FMT, believe it or not, the best jalapeno cheddar bagels I have had were from Panera. It may be because they usually have a fair amount of jalapenos in them.
I have no idea what about your post resurrected this memory, but something right after I read it made me remember that my very first bbq competition is what made me want to start making my own bagels. Hopefully the following makes Bentley smile, and maybe Larry from above.
Pelletheads put out a feeler in I believe 2012 on their competition section that they were short a dessert cook for the Apex North Carolina comp. I had been toying with the idea of competing and wanted to see what they were all about. I didnt necessarily want to do dessert, but it would give me the opportunity to meet some pelletheads and get a feel for competitions.
A couple unexpected things happened on this trip. I was rerouted on google because of an hours long backup on the highway to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I was really ticked at the time because I just wanted to get to my hotel in Cary, NC after a 10 hour drive. It ended up being one of the most beautiful drives I've ever been on. It also is kind of cool now because my daughter just started college in Virginia and she goes to different spots on the Blue Ridge Parkway. So different than Indiana.
The second thing was an "OH, this is what a bagel is supposed to be" moment. Near my hotel in Cary, I went on Yelp or something looking for a breakfast spot. Found this place.
https://newyorkbagelanddelicarync.com/I'm normally someone that tries out different spots when I'm out of town. I think I was in Cary for 3 days and went every morning. I specifically remember the pastrami and egg on everything bagel, but I know I tried other things. They were everything I hoped a bagel could be.
And all that is not to dump on Panera bagels. They are fine and I eat them often. There is a Panera literally 2 minutes from my front door. The ones from the place above (and hopefully mine) are on a different plane. Night and day. We have one specialty bagel shop here (which I think may have closed since Corona). They were good, not great. Other than that I live in a bagel wasteland, so Panera more than suffices in Fort Wayne.
Thank you for sparking some pleasant memories.
P.S. Check the menu out in the link Lew. I assume being where you are located you are familiar with Taylor Ham. Had I known what it was at the time, I would have tried the Taylor Ham and egg bagel. I've only heard of it in the last 5 years, so I did not enjoy one back in 2012.