Tasted a Montreal-style bagel at this new Boise shop? Your ‘life will never be the same’

If you’re a bagel aficionado, prepare to get fired up — OK, wood-fired up.

You’ll see split logs piled inside Good Times Bagels, which recently opened on the corner at 2422 W. Main St., near the west end of downtown Boise.

Good Times serves a bagel variation new to many Idahoans. Hand-rolled. Honey-water-boiled. Baked in a wood-fired oven. They’re Montreal-style bagels — essentially. Owners Kale and Ashlee Irwin describe them as “inspired by” on Good Times’ website. (Is it like making New York-style bagels in Boise without using New York water?)

Good Times’ bagels come out of their big, wood-fired oven ready to be served toasty and fresh. Montreal-style bagels tend to be denser and a bit sweeter than the norm.

So far, so good for the Good Times rendition. In fact, sooo good, customers say.

“Bagel was crunchy on the outside, chewy in the middle. They did not skimp on schmear. Heaven!” wrote a reviewer on Yelp, where Good Times has nine write-ups and a rating of 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

“Had it today! Life will never be the same!” a commenter wrote on Good Times’ Instagram page.

Life-changing bagels? Who knew?

Bagels, salad

The Good Times menu offers lots of options. You’ll find seven styles of wood-fired bagels ($2 for a single, $20 for a dozen): Plain, Salt, Garlic, Poppy, Onion, Sesame and Everything. There are 12 spreads — mmm, Churro, anyone? — and several veggie and meat toppings.

Or keep it simple. Pick your bagel and order a special. There are a half dozen ranging in price from a Mean Green ($6.50; coconut oil, avocado, pickled red onions, micro greens) or GTBLT ( $9.50; bacon, lettuce, tomato, Poblano Cream Cheese) up to the Lox ($14; Nova lox, tomato, red onion, capers, scallion cream cheese, dill).

Want breakfast? The Egg Sando ($7; choice of bagel, scrambled egg with white cheddar, housemade creme fraîche and arugula) might tempt you.

In a hurry? Grab a Rip, Dip-n-Sip: A bagged bagel that you slice yourself, cream cheese of your choice to-go and a 12-ounce drip coffee. It’s $7.

Good Times also serves a couple of $7 salads: House and Tarragon Chicken.

Coffee, more

Coffee and tea are no afterthought at Good Times. There’s latte, mocha, chai — the works. “We happen to share the building with our good friends at Form & Function,” Good Times explains on its website, “who roast all of their coffee here on site. You can’t get much fresher than that.”

Not into caffeine? Rather relax? Wine and beer also are available.

Still a bit foggy on Good Times’ location? It’s across from Gil’s K9 Bar. (All card-carrying Boiseans know where that is.) The bagel shop is open from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.