Bagels aren’t just for breakfast anymore. Einstein Bros. Bagels, like many bagel shops across the country, also offers a variety of bagel sandwiches for lunch.

The mood: Indoor seating consists of four small booths and five tables, the largest of which is occupied by a group of high school students. Businessmen, soccer moms and retirees relax on a spacious patio.

After checking out the shelves of bagels along one wall, we order at the counter and are issued paper tickets, which we take to the cash register.

The food: My friend gets what the menu calls Stacked Roast Beef on Challah ($5.99). Curiously, he’s asked what type of bagel he’d like it on, and he chooses spinach. So much for challah. It comes with cheddar cheese, veggies and a mild garlic horseradish spread.

I decide to try the Cajun Andouille Gourmet Bagel Dog ($5.69), a pork sausage wrapped in an onion bagel. Unlike my friend’s sandwich, which is made from scratch, mine is taken from the cold case of ready-to-go items and microwaved.

The bagel dog has a nice, spicy flavor, but is slightly overnuked, making the sausage and bagel a little too chewy. The bagel sandwich, on the other hand, tastes very good.
Both meals come with a small bag of chips and two pickle spears.

The drinks: We get a couple of large sodas ($1.69), which we fill at the fountain.

The damage: $16.23. To his credit, the guy who took our order tried to discourage me from ordering the bagel dog. I suspect they had run out of fresh ones by midafternoon. Next time, I’ll stick with the sandwiches.

>> Einstein Bros. Bagels, 1919 S. Gilbert Road, Mesa, is open 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. (480) 539-9501.