A Do-Over at Einstein Bros Bagels

Life is made up of embarrassing moments. Mine is, anyway. And it seems a lot of my embarrassing moments have happened since I've had kids. One of my more embarrassing moments happened over the summer.

My girls and I were out running errands and decided to grab lunch at . We placed our order and walked to the other register to pay. As we stood there waiting for our lunch to be made, I frantically searched my purse for the $20 I knew was in there. I couldn’t find it. I started looking for my check card… it was not in there either.

That is when I had a flashback of my youngest daughter, Piper, sitting at the kitchen table playing with her purse and a $20 bill and my check card. As my flashback ended, the cashier handed us our food and told me our total. I looked at my 4-year-old and asked her if she had been playing with mommy’s money. She answered with a timid “yes,” and I explained to the cashier that I would not be able to pay for our meal.

This week, the girls and I went back to , located at 289 North Randall Road in Lake in the Hills. Before we entered the building, I double, triple, quadruple checked to make sure I had my cash in my purse.

We arrived around 11:45 a.m. to a very small line and a few open tables and the wonderful aroma of coffee and bread baking. We studied the menu hanging over the counter and placed our orders with the Einstein employee.

McKenzie ordered a Turkey Thin- turkey, lettuce, red onion, tomato with Garden Veggie Shmear on a plain thin bagel. It was served with a pickle.

Piper had a snack at preschool and was not very hungry so she just ordered Cinnamon Sugar Bagel Poppers. I ordered an Albacore Tuna Salad on a plain bagel. It was topped with red onion, lettuce and tomato and served with a pickle and a side. I picked a bag of Sun Chips for my side.

I thought I would be super sweet and order something to take home for my hubby for lunch. I ordered him a Chipotle Turkey Wrap – turkey, corn, black beans, cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese and a Jalapeno Shmear.

Piper loved her Bagel Poppers. So much that McKenzie and I had to pretty much beg her for a sample. McKenzie’s said her Turkey Thin was “really good, but really messy.” My tuna was okay. I usually do not salt my food but I felt like my sandwich needed a shake from the old salt shaker. Tom said his Chipotle Wrap was “fantastic!” I tried a bite of it and it was certainly the kind of food he likes. My ears were kind of ringing for a while. Next time we go, I am going to order a dozen bagels and a container of Shmear.

Do you have an embarrassing restaurant story? Please share!

More of Annie's Algonquin restaurant reviews:

• (Jersey Mike's Subs)
• (Yumz Yogurt)
• (Algonquin Sub Shop)
• A Back-to-School Lunch (Sonic Drive-In and Cafe Firefly)
• Not Just Pancakes at Georgia's Pancake House
• (El Molino)
• (Biaggi's)
• (The Texan Barbeque)
• (Nero's Pizza and Pub)
• (Riverview Restaurant)
• (Reese's Restaurant)
• (Kobe Japanese Steakhouse)
• (Tacos El Norte)
• (Cheeseburgers in Paradise)