On Monday, March 25, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service employee and Twitter user Alek Krautmann gained unexpected notoriety when he tweeted about a seemingly harmless gift he had given his coworkers:

The image showcases a variety of Panera Bread bagels sliced up like loaves of bread with the caption “Today I introduced my coworkers to the St Louis secret of ordering bagels bread sliced. It was a hit!”

What happened next was a collective response that he had not quite ancitipated. All across Twitter and the rest of the Internet, people expressed their displeasure with this bagel preparation.

It was learned by Internet users that this is a popular practice in St. Louis, Missouri (where Panera is still known as St. Louis Bread Co.), leading many to question the city’s taste in other foods.

Panera Bread even weighed in on the controversy.

Others have come to Krautmann’s (and St. Louis’) defense by claiming that it makes for a great way to enjoy a smaller portion of a bagel or multiple bagel flavors at once without filling up.

What do you think of this unique way of consuming bagels? Fair or foul?