bagel help

[deep-shag.livejournal.com]

Hi! I am moving to the area in January, from a land void of a decent bagel. How are the bagels there? Where should I get them?

Comments

[elements.livejournal.com]

Sadly, Boston too is a land devoid of a decent bagel. There are some OK bagels: Dunkin Donuts (believe it or not!), Brueggers, Einstein & Finagle in the Boston area, and some mediocre bagels at local Davis-area cafes.

But honestly, I've never had a truly great bagel in Massachusetts. :(

[faux-eonix.livejournal.com]

I concur, there aren't really any good bagels in the area. Bagel Rising in Allston is pretty much the best I've found.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Kupel's in Brookline isn't bad. Anyone who's originally from New York will roll their eyes and rant at the idea of Boston bagels, but for non-New Yorkers, I'd recommend Kupel's or Bagel Rising.

[hahathor.livejournal.com]

Remember, any bagel can be improved if you slice it properly (http://www.georgehart.com/bagel/bagel.html)

[theodosia.livejournal.com]

Finagle-A-Bagel does properly boil their bagels before baking. They have many frou-frou versions, but they do feature all the Six True Varieties: Plain, Onion, Sesame, Poppyseed, Salt and Egg.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Agreed!

[ceo]

I find Finagle's bagels gummy and weird, and Dunkies' are toroidal Wonder bread. Bruegger's is an OK bet, but the ones that seem closest to NYC bagels are Iggy's, which I think Diesel sells. They also have a bakery off in the industrial wastelands of far-west Cambridge, but I haven't been there.

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

I really dislike Dunkin Donuts bagels, and further dislike the fact that they don't spread the cream cheese for you (they give you a small plastic container that has enough cream cheese for half a bagel if you ask me).

Magnificent Muffin in Teele Square has decent bagels and they don't skimp on the cream cheese.

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

ps. welcome to the neighborhood.

[wallacestreet.livejournal.com]

I agree that Iggy's are the best you can get in Cambriville, and perhaps in greater Boston, but that's not saying much. They're kind of an odd cross between New York and Montreal style with a super chewy crust. Unfortunately, my best advice is to go to New York and bring home several dozen, they freeze well.

[enochs-fable.livejournal.com]

There's a little bagel place/diner in Arlington by Mill Street, Bagels by US. They import H&H bagels from NY. Very tasty.

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

Katz's Bagels in Chelsea is probably the closest thing I've found to a New York bagel. Kupel's and Bagels By Us are both decent choices too. Bagel Rising makes great sandwiches.

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

Bagels by US are the only bagels around here that work for me, a born and bred New Yorker. However, they don't store them properly so they are really only good first thing in the morning.

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

Try Bagels by US in Arlington (noted above). They bring boiled H&H bagels from NYC daily and bake them here. They store them badly and don't have as much turnover as bagel places in Brooklyn (also my theory on why you can't get a decent slice around here) so by the afternoon they are more or less the same as other local bagels. But first thing in the morning? Totally worth the trip down Mass Ave.

[jamiesquared.livejournal.com]

I like Bagel World...I know they are in Salem & Danvers, I think they have other locations too though.

[jamiesquared.livejournal.com]

Mhmm when I was a kid my mom would get us pizza bagels from Katz's!

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Do us a favor, don't ask where you can find a good burrito.

[diego001.livejournal.com]

So where can you find a good burrito?

[redcolumbine.livejournal.com]

Nothing helpful to say, but props for "toroidal Wonder bread."

[smoterh.livejournal.com]

Im really happy for you if you like bruggers or whatever, and imma let you finish, but Au Bon Pain has one of the best bagels of all time.

[lbmango.livejournal.com]

I think its hilarious that "Bagels by US" imports their bagels from H&H... in what way are they "by us"? B-)

But yeah, 1st thing in the morning, they're good, later in the day, Meh...

[lbmango.livejournal.com]

+1

[beatniktea.livejournal.com]

Its not anything authentic or crazy, but Brueggers bagels are pretty tasty. And the cream cheese flavors are great! :)

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

When I first moved here, I cluelessly went for a long walk one day in search of a good bagel. I walked into every place that had bagels (and there are a lot, of course) to ask what I always ask, "What's still warm?"

Let's just say I got some odd looks and reactions. The sad part was that there was only one place who told me there was *ever* a time I could come in for still-warm bagels (most of them couldn't fathom the concept at all), but that would be at around dawn. That was Einstein Bros, which, as I recall, had pretty decent bagels, anyway.

I can't remember if I liked Kupel's bagels at all -- when I think of them, I only recall getting a bialy there that was so much not a bialy (and also hard as a rock) that I returned it and have not been back since.

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

I *think* that the Bagels by US folks would not look at you weirdly. However, they seem to bake everything at just about the same time and thus, early in the morning is (still) the way to go.