Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters

I am not a coffee drinker, but the rest of my family is. So on a recent trip to Syracuse we decided to grab a cup of Joe and their advertised ‘homemade bagels’ before using a Groupon my mother had purchased for the Mirror Maze in Destiny USA.
Bagel: This was a very good bagel. Crispy on the outside, with a tender dough-​iness on the inside. I like my bagels doughy — not bready. Bready bagels are just gross. In terms of the ranking of bagels, this may be my second favorite bagel of all time — next to Einstein Bagels (no I have never been to NYC and had a bagel, and yes, I know Einstein is a chain).
The one complaint that I have about this bagel is that it lacked toppings. For an ‘everything bagel’, I like a gratuitous amount of ‘everything’ on my bagel. I felt like they did a poor job adhering the toppings to the bagel, which resulted in too few. The other complaint I have is the lack of bagel choices. They had the option of plain, everything, and cranberry (maybe? … or cinnamon raisin?). Don’t know, don’t care, because I don’t eat poo-​flavors.
Mind you, I understand that they are a small shop, so they cannot carry 600 flavors of bagels, and those three seem to cover the majority of bagel-​lover flavors. So I cannot fault them for that. This is more of an fyi-​warning for those looking for a large selection. Lastly, they do not make their own cream cheese — which is disappointing. It looks like they buy store-​brand bricks; but I could not tell for sure. If you aren’t making your own, at least use Philadelphia!
Bagels: ⁴⁄₅
Coffee: Everyone in my group got a coffee, and honestly, none of them could distinguish it as better or worse than the coffee that they usually get. Overall, it was a nice brew with some unique flavors, but the overall quality wasn’t a big differentiator for anyone in my group.
Coffee: ⁴⁄₅ (3 +1 for unique flavors)
Overall Food: ⁴⁄₅
Service: The service was slightly above average for what I have experience before. The girl at the counter was o.k., but the person who did my brothers latte was really good. The person who did my bagel was also o.k. The service really wasn’t above or below expectations by a dramatic enough amount to warrant anything other than:
Service: ³⁄₅
Atmosphere: Tucked on a corner of the new Destiny USA portion of the mall is this quaint, little shop that has a real nice vibe to it when you walk in. It is brightly lit and the warm colors of all of the furnishings and décor really have a nice feel. Unfortunately, there is really nowhere to sit inside the space. You need to go out into the mall to find a table. This is a bummer. First you are immersed in the nice, cozy atmosphere, to only then be forced back out into the cool, busy mall. So enjoy your ordering experience!
Atmosphere: ²⁄₅
Price: For a Small brew it was 1.70, for my bagel (with cream cheese) it was 1.30. These prices are excellent. Most places are well-​above $ 2.00 for a toasted bagel with CC. This is an EXCELLENT value.
Price: ⁵⁄₅
Final Thoughts: For a good quality coffee spot in Destiny for an excellent price, this is a great place to stop. Overall, in a mall where everything seems to be an overpriced tourist trap, this place charges fair and honest prices for above average quality. Because of that, I chose to round this shop up to 4 stars.