Schmear some cream cheese out, Murray Lender has died. Whatever you think of frozen bagels (and we've certainly got issues) many Americans would not know the joy of the bagel were it not for Lender, who helped turn his father's small New Haven bakery into a national brand. According to Lender's wife, Gillie Lender, the bagel legend died yesterday in Miami after suffering a stroke 10 weeks ago. He was 81. more ›

After months of rumors, H&H Bagels' West Side location has been closed. Not that H&H wanted to—the Daily News reports, "A New York City Marshal has moved to take possession of the fabled bagel maker from its last existing site on W. 46th." more ›

New Yorkers have been trash-talking out-of-state bagels for decades, and in the below video, which the Brooklyn Public Library believes is from 1979, you'll see some sweet smackdowns, vintage style. As one wise man declares: "These people in the midwest, they wouldn't know a bagel from a doughnut! The only reason they ever saw a bagel is one fell off a truck. Four professors were dissecting it before they found out what it was all about." more ›

Bronx City Councilman Larry Seabrook was in federal court yesterday, as his corruption trial began. The first witness, who had donated tens of thousands to the Democrat, insisted the money wasn't in exchange for getting the job to make boilers for the new Yankee Stadium, "He never said give me money for the Yankee Stadium. It was never a, what do you call it? Quid pro quo." more ›

Last August, we heard the sad news that Coney Island Bialys and Bagels, the oldest bialy store in the city (she's a sprightly 91), was about to close because no one in Coney Island buys enough bialys these days. But word comes now that the store has been saved by some rather unlikely heroes: two Muslim businessmen. more ›

A bagel brand run by a former H&H employee is picking at the remains of the now-shuttered Upper West Side institution, telling us that he wants to move in to the Broadway storefront that once housed the inimitable bagel institution. But...is it too soon? more ›

This afternoon, we heard the sad news that Coney Island Bialys and Bagels, which has been in business since 1920, making it the oldest bialy store in Brooklyn and possibly the whole city, is closing forever. Or...is it? more ›

We always listen to Canadian electrofunk outfits for culinary advice, so we were heartbroken to find that Montreal group Chromeo has some hometown allegiance when it comes to noshing. "Montreal bagels are full of finesse and sophistication," singer Dave 1 told Rolling Stone while at Coachella. Dammit, now we have to make the switch! more ›

This has not been a good year for bagel emporium H & H Bagels. Last May owner Helmer Toro pleaded guilty to second degree grand larceny for pocketing $330,000 in payroll taxes and yesterday he went and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to avoid being locked out of its New Jersey manufacturing facilities. Well, technically its parent company, Garden Operation Realty LP, did the filing. more ›

Hiya, Yank! Visiting Merry Old England and pining for some authentic New York grub, what? Well, you'll be chuffed to bits at Heathrow Airport, where they're flogging ace bagel sandwiches named after jolly New York neighborhoods! Take a gander: They've got all your favorites, from the East Village Veggie ("Hold the meat, not the taste. Delicious chargrilled vegetables on grilled cheese") to the Harlem Nights ("Hot 'n' Heavenly Bacon and Cream Cheese—makes for real soul food"). more ›

Going to Park Slope's Chipshop is like taking a little trip to a state fair where you can procure deep fried Coke and Oreos. Except this place will go even further, and will fry anything—there's even a deep fried Atkins bar on the menu, and legend has it they once deep fried someone's birthday cake. So when someone at the Daily News recently had a craving for a deep fried bagel and cream cheese, they knew where to go. more ›

While the bagel hasn't really entered the disturbing culinary school of thought that brought you the Krispy Kreme Double Down, there's a new Twitter in town dedicated to one-off bad bagel orders, fittingly titled: Bad Bad Bagel—but can one really make a bad decision when ordering a bagel? Well, it was inspired by a recently overheard (and questionable) order of whitefish on cinnamon raisin—but that could be a thing people like, no? In the name of research, we took to the local bagel shop and procured a variety of (unsliced!) bagels and cream cheese flavors, then paired them up with toppings like: tomato, radish, chocolate sprinkles, banana and Nutella. Without getting into the nauseating details, the definitive outcome is that you can do wrong when topping a bagel... but you can do no wrong when Nutella is involved. more ›

How much for that bagel in the window? Well, that depends on how you're taking it. Apparently State tax officials have started enforcing an odd sales tax law; according to the Wall Street Journal, while the sale of a whole bagels aren't subject to sales tax, sliced bagels are! more ›

College English professor Lynne Rosenthal was threatened with arrest yesterday when she caused a nasty scene at a Starbucks on Columbus Avenue at 86th Street. Rosenthal's offense? Refusing to submit to Starbucks' corporate-speak, which requires customers to purchase "Tall" or "Venti" coffees. But Roshenthal is fed up with the chain's irritating idiom, and the Post reports that on Sunday she decided to make a stand. Over a bagel. more ›

The Post reports today on the city's latest diet trend: bagel scooping. Bagel purveyors are up in arms over the trend, in which customers demand the inside of their bagels be scooped out. Long Island bagel seller Joel Baruch said, "They're all making me nuts with the scooping! Ninety percent of my customers order it like that and it drives me absolutely crazy. But you have to give them what they want." The resulting nosh is slightly friendlier to the carb-counters, and leaves at least 50% more space to fill with all that delicious, healthy cream cheese! more ›

The IRS found some holes in tax returns filed by one of the city's biggest bagel makers, and now he'll spend his weekends all loxed up in jail. Helmer Toro, founder of H & H Bagels, pleaded guilty to second degree grand larceny for pocketing $330,000 in payroll taxes from his employees that he did not turn over to the state as required. Assuming the sentencing judge goes along with the plea deal, Toro will serve 50 weekends in jail and pay more than half a million dollars in restitution. more ›

Indicted Councilman Larry Seabrook (D-Bronx), he of the $177 bagel, spent nearly $20,000 of taxpayer money to move into a new office—a month after he was indicted of massive fraud. Seabrook, who once divorced his wife without telling her, left his $3,500-a-month office on White Plains Road, which he had been using despite leasing it officially to a nonprofit he ran, to a larger office building on Boston Road this past month. more ›

Chevra Mehadrin, a small group of ultra-Orthodox rabbis, recently announced a ban on lox, claiming a parasite that attaches itself to salmon makes it non-kosher. The Orthodox Union says the bagel topping is safe, despite sometimes carrying a worm called anisakis. "The issue has been resolved in Jewish law for hundreds of years already," Rabbi Moshe Elefant told the Post, dismissing the upstate rabbis’ suggestion. But kosher or not, are New Yorkers really spreading worms on their bagels? more ›

Starting next month, Central Park vendors will bring apples and bananas to hot dog and ice cream territory. Not only will the new fruit carts’ offerings be healthier than normal vendor fare, it will be cheaper. According the Post, they’ll sell “three bananas for just a buck, half-pound boxes of strawberries for $2 and mangoes for $1.50.” A spokesman says the Parks Department is “trying to vary our food offerings and include healthy and diverse options." Still, New Yorkers weren’t all enthused. “Bring on more junk food!" said one bagel-hardened skeptic. more ›

Indicted Councilman Larry Seabrook won't quit. The Bronx Democrat accused by federal prosecutors of taking part in real estate scams, soliciting a $50,000 bribe, and doctoring a $7 receipt for a bagel and a drink so he was reimbursed $177, says he won't resign. When asked by the Post if he took a bribe in exchange for getting a boiler company a gig at Yankee Stadium, Seabrook reportedly said "absolutely not" four times and laughed. He vowed to fight the charges, and claimed a close reading of the 66-page indictment against him reveals he's innocent. "I think if you read it, you'll see for yourself from that," he said. more ›

The charges lobbed against Councilman Larry Seabrook (D-Bronx) by federal investigators are pretty stunning, but one count stands out from the rest: The allegation that the third-term politician doctored a $7 receipt for a bagel and drink so he was reimbursed $177. Thankfully, the city's press corps has followed up to see whether a $177 bagel exists, and if so, what it tastes like. more ›

The City Councilman accused of fraud, extortion, money laundering, and doctoring a receipt so he was reimbursed $177 for a $7 bagel sandwich, pleaded not guilty yesterday. After getting hit with a litany of charges in a 65-page federal indictment [PDF], Councilman Larry Seabrook (D-Bronx) was released on a $500,000 personal recognizance bond. "We have no hesitation in saying that we don't perceive that a crime was committed," said his lawyer, who claimed reimbursement checks issued to the Councilman were legitimate expenses. "That's laundering? I question that." more ›

The city is forcing stores that sell cigarettes to display graphic anti-smoking posters—despite complaints by shopkeepers and customers. So the owner of Montague Street Bagels in Brooklyn Heights is fighting back against the ads, which depict a damaged brain and blackened lungs, by hanging his own handwritten disclaimer reading: "We are very sorry, but by the order of [New York City Department of Health], we are required to post this sign, or face a $2,000 fine!" more ›

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. more ›

It's conventional wisdom that the most important ingredient in New York bagels is NYC tap water. So today a south Florida company, The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co., has started selling bagels that owner Steve Fassberg claims taste just like our bagels—because they're made with "Brooklyn water." The effect isn't achieved by a tap water pipeline from Brooklyn, but by an elaborate water filtration system, enclosed behind a glass wall in the restaurant. Fassberg, a Flatbush native, tells the Sun Sentinel, "We have scientific proof to back up every state of the process." And the man behind the water system, Alfie Lipshultz, declares, "By the time it gets past our systems, it's Brooklyn water. We make it ultra pure to begin with and then we reinsert those nuances that make it Brooklyn water." He declined to elaborate on just what those nuances are, but we detect strong notes of B.S. and chutzpah. Back in 2006, the owner of Terrace Bagels hauled 150 gallons of filtered New Jersey water to Brooklyn, made a batch of bagels, and declared, "The bagels came out just as good. In towns in New Jersey you can’t find a decent bagel. I don’t know if that’s the water or the people that make them." more ›

Well, that was quick: the Upper West Side location of H&H Bagels reopened this afternoon, after being seized by the government for non-payment of taxes early this morning. The State Department of Taxation and Finance this afternoon told the CityRoom that the retail location of H&H and its Hell's Kitchen bakery owed more than $100,000 in back taxes. Clerks at the UWS bagel store have returned to laying out lox slices and buttering those poppyseed selling plain, unadorned bagels like there's no tomorrow, and have been specifically instructed not to talk about the temporary seizure. A woman at H&H's flagship (identifying herself as “Blanca, just Blanca”) said the seizure was “a misunderstanding that has been cleared up." The tax department differs; CityRoom explains, "so many tax warrants, or liens, had piled up by Friday that the department was still struggling to provide a full accounting to reporters." H&H hopes to have everything cleared up by today, so that no more locks will be hoisted upon on the House of Lox. more ›