Fly to the Bagel Factory in Airport Plaza

We're all busy these days. We also like to eat out. So, why waste your valuable time trying to figure out where to go when Patch has already done the legwork for you? either in town or nearby that is worth checking out. Here's this week's choice and one dish from there to try.

Tucked away behind Route 110 all the way in the back corner of the Airport Plaza shopping center is this Farmingdale eatery, which opened in 2004. While the bagels are delicious, the name is deceiving, since they also offer a full menu of sandwiches, salads, and hot food. The shop is  open for a wider range of hours than most bagel places- until 5 p.m. on weekdays and 4 p.m. on weekends. The Bagel Factory is impeccably clean and offers online ordering and on premise catering.

255 Airport Plaza
631-420-5391
Open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Prices of menu items vary.

The Dish: A typical salad bar creation (romaine lettuce, grilled chicken, green peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli and a "sprinkle" of cheddar cheese, all topped with Italian dressing)- simple but surprisingly easy to mess up. Luckily, the Bagel Factory did pretty well. The salad bar is completely customizable with dozens of options besides these. An employee mixes the salad, chops it and adds the dressing.

How's It Taste: Every ingredient was extremely fresh, which is sometimes difficult this time of year when you are dealing with vegetables. The employee was very generous with the portions of each ingredient, the lid barely fit on top of the salad by the time she was finished. There was a little too much dressing and too much cheese (I just asked for a sprinkle and got way more), but overall a great salad.