Consolidated "Bagels" thread
Aug 20, 2021 | 9:29 pm
#136
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I guess I'm no bagel aficionado. I love Montreal bagels and NYC bagels are good too. But the best ones we have here in Chicago are comparable enough for me. We prefer the Once Upon bagels, which I believe are now also available at Kitsch'n on Roscoe, if that's closer to you. Although they're probably more than a few hours old there.
May 1, 2026 | 2:30 pm
#138
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Chef, cookbook author and KCRW Good Food host Evan Kleinman:
Bagels of Today
Bagels of Today
To me, a bagel is a smallish, round (saying this because someone might make a square one in some kind of weird mold), savory bread with a chewy, somewhat dense, and resistant texture. Its the reason I try to avoid a bagel with no discernible hole in the middle. The hole allows the crumb of the bagel to cook more evenly to the proper texture. I remember the first time I had a soft-ish bagel. I spit it out, thinking something was wrong. I walked back into the bagel shop and asked what had changed. Turns out they had stopped boiling their bagels before baking them. I said, You should call them rolls, and walked out.
In her recent article for The New York Times,Big Money is Coming for Bagels, Julia Moskin says, Not all the offerings are strictly traditional, but the tangy interiors, chewy-crisp crusts and plentiful toppings are a major improvement on the puffy, pale bagels that have long ruled American strip malls. Yeah, those pale, too soft bagel simulacrums have had their day.
In her recent article for The New York Times,Big Money is Coming for Bagels, Julia Moskin says, Not all the offerings are strictly traditional, but the tangy interiors, chewy-crisp crusts and plentiful toppings are a major improvement on the puffy, pale bagels that have long ruled American strip malls. Yeah, those pale, too soft bagel simulacrums have had their day.
May 1, 2026 | 2:42 pm
#139
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We were just talking about planning a trip to Montreal to meet some friends from London (who refuse to come to the U.S. until after the problem is eliminated) this fall. And, I immediately thought of bagels. I log on and lo and behold, this thread has been bumped!
May 3, 2026 | 2:04 pm
#141
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Meanwhile I had a delicious Hella Bagel for lunch. Better than the NYT loving Boichick. But grateful to have both nearby
https://sf.eater.com/dining-report/2...-bagels-review
May 3, 2026 | 3:33 pm
#142
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I still love bagels. Wise sons / beauty, boichik, yum. But those aren’t cheap - boichik is $3.25 each for just a single bagel.
once upon a bagel in highland park might now be $1.50 each in comparison.
once upon a bagel in highland park might now be $1.50 each in comparison.
May 4, 2026 | 5:01 pm
#143
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Meanwhile, here are KCRW Good Food recommendations:
9 of LA's Best New Bagel Shops
CLASSIC
Pops
... the bagels at Pop’s hit the Venn diagram of texture — they’re both chewy and soft.
H&H
The bagels are solid: not too thick, not too thin, with a nice amount of chew. They make for excellent breakfast sandwiches.
Boichik
... is perfect for those who don’t love a fluffy bagel. Their bagels are a bit sturdier and more dense.
RIP-AND-DIP
PopUp Bagels
They’re known for smaller and puffier bagels... The shape and size is well-suited to the way the founders insist the bagels be eaten: ripped and dipped.
Calic Bagel
All of their bagels are made using tangzhong, a Japanese bread-making method that results in soft, fluffy, chewy bagels.
SOURDOUGH
Courage Bagels
... made from dough that has been fermented for 72 hours. This is how the bagels are able to remain so crisp on the outside with a thin, glassine crust while maintaining a soft, chewy interior.
Mustard’s Bagels
... also uses a 72-hour fermented sourdough to make their bagels. Like Courage, there is often a line out the door...
Layla Bagels
Like Courage and Mustard’s, their bagel has a nice chew with a crisp crust.
A STYLE COMPLETELY ITS OWN
Miopane
These bagels are unlike any others in Los Angeles. You can watch bakers pipe thick lines of cream cheese onto different flavors of bagel dough before they roll them up, shape them into rings, and bake them. The result is a fluffy bagel that arrives filled with cream cheese.
Pops
... the bagels at Pop’s hit the Venn diagram of texture — they’re both chewy and soft.
H&H
The bagels are solid: not too thick, not too thin, with a nice amount of chew. They make for excellent breakfast sandwiches.
Boichik
... is perfect for those who don’t love a fluffy bagel. Their bagels are a bit sturdier and more dense.
RIP-AND-DIP
PopUp Bagels
They’re known for smaller and puffier bagels... The shape and size is well-suited to the way the founders insist the bagels be eaten: ripped and dipped.
Calic Bagel
All of their bagels are made using tangzhong, a Japanese bread-making method that results in soft, fluffy, chewy bagels.
SOURDOUGH
Courage Bagels
... made from dough that has been fermented for 72 hours. This is how the bagels are able to remain so crisp on the outside with a thin, glassine crust while maintaining a soft, chewy interior.
Mustard’s Bagels
... also uses a 72-hour fermented sourdough to make their bagels. Like Courage, there is often a line out the door...
Layla Bagels
Like Courage and Mustard’s, their bagel has a nice chew with a crisp crust.
A STYLE COMPLETELY ITS OWN
Miopane
These bagels are unlike any others in Los Angeles. You can watch bakers pipe thick lines of cream cheese onto different flavors of bagel dough before they roll them up, shape them into rings, and bake them. The result is a fluffy bagel that arrives filled with cream cheese.
May 5, 2026 | 7:31 pm
#144
Join Date: Oct 2024
Posts: 200
Bagels seem to be a thing in Japan. The last time I tried them there was 2002; no good memories remain.
In addition to random pop-ups and vendors throughout the big cities, I walked by "NEW YORK CLUB THE BAGEL CAFE and BEER STAND" in Tokyo's Akasaka neighborhood. (why beer?) However, given that local bakeries and patisseries do so many other carbs well, I didn't bother giving them a whirl. Their take-out menu also screams SPERAD instead of SPREAD (as in, jams/marmalades), but that's a horse of a different color.
In addition to random pop-ups and vendors throughout the big cities, I walked by "NEW YORK CLUB THE BAGEL CAFE and BEER STAND" in Tokyo's Akasaka neighborhood. (why beer?) However, given that local bakeries and patisseries do so many other carbs well, I didn't bother giving them a whirl. Their take-out menu also screams SPERAD instead of SPREAD (as in, jams/marmalades), but that's a horse of a different color.
May 6, 2026 | 10:50 am
#145
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: LAX
Posts: 183
============
Found it (paywalled): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...anese-fillings
Last edited by FlyingChuck; May 6, 2026 at 10:56 am Reason: Adding Link
May 11, 2026 | 10:35 am
#146
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Wise Sons had or has a Japan shop for their deli and bagels joy.
I got boichik bagels for Mother’s Day - it was easier to use DoorDash as I had already bought the lox, onion, and tomato at Trader Joe’s on Saturday. Then my family started their bagel joy while I was trying to print documents for my son’s school activity and by the time I came downstairs, they had finished their bagels and lamented that they finished up the single 4-oz package of lox. Oh if only they had looked underneath the lox package and then they’d have seen a bag with two more 4-oz lox packages. As if I’d only have 4 ounces of lox …
I got boichik bagels for Mother’s Day - it was easier to use DoorDash as I had already bought the lox, onion, and tomato at Trader Joe’s on Saturday. Then my family started their bagel joy while I was trying to print documents for my son’s school activity and by the time I came downstairs, they had finished their bagels and lamented that they finished up the single 4-oz package of lox. Oh if only they had looked underneath the lox package and then they’d have seen a bag with two more 4-oz lox packages. As if I’d only have 4 ounces of lox …