One man sent the Internet into a frenzy after simply posting photos to Twitter of Panera Bread bagels he brought into work for his coworkers.
Social media’s visceral reaction to Alek Krautmann’s tweet resulted in both “#Bagelgate” and “Panera” trending nationally by Wednesday afternoon on Twitter. Even Sen. Chuck Schumer and NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea put their two cents in.
The reason for the backlash? The bagels were visibly sliced vertically, similar to a loaf of bread.
“Today I introduced my coworkers to the St Louis secret of ordering bagels bread sliced,” Krautmann wrote in a tweet Tuesday night.
A majority of the responses have been not-so-welcoming to the idea.
“On behalf of the New York Delegation: St. Louis, fuhgeddaboudit,” Sen. Schumer wrote in a tweet Wednesday, quoting the original post.
NYPD’s Chief Shea quoted the post on Twitter and wrote, “Thank you for reporting a crime, but we only serve New York City, where this would NEVER happen.”
Meanwhile, Brooklyn city Councilman Justin Brannan tweeted, “I believe this is a Class A felony in New York City. And if its not, it should be.”
The city’s 311 information Twitter account even chimed in on the debate Wednesday. “Real New Yorkers know there is only one way to slice a #bagel,” the account tweeted.
“St. Louis bagels are trash… That’s not how you cut a bagel,” NJ.com writer Jeremy Schneider tweeted Wednesday morning.
However, there were a number of people defending the alternative way to slice the baked good.
“Everyone is dunking on this but as a son of St. Louis and former St. Louis Bread Co. (Panera) employee: Do not question the simple, surprising joy bread-sliced bagels bring,” wrote Twitter user @ChadShearer.
Meanwhile, some Twitter users had fun with the controversy and began satirically posting other “St. Louis style” food trends.
“Today we’re eating our cookies St. Louis Style,” tweeted Chips Ahoy! on Wednesday, with an animated GIF of someone pouring a glass of milk directly into a tray of cookies.
“Nothing reminds me more of the summer than a st louis style hot dog,” Trey Smith, a social media editor at Vice, tweeted.
On Wednesday evening, Panera, the company responsible for the bread-sliced bagels in the initial photo, summed it up nicely.
“We’ve learned a lot today, but in the end, a bagel is a bagel and no matter how you slice it, it’s still delicious bread,” the national restaurant chain tweeted.
