As a coffee lover it can also be tough sometimes to be a brunch lover as well. Do I chose a restaurant based on its coffee or its food? The worst is feeling like you have to choose one or the other, but Proper Bagel, located near Belmont University it Nashville, has solved this problem. This New York-style bagel shop has teamed up with Barista Parlor to serve their coffee to brunchers.

On weekends the line is usually out the door, but I have never had issues finding a seat and the team there is pretty efficient (it may be a little more difficult for larger parties to get a table). The shop is all black and white. White furniture with black decorations and details and a black and white honeycomb patterned floor. This design allows the colorful cream cheeses and baked goods to pop out at customers. Making decisions on what to order can be tough since there are so many sandwich, bagel, and coffee options to choose from as well as pastries and salads. I personally love their vegetable cream cheese on a spinach everything bagel, but also love their breakfast sandwiches. Another popular choice is their lavender honey cream cheese on a bagel.

As for the coffee, the quality has varied the few times I have been there leading me to assume that the way it is brewed is what is affecting the flavor. Still, the coffee is pretty good. The iced coffee is tasty on hot summer days, serving it in the signature Barista Parlor-shaped glass. In addition, the latte was pretty tasty.  I will say it is not the same as going to Barista Parlor in terms of flavor, but it is still nice knowing that the coffee is more than tolerable for us coffee geeks.