Are bagels in New York better than bagels elsewhere?

[Cheesypoof]

Is it true that New York bagels are better than anywhere else? Or is it a myth? I aint been to NY, so wouldnt know. But I do love my bagels, and the other day had a delicious salf beef, swiss cheese and gherkin bagel from Bagel Factory which was really good. The bagel was poppyseed and onion and the bread was really good, toasted and unsoggy and not too floury. It had an irresistable poppyseed aroma and the fillings were realy generous. As I wolfed it down I pondered whether one could get a better bagel than this......by the way, Im not a snob and wouldnt make naiive assumptions that just because Bagel Factory is a chain, the bagels must be bad. They're not! They're seriously good!
But alas, my bagel 'knowledge' is perhaps limited, because the pain remains that I aint tried em in New York

There, I imagine the standard is good, but perhaps the bagel is fresher, crunchier, and the salads more pungent, with only the freshest herbs, and more inventive sauces like 'Italian herb mayo' or something.

those who have eaten bagels in New York, please enlighten us as to any differences. Thanks

 

[Pip]

God I'd fucking love a bagel.

 

[Mrs Magpie]

You make lovely bagels, Pip. Have you run out of flour?

 

[strung out]

bagels are great fun to make

 

[Belushi]

I want a bagel now.

 

[killer b]

I'm salting some beef atm, and will be making bagels to eat it on, sometime next week.

I've never been to new york, but I can't see why the bagels would necessarily be better there. It's about ingredients, not geography.

 

[skyscraper101]

They seem to have the best selection of bagel delis there. Better than anything I've ever seen in Europe.

Pick A Bagel on Lexington Av is the best bagel place I've ever eaten at. So, in short, yes New York does seem to be the place to go for bagels.

I even took a photo of that place when I was there.

Mmmm. Bagels.

 

[Cheesypoof]

They seem to have the best selection of bagel delis there. Better than anything I've ever seen in Europe.

Pick A Bagel on Lexington Av is the best bagel place I've ever eaten at. So, in short, yes New York does seem to be the place to go for bagels.

IMmmm. Bagels.

So they are better, because they have a wider selection of fillings?

something still seems to be missing <frowns>

 

[skyscraper101]

If we're talking bread, then I can't say the bagel bread was any better, but then without the fillings,bagels are always rubbish. It's all about the fillings. Most bread I've had in the states tends to be a little sweeter anyway, so they do invariably taste different to what you might get over here.

I dunno, I don't usually go in for stuff tasting better in their so called home town. Like I could never say Guinness has ever tasted any different in Ireland to that which I've had in England for instance, or that I've ever had a pizza in Italy which tasted better than one I've had elsewhere. But I've never enjoyed a bagel as much here than I have in NYC.

 

[Pip]

The bagels in Golders Green are better than any bagel I've had in New York btw.

 

[Steel Icarus]

I had an amazing jalapeño, cream cheese and lox bagel in Times Square, 21st December 1997, -15 degrees. I might have had equally tasty ones since, but as an all-round experience, I'm unlikely to have a better bagel.

 

[Cheesypoof]

I had an amazing jalapeño, cream cheese and lox bagel in Times Square, 21st December 1997, -15 degrees. I might have had equally tasty ones since, but as an all-round experience, I'm unlikely to have a better bagel.

what's 'lox'? The fillings do sounds incredible!

 

[Steel Icarus]

Cured salmon, sliced thinly..

 

[Cloo]

Well, you're more likely to get 'real' bagels in NY, I think - ie ones that have been boiled and not just a 'roll with a hole'. I'm sure I had some while there and they were no better than the best in London (Daniels in Temple Fortune, Brick Lane), but probably more plentiful.

 

[Maurice Picarda]

And anyway, most sane people would walk over bagels to get to platzels, of which New Yorkers are ignorant.

 

[tarannau]

The bagels in Golders Green are better than any bagel I've had in New York btw.

This.

And don't buy a pretzel from a roadside vendor in NY. You will be sadly disappointed by the smoky taste of dryness

 

[Cheesypoof]

Well, you're more likely to get 'real' bagels in NY, I think - ie ones that have been boiled and not just a 'roll with a hole'..

'boiled'??? whaa?

 

[Fedayn]

I dunno, but I used to get my bagels gree in the brick Lane one, they tasted lovely to me.... Just with cream cheese and a coffee, fantastic....

 

[killer b]

'boiled'??? whaa?

bagels are poached before baking, which gives them their particular texture and shiny outside. Iirc you put molasses or suchlike in the water.

 

[Miss Caphat]

Cheesy, New York bagels are the best because they have been making them for so long there. Just like any other type of bread, that factor makes a big difference. But yeah, other bagels can be very good too. Also, not to be a snob, but you're really supposed to eat a bagel with cream cheese or cream cheese and lox. It's not supposed to be used as bread for a sandwich.

 

[joevsimp]

I'm salting some beef atm, and will be making bagels to eat it on, sometime next week.

I've never been to new york, but I can't see why the bagels would necessarily be better there. It's about ingredients, not geography.

I'll be joining the salt beef club on wednesday, as long as my prague powder arrives, and I plan to be chowing down on some homemade beigels this time in a fortnight

 

[tarannau]

Why would New York be making bagels for longer than Olde World England? IIRC bagels were on sale in the East End way before the Americans got into the act

But the US has certainly popularised bagels for better or worse - automated processing, frozen dough, those baked and not boiled things. It's perfectly possible to get rubbish bagels widely across both nations now

 

[Maurice Picarda]

The migrations of pogrom-dodgers to the US and the East End were pretty much even in timescales.

 

[tarannau]

You may well be right MP, although my understanding is that bagels were more of a feature later in the US (20th century as opposed to 19th iirc)

 

[Wilson]

I didn't think the bagels in NY were any good myself, but then Cheesy's description of her excellent bagel doesn't sound too good to me either.

 

[joevsimp]

I have to say, The Beigel Bar in Rainham (near the cemetry) does tha best salt beef beigels I've ever had, bought two a day on my way to work, one outside the gates waiting to go in, one for lunch, they have rollmops and all sorts of disgusting stuff as well

 

[Miss Caphat]

Why would New York be making bagels for longer than Olde World England? IIRC bagels were on sale in the East End way before the Americans got into the act

But the US has certainly popularised bagels for better or worse - automated processing, frozen dough, those baked and not boiled things. It's perfectly possible to get rubbish bagels widely across both nations now

http://www.haruth.com/bagel.html


I think maybe the difference is the US invention of cream cheese. A bagel w/out cc is just a different type of roll, really,

 

[Maurice Picarda]

The US invented cream cheese, did it?

 

[QueenOfGoths]

The US invented cream cheese, did it?

No not really, but a little bit like Hoover has become the generic name for vacuum cleaners Philidelphia has become the generic name for cream cheese

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cream_cheese

 

[Maurice Picarda]

In general, I'd say that when the conversation turns to cheese, Americans should have the grace to assume an extremely low profile.