that of course is the most important thing, I do add more credibility to NYC'ers advice/beliefs on a FEW food items, bagels being one of them. Unless of course if they have not been to Montreal and maintain NYC has the best bagels. :p

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Canadians make the best bagels ... if you're looking for something to use as a hockey puck. :)

Bagels by Bell/B&S Bialy unquestionably has the best bagels and bialies on the planet*, and are a local institution in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn.

They used to have two storefronts on Flatlands Avenue, which is one of the main retail shopping districts in Canarsie, but now they are located in a factory building in an industrial area of Canarsie.

They are also one of the main suppliers of bagels and bialies in the New York City area.

The bagels and bialies are so hot and fresh that they will steam up the windows of an automobile on a hot summer day!

However, don’t take my word for it. Judge for yourself...

*I still have not yet tried the bagels in Montréal...

Also several locations in Portland and definitely in SFO near the 70s gates. They good but not quite up to snuff, IMO. Still, they'll do in a pinch.

Brooklyn Bagels on Wilson Blvd in Courthouse/Arlington does a pretty good job, IMHO.

Good call. I used to live a few blocks from there.... and I have to admit, they're bagels were decent. Though, I once got into an argument with the owner when I wasn't given a "baker's dozen" (in NYC, you get an extra bagel when you order 12). :)

Don't be so harsh about Bodo's. :D

Sure, they're not as good as most bagels from NYC, and they do go stale very quickly, but they're far better than most of the bread that passes for "bagels" elsewhere in Virginia. :p

What ever happened to bagels .... and where have onion platzels gone?
 

I was brought up in the East-end of London and from recollection there was a few bagel places that made bagels 24 hours a day within a mile of each other. Over time .... they dwindled and there's now just the place left in Brick Lane.

What has happened to real bagels and ...... onion platzels?

I think of those days a lot. I could demand the slightly charred bagels .... straight out of the oven ... at 3am in the morning after a night out.

But now .... there's a complete generation or two that thinks the stuff that's produced now are real bagels. And how can anything from a plastic bag bought in a supermarket be called a "bagel"? But they're not. And if they have never tasted them ... then what hope someone is going to open a real bagel bakery?

They're not quite the same as a bagel bakery (missing malt, for starters), but I've managed to make some tasty ones from this recipe.

Nice to see someone else making them ...... it's a good recipe - thanks.

They never seem to be the same at home. I think the missing ingredient is that these old ovens use to be wood fired and that was what made the flavour and the charring so moreish. I also wonder whether they used a sourdough starter rather than fresh yeast each day. Also as the boiling adds a touch more rise then kills ... I wonder whether they should have a longer second raise before they go into the water than they say in the recipes.

We have the very same problem here in the States - you have to travel far and wide to get a decent bagel these days.

Have you ever tried a Turkish Simit - they're really wonderful if hot. I'm really lucky because my neighbor makes them at home, but it's worth a trip to Istanbul to try them.

uk1,

On your next visit to NYC, I'd be happy to take you to bagel stores that you'll never hear about in guidebooks. ;) :p

dh

Done! Thanks!

Oh you just reminded me of working nights in Hackney! Someone would always go on a bagel run at around 530/6 am!

Working in Hackney ...... ! Surely you went up to Stamford Hill for the bagels?

Does anyone else recall onion platzels? I confess I use to take the onions out of the others and pile them into mine .......