Sean McArdle and his business partner Christine Cooksley believe they are filling a void among Doral eateries.

Sean McArdle turning out a batch of Bad Dog

After mutual friends of theirs who live in Doral Isles lamented how much they missed having a place for breakfast in the neighborhood, McArdle and Cooksley hit upon the idea of running a New York-style bagel shop.

Lacking any knowledge of bagel making, McArdle apprenticed with the baker at Manhattan Bagels in Coral Springs in order to learn the necessary culinary skills.

As a Christmas gift to Doral, he and Cooksley opened their shop for business on December 19.
It's called Bad Dog Bagels and it's a few doors down from the new Publix in the Doral Isles Shopping Center at NW 58 St and NW 107 Ave.

The name of this place--to put it mildly--is original.

"It's a tribute to a dog I had in college," explained McArdle, who remains a confirmed dog lover, owning two big ones (if not bad ones) even today.

Still, he's not biased against other species, for if you bring in a picture of your pet, any pet, and post it on his bulletin board, McArdle will reward you with a free bagel and a schmear.

McArdle has grown up in the restaurant business, both as a cook and a waiter at a succession of establishments in Gainesville and South Miami, yet he noted, "This is the first restaurant I've owned. It's exciting, and a little scary."

He does just about every job there is at Bad Dog, from making bagels at 4:00 AM, to fine tuning the

espresso maker in order to obtain the perfect brew, to simply taking orders.

He and Cooksley are assisted by four staffers.

The menu at Bad Dog includes a complete selection of bagel varieties and a half dozen different spreads to choose from. The New York-style bagels are the genuine article: first boiled, then baked, and then served fresh.

McArdle makes them seven days a week, from 4:00 AM to 6:00 AM--he turns out 250 bagels at a time, using a rotating oven, which is a necessity for the New York-style product.

The early wake-up doesn't seem to bother McArdle, who is inured to it after years in the construction business, a job he held following his graduation from the university.

That background paid off at Bad Dog, as he noted, "We did the build-out of the restaurant ourselves, including the cabinetry."

The resulting space is open, simple and unpretentious--an appropriate spot to chat with neighbors and meet friends over a simple bite to eat and a robust cup of coffee.

Bad Dog Bagels complements its bagels with breakfast eggs, cheese, bacon, sausage and ham, while also offering other baked product such as cookies and muffins.