PrintThe Best Bagel in New York City
Yes, Absolute Bagels (2788 Broadway, New York NY 10025; 212-932-2052) is my choice for New York's best bagel. A Thai family–run bakery, Absolute's bagels are chewy, crunchy, and, blessedly, not too sweet. They also do not suffer from bagel elephantiasis, which has made many New York bagels into dirigibles with holes.
Absolute's mini bagels are my snack of choice—they're even crunchier than the regular-size versions.
And how could I forget Absolute's $1.85 bagel with cream cheese when I listed my $2 and Under New York City Eating Pleasures?
H & H's bagels are too sweet, too big, and have no crunch or chew whatsoever.
I think the reasons everyone loves them is that they're most often warm when you buy them and the shop's proximity to Zabar's (which actually carries a superior bagel, from Columbia Hot Bagels).
Are there really any other contenders in New York or anywhere else?
My bagel silver medalist is The Bagelry, 429 Third Avenue, New York NY 10016; 212-679-9845.
My bronze goes to Bagel Oasis, 183-12 Horace Harding Expressway, Fresh Meadows NY 11365; 888-BAGELOASIS.
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22 Comments:
I'm not a big bagel eater anymore, but I was always under the impression that the big debate amongst the well-eaten was between Ess-a-Bagel and H&H. Shouldn't Ess-a-Bagel be a contender?
Absolute is new to me.
MurrayHill at 8:58AM on 09/12/06
Cross-streets, Ed! We need cross-streets! I suspect that absolute will be somewhere in the Levine Zone, though, in the upper UWS. I hear people talk about a place on the Utopia parkway too. But I'm curious as to density -- that seems to me to be the number one thing that has been lost with time. Even small and crusty bagels are insufficiently dense these days.
Meanwhile, who has the 2nd best bialy? (Kossar's is obviously number one.)
Josh
jozersky at 9:36AM on 09/12/06
Ed I also am a big fan of absolute but the Flagel's (a flat bagel that is very cruchy and very little dough) at Goldberg's in Ft. Lee NJ and on Hgwy 27 in Hampton Bays are the best. Once you try one of these you will never go back to the doughy bagel. Goldberg's claims to have invented them but I have seen them in other places but not as good.
Nycatfan at 9:41AM on 09/12/06
I fear I will sound like a ninny saying this, but I'm fond of Brooklyn Bagel Company in Astoria on Broadway. Why is it called Brooklyn Bagel Company when the place is in Queens? Are there more Brooklyn Bagel Companies in Brooklyn? I don't know. But I like their bagels a lot.
Mini bagels are the size that regular bagles used to be. Mini bagels are the way to go, because you get a bigger ratio of chewy exterior to bready interior. Having just moved from California, most any New York bagel is better than what I'm used to.
SaraBir at 1:17PM on 09/12/06
Murray's bagels!
They have malt in them. They're amazing.
toddself at 2:34PM on 09/12/06
I've been trying pretty hard to find a great everything bagel. The key is that it have garlic AND salt. The salt is what makes an everything bagel the king of bagels. Ed, can Absolute provide me with this? Is there any decent place further downtown that has a proper king of bagels? It's unusal for me to make it past the 50's...
Carrie at 4:27PM on 09/12/06
Woo-hoo...Great to see Absolute get the respect it deserves. I've tried H&H, Essa, Tal, etc. and they're all second rate to Absolute. And the cross streets are108th/107th on Broadway.
maldo86 at 7:12PM on 09/12/06
I like Bagelry a lot too, and Daniel's Bagels on 3 Ave/38 St. A plain Daniel's bagel hot out of the oven makes me really happy.
SuGoodEats at 9:54PM on 09/12/06
Ed, about two years ago you wrote a great New Year's article about the great bagels in New York, and through it I discovered your 'bronze': Bagel Oasis, off the Long Island Expressway, in Queens, New York. What a great find.
[1]
My family's been devouring "Bagel O's" bagels ever since. If necessary, we take advantage of their excellent FedEx service (though they have a two or three dozen minimum!).
Thanks Ed. Your "everyday gourmet" approach makes life better, once again.
fred at 10:15PM on 09/12/06
Actually... I agree whole heartedly that H&H is a whole bunch of talk. The fact t hat they don't put cream cheese on the bagel for you is a HUGE disadvantage. I'll let you in on a little secret. BAGEL SHOP on Bedford Ave in Wiliamsburg. My favorite bagel in NYC..hands down. And the lox spread..perfect ratio of schmear to lox. TASTY I TELL YOU!
sushihaha at 6:37AM on 09/13/06
Terrace Bagel in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn. Their Everything bagel is a glorious mix of all the goodies, including kosher salt, and is heaven with a hole in it. I have yet to be disappointed. La Bagel Delite in Park Slope is a nice 2nd.
Julma at 8:27AM on 09/13/06
sorry, but "La Bagel Delight" isn't even the best bagel in the Park Slope vicinity. that honor, and what i think would be the best little-known bagel in NYC, goes to Bergen Bagel on Dean St. and Flatbush Ave.
DKA at 7:02AM on 09/14/06
Bergen Bagel is good, but Absolute is the absolute! Their egg bagel with a schmear of butter would be on my Last Meal list. So sweet, dense, and chewy.
elltes at 10:43PM on 09/17/06
julma is right on, I adore Terrace Bagles. I used to live right near them and got hooked on the pumpernickle, which, consequently, is the one pictured in the image above. Malty, not too sweet, not too piquant, utterly perfect. Hands down my vote for best bagel in the 5 boroughs
Ann at 8:03AM on 09/18/06
Forget it! Get a zipcar or something and drive all the way out to Hot Bagels, on Montauk Highway in Sayville, Long Island. Then, since you're stuck way out there already, go hang out on the beach for the rest of the morning, then get a beer and some steamers at the Cull House and forget about the city for a while.
moth23 at 12:37AM on 09/19/06
Anyone seeking a good bagel should go to queens, Bagel Oasis has the some of the best bagels around. They are located in Fresh Meadows Queens right on the LIE service road. Check them out online Bagel Oasis
Jonb721 at 7:33PM on 09/25/06
I love the bagels at David's Bagels on 1st avenue near 19th street. I like them better than Essa, which is down the street.
David Sanders at 12:39AM on 01/13/07
Bagel Hole in on 7th Ave. in Park Slope makes a nice version of the old-fashioned chewy dense bagel that must be eaten that day. Terrace Bagel in Windsor Terrace makes very good slightly larger slightly softer bagels and good bialies. I had some good bagels from a place on Coney Island Ave. in Midwood, as well. Kosar's seems to have changed recipes withing the past year or two. Their classic bialies are no more, in my humble opinion, although the onion board (pletzl) is still tops.
H&H always was second rate. The place near Columbia is great (Absolute). Columbia Hot Bagel used to be great too.
Anyone remember the great New Jersey bagel places of yesteryear? I remember one on Chancellor Ave. in Irvington, and another on West End Ave. in Jersey City. Both were great places, basically wholesalers with small service counters. My dad would take us late Saturday night to get the early edition of the Sunday paper and hot bagels. Wiggler's in Union, NJ was great also.
I'd love to hear about other great bagels which are no more...
AdamHolland at 8:10PM on 10/28/07
I don't know why Essa Bagel gets such good marks. I think their bagels are too large and too soft and have little flavor. But about a block away is La Bagel. The best I've had. Of course, I haven't sampled every bagel in the New York tri-state area, but La Bagel is my idea of what a begel should be. It's at 263 1st Ave.
SavtaShayna at 2:28PM on 10/30/07
I didn't even know about La Bagel. I will check it out. Sounds promising. I agree with you about Ess A Bagel. Its bagels are too big and too sweet.
Ed Levine at 2:30PM on 10/30/07
If you're ever in Williamsburgh, my vote - hands down - is:
Bagel Store
(718) 218-7244
247 Bedford Ave
Bagel Store
(718) 782-5856
754 Metropolitan Ave
They have a nice crust on the bottom and they are chewy. To me, they are the real deal.
Decca at 2:00PM on 12/07/07
Thanks for the tip, Decca. I've never heard of the Bagel Store. I will check them out next time I'm in Williamsburg.
Ed Levine at 2:29PM on 12/07/07