Fresh, Exotic Flavors At Bernie's Bagels

----------------------------------------------------------------- Restaurant review

Bernie's Bagels, 10301 N.E. 10th Ave., Bellevue. Hours: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. 688-0400. -----------------------------------------------------------------

Spy magazine came to some shocking conclusions about dessert cakes a few years ago. The Twinkie - every sentimental American's favorite brown-bag dessert - might not survive a fall from a high-rise building, but could last indefinitely on the grocery store shelf. That's right: FOREVER.

Some of the best bagels around recall the nonscientific experiment. Bernie's Bagels in downtown Bellevue armors its namesake with a freshness hard to destroy.

One Sunday 30 minutes before closing time, I loaded up a to-go bag with the flagrantly exotic flavors few other bagel shops have the guts to offer: chocolate chip, banana and hazelnut, spinach. Then a poppy to snack on during the drive west on Interstate 90. Could the bagel retain its freshness against the wind and humidity ripping through the car's open windows?

Well. Just beneath the tight surface, the bagel yielded bite after bite of tender softness. Even when, testing limits, I let the bagel sit in an open bag under the sun, Bernie's still made good on its promise of "always fresh."

The Bellevue location marks just one of three bagel outlets for Bernie Gordon and his partner, Danny Romero. The men will open another Bellevue Bernie's on 108th Avenue Northeast and Main Street soon, and hold a lease on a Green Lake location.

At this point, you have to wonder: Isn't the bagel market a little saturated? No, Gordon declares. Like many other bagel czars, Gordon calls his recipes, handed down from Eastern Europe, the "authentic New York bagel."

"Those other bagels, especially on the grocery store shelves, are like Wonder Bread with a hole in them. Not that I have anything against Wonder Bread," Gordon assures. "But our bagels are fresh. The folks from back East know immediately they're the real thing."

The bagels remain fresh for up to 48 hours. "Hey: my attitude is, if you can't eat them by then, you oughtta be freezin' them," Gordon says, sounding an awful lot like a New Yorker, which he isn't.

Bernie's boils fresh bagel dough all day long, and uses meat imported from the Big Apple.

Prices range from $4.99 for a dozen to 49 cents each. Sandwiches include turkey, beef salami, garden veggie and lox, cream cheese and onion. Most cost less than $4, some not quite $3. Coffee drinks, soups and a few desserts are also on the menu.

Bernie's should be approached as a fast-food joint. Prepare for the shrill primary color scheme so favored by fast-food eateries.

Yet Gordon stresses that Bernie's is a place where families are welcome to loiter. They decided to forgo alcohol to encourage this. "We love families," Gordon says. "Sometimes there's so many kids in there that it's like a nursery."

Business, Gordon adds, is a "kick." It's a good thing he feels this way, because his bagels are rapidly becoming a standard.