The owner of a Montreal-style bagel shop in Cobble Hill says Health Department inspectors are asking the impossible, levying heavy fines for insignificant infractions like seeds on the floor. B&B Empire Bagels, which we reviewed as soon as it opened last year, has been fined $1,650 by the city for supposedly "incidental infractions" such as fallen sesames. Owner Alex Gormakh says inspectors cited him for sesame and poppy seeds that fall on the floor, telling the Post, “It is impossible to clean up after each and every bagel. It is impossible. It is a process." more ›

Earlier this month, Dunkin' Donuts rolled out a line of so-called "artisan bagels," claiming it had "reinvented its bagel recipe, delivering a new line of bagels that features a soft and chewy texture with bolder flavors." Now a Queens-based bagel company is taking legal action in an attempt to force Dunkin' to drop the word "artisan" from its marketing strategy, arguing that it's false advertising. more ›

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 ›

Happy Bagels And Lox Day, everybody! Of the many random food "holidays" this month, today's is easily our favorite. Not that we need a reason to enjoy one of the delicacies that New York City does best (always have, always will: suck it, Montreal). But now that the big day has arrived (who knew!), anybody down for a trip to Russ & Daughters? more ›

After a decade of brisk business on the north side of Williamsburg, the Bedford Avenue location of the popular Bagel Store has moved on down to the neighborhood's Southside. The smaller location opened two days ago on the corner of South 4th Street and Bedford Avenue, and owner Scott Rossillo tells us he's still "doing old fashioned handmade bagels with state of art equipment." Rossillo also says he feels like he's "free" after over a decade at the old location, which is owned by local real estate mogul Yehuda Backer, whom Rossillo calls "a liar." 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 ›

It's been a rough year for the carbo-kings at H&H Bagels, and it looks like things could be getting worse—the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the company may be evicted from their 639 West 46th Street mass-manufacturing plant. Is no bagel safe? more ›

And the twists just keep coming in the tale of beleaguered bagel institution H&H! Last night was the hotly anticipated "Save H&H" rally at Riverside Park, where about 25 people showed up, and there were not, as promised, free bagels. But there were some interesting hints about where the store might land next. more ›

Breaking bagel news! The Wall Street Journal is reporting that H & H Bagels, beloved Upper West Side carboloading institution, is closing—for good—tomorrow! more ›

A few months ago, we alerted you to a strange new venture undertaken by Larry King, in which the talking head purchased a Beverley Hills franchise of the Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. (Lest you forget, they're the Florida-based operation that "Brooklynizes" non-Brooklyn water by purifying it and adding back traces of the minerals and elements that you'd find in an authentic Brooklyn tap.) And now, The Daily has a video of the "King of the microphone" himself, touring the kitchen lab of the restaurant ("The truth is, I have no idea how this works") and slowly gumming his way through a bagel. Behold the grotesque vision: more ›

You know who gets our appetite going? Larry King. Yup, just one look at those oversized glasses and reptilian wrinkles makes us ready to eat whatever he is that keeps him looking so young. And apparently that's bagels. But not just any bagels—Brooklynized bagels. more ›

You may recall that in the summer of 2009, The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. opened in Florida with an elaborate water filtration system (enclosed behind a glass wall in the restaurant) that was said to replicate water that flows from the tap in Brooklyn, thereby giving the bagels that distinctive NYC flavor and texture. "By the time it gets past our systems, it's Brooklyn water," declared the man who built the filtration system. But the bagels have proven so popular that now another company is using the system to make "authentic 'New York Style' pizza," and the owner of the bagel company is suing. 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 ›

Certain Brooklyn bagelheads have been heading to Mile End Deli in Boerum Hill today to snatch up some specially-delivered bagels from Montreal. The bagels, from St-Viateur bagel bakery, are $2.50 a pop (or a dozen for $22) and traveled overnight to get here. The folks at Brokelyn think this is très absurde, saying, "There are so many things wrong with this scenario that the mind reels trying to count them." They suggest hitting up the Bagel Hole for an 80 cent doughy delight. more ›

The owner of H+H Bagels was indicted on tax fraud charges today. Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau said that Helmer Toro collected payroll taxes from employees but didn't pay them to the government and also evaded unemployment insurance tax. more ›

Is Mayor Bloomberg's crusade to turn New Yorkers into healthy eaters really just a product of his own struggles with self-control, roller coaster dieting and poor body image? It turns out that the man who has banned trans fats, made us face calorie count signs on a daily basis and now has his squinty eyes aimed at sodium levels in restaurants and sugary soda drinks is the type of guy that "an unflattering photo of himself can trigger weeks of intense dieting and crankiness." 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 ›

The cold masses in DC for Barack Obama's inauguration will get a little treat from NYC tomorrow. The Daily News reports that a fifth-generation East Village bagel maker has been hard at work preparing 1 million bagels to hand out to folks, free of charge. Adam Rosner of Bagel Boss and 200 of his employees began the dough-making process last Thursday "at their 14 shops in Manhattan and on Long Island." Today they begin their journey to the nation's capital, riding down on 14 trucks, and tomorrow 50 employees and Young Dems will pass out the...day old bagels (beggars can't be choosers!), which will come in a variety ranging from honey whole wheat to sesame. As for the total bill, Rosner spent tens of thousands on the delicious donation, and told the paper that while he backs Obama now, he actually voted for McCain! more ›

Tired of squandering your mornings laboriously spreading cream cheese on your freshly defrosted bagel? Kraft Foods, Inc. is here to blast you and your breakfast into the 21st century, with their new line of frozen bagels that come pre-filled with cream cheese! more ›

“It’s horrible. I don’t know what we’re going to do,” Arye Lewkowitz, owner of Daniel’s Bagels on Third Avenue, recently told Metro. “We’re going to have to sell a bagel for over $1.” Lewkowitz isn’t alone; bagel and bread prices are soaring nationwide due to the skyrocketing cost of wheat, which more than doubled in the past year in New York, from $5.31 a bushel to $14.22. more ›

Time to dress up and play "I have my own food television show!" If you've ever thought you had it in you, now's the time. Epicurious.com is hosting a contest for the best video on holiday food and entertaining. Submit your entry by January 2, 2008 and have a chance to win prizes including Michael Chiarello cookware and Epicurious.com editors' favorite cookbooks. And if you're quick about it, the first 25 people to submit videos... more ›