagels from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays 9am-1pm at 1817 Padre Blvd. BadaBing Bagels welcomes special orders and/or orders for large groups. Call them at (956) 761-5550 during regular business hours for more details.

Read more about it in the Island Breeze -