Bays Coffee House in West Friendship

New York bagels just down from the Howard County Fairgrounds?  That's what Adam from GrubGrade found on a jetlagged morning when he walked into Bays Coffee House in West Friendship.  The GrubGrade boys have a national site reviewing everything from neighborhood restaurants to snacks and fast food.  But summertime has brought Adam back to the nest -- and out for a cup of coffee and some breakfast.

Do you know the single greatest travesty of the Howard County dining experience (ok, besides the fact that the Baltimore Sun has long ignored us)?

It’s that West Friendship more or less lacks any decent food stop whatsoever. Sure, there’s the Subway and Friendship Pride pizza place in the old West Friendship plaza, but at 6 AM a guy is sometimes in need of, you know, a decent breakfast. Or if it’s 3:30 in the afternoon, I’m feeling more like chilling on my laptop with free Wi Fi and a fresh-made smoothie – not nibbling on a greasy pizza that’s more flab and fat than crust and flavor.

Has anyone else noticed this glaring problem for all those who live between Waverly Woods and Glenwood?

I know I sure have, which is why I’m stoked to have discovered the newly opened Bays Coffee House in the otherwise out-of-the-way plaza at the corner of 144 and 32, just a stones throw away from the Howard County Fairgrounds.

Affordable, fresh-roasted coffee? Check. Monster, real-deal New York style bagel sandwiches that weigh in at nearly a buck less than what you’d get at an Einstein Brothers? Check. Muffins and croissants the size of my head? You know it. And heck, that’s not even counting Bay’s selection of specialty hot and cold coffee drinks, along with breakfast sandwiches featuring eggs, bacon, and cheese.