Bodo's Bagels is truly a Charlottesville institution - absolutely, 100% well worth your time and money. UVA students love Bodo's, and even after graduation, will go to great lengths to drop in and savor the food of their college years. If you want to see a fitting testament to the quality of Bodo's, try to get a bagel on a Saturday or Sunday morning on a football weekend when alums are back in town! You really can't go wrong with anything on the menu - all of the bagels are good, and all of the spreads are excellent. My personal favorite are the sandwiches (especially anything that incorporates the "eggs all day" feature), which are made to order on the bagel of your choice. And the service is very prompt, so don't be deterred if you go in and see what looks like a long line.
There's really only one problem with Bodo's: the music. It's not just awful. It's abominable. And it's loud, so there's no tuning it out, talking over it, or escaping it in any way, shape, or form. I don't know how best to describe just how terrible the music is. The Bodo's DJ is selective in choosing from a variety of genres, all of them awful. WNRN rejects, dime store B sides, teenage angst music, oldies but crappies, folk songs that you've heard sung by unshaven tweed-wearing old men with open guitar cases on the Downtown Mall, and several of the more annoying top-40 songs of the past 10 years are all well-represented on the Bodo's soundtrack and are piped into your skull at the decibel level of your average riding lawnmower, all for your listening convenience. All in all, it's a terrible complement to an otherwise great dining experience. (Unless you were planning on eating a last great meal and then being driven to suicide by the bad music, of course.)
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