Is There a Best Bagel in New York?

Photo via nrbelex's flickr

Move over "Best Pizza" debate, there's something new we'll never all agree upon! Best Bagel. Serious Eats sent carb-lovers to the three most "bagel-happy boroughs" (allegedly Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens) to pick up some fresh samples and conduct a blind taste test. To keep things equal, they were all consumed plain and untoasted. Spoiler alert: Dunkin' Donuts didn't come in last. For shame, New York. For. Shame.

Some other surprises, the control group says, "Once schmeared, there's nothing wrong with a good old H&H Bagel. But on their own ... found them dense and sweet." And over at Ess-A-Bagel they're allegedly serving up "funky, almost moldy-tasting" bagels.

Amongst the best of the best were Terrace Bagel (in Windsor Terrace), Murray's in Manhattan and Hot Bialys in Flushing; but unsurprisingly varying opinions seemed to make it nearly impossible to declare a #1 Bagel in NYC. The site ultimately did claim one victor, however: the Bagel Hole on 7th Avenue in Brooklyn. They declared, "It made a satisfying crunching sound when I bit into it; the exterior actually required the use of my teeth; it was a lovely dark brown color; it was moist and almost light on the inside, and it wasn't absurdly large." Plus they have the advantage of all that Brooklyn water.

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By Jen Carlson in Food on October 7, 2009 2:08 PM

Comments [rss]

Justine T.

According to a native NYer, the best bagels in NY are at Utopia Bagels in Queens. Trust.

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CedDi80

I'm chiming in for "Absolute Bagel" on 108th & Broadway....seriously the best Bagels I have ever eaten.

eetonaee

The best bagels in New York are the ones that you get from your freezer after someone visits you from Montreal - (Fairmont or St. Viateur Bagels)

nurserachet

oh shut up. They're totally different things.

whitecastlerock

Absolut Bagel on Broadway and 111th has some damn good bagels.

Mordicai

La Bagel Delight.

montag007

"Hot Bagels" on Montague St in the Heights is by far the best bagel in NYC

schizofriendly

This might be a neighborhood-snob bias, but Bagels on the Park in Carroll Gardens is pretty darn near perfect. Always fresh. It's also a good place sit and say "hi" to your Brooklyn compatriots.

Squard

Passaic Park Bagel Bakery in New Jersey. Yes, New Jersey. There are no good bagels in Manhattan

bts220

bagel hole is on 7 ave 12st great bagels park slope

JMH

Bagels aren't supposed to make a crunching sound when you bite into them.

Lee

What about the best nachos?

CR

The Bagel Hole (terrible name btw) is right across the street from Di Fara's which makes seeing Avenue J that much more enticing. It is kosher, which is also good as it means they likely don't have any of those nancy-boy bagels like Asiago Cheese, or anything with sun-dried tomatoes baked into them...

jibbly

Bagel Hole is on 7th Ave in Park Slope, nowhere near DiFara's (unless there's a branch out there).

Bagel Hole definitely makes delicious bagels...but they're tiny, even by "this-is-how-small-real-bagels-used-to-be" standards. Also, a bagel needs to be judged in tandem with the quality of cream cheese and lox available, which I think is just OK at BH. Combine BH's bagels with lox from Russ & Daughters and we've got a winner.