I know that people have strong opinions on bagels.  There are New York bagels and Montreal bagels.  There are big bready bagels and smaller chewy bagels, and if you feed one to a fan of the other, you're in for a world of complaining.  But you know what? I don't care, because my formative bagel experiences came at the hands of Bagels Forever.\n\nThe bagels are average-sized and perfectly formed.  You can enjoy one with cream cheese without feeling like you've blown your calories for the day.  There are a range of flavors, but nothing outrageous.  The price is right.  For a brief and glorious time, they were available in a large box in the refrigerator case at Meijer in Champaign, Illinois, where I was attending grad school.  That ceased to be the case, and I've been dreaming of them ever since.\n\nTherein lies the problem with my love for Bagels Forever: scarcity.  I live on the other side of Lake Michigan, and while Zingerman's makes a mean bagel, they're a poor replacement for Bagels Forever.