By Gus Saltonstall
Eater New York’s longtime food critic Robert Sietsema recently asked the holy grail of neighborhood questions.
“Who Makes the Best Bagel on the Upper West Side?”
Sietsema starts the recently published article by naming the Upper West Side as the best neighborhood for bagels in New York City.
The guidelines for finding the best bagel within the Upper West Side were as follow:
Sietsema traveled from West 108th Street to West 61st Street, and along the way ordered plain bagels, untoasted, with plain cream cheese from nine eateries he deemed the best in the neighborhood. Each stop, he’d take two bites, and judge both the bagel and the cream cheese.
The bagel expedition took him three hours and 20 minutes, with the bagels ranging in price from $3.54 to a high of $5.44.
At the end of the trip he ranked those bagels from one to eight,* and crowned what he considered to be the best bagel spot in the best bagel neighborhood in the best bagel city in the universe.
In geographic order, from uptown to downtown, he stopped at the following nine destinations:
- Absolute Bagels: 2778 Broadway, near West 108th Street
- Silver Moon Bakery: 2740 Broadway at West 105th Street
- Broadway Bagel: 2658 Broadway at West 101st Street
- Broad Nosh: 2350 Broadway at West 85th Street
- H&H Bagels: 526 Columbus Avenue, near West 85th Street
- Zabar’s: 2245 Broadway at West 80th Street
- Bagels & Co.: 391 Amsterdam Avenue, near West 79th Street
- Bagel Talk: 368 Amsterdam Avenue at West 77th Street
- Pick A Bagel: 30 West End Avenue, near West 61st Street
* Controversially, Sietsema did not include Broadway Bagels in the ranking because he disqualified the eatery for “not boiling their bagels.”
“The problem is, when I turned over the bagel it had the grid marks that indicate that it had been steamed rather than boiled (Editor’s note: When I called they said they’re not boiled),” he wrote about Broadway Bagel, a popular breakfast spot in the neighborhood. “Ergo, it’s suspect: Is it really a bagel?”
Without further ado, here’s how he ranked the other eight:
1. Bagels & Co.
2. Absolute Bagels
3. H&H
4. Bagel Talk
5. Broad Nosh
6. Zabar’s
7. Pick A Bagel
8. Silver Moon Bakery
“More bulbous than usual, the small hole was like a whirlpool on this one, and the crumb more finely textured, without a speck of sweetness,” Sietsema wrote about his top choice Bagels & Co., which beat out the perennially top-ranked Absolute Bagels. “The taste was slightly toasty without being toasted.”
We want to hear how you would rank the top bagel spots in the neighborhood. You can use the nine selected by Sietsema, include fewer, or include different options.
Let us know in the comment section.
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I’ll take the bait. I don’t think Zabars makes their own bagels, and certainly not on site. He missed Zuckers who does make their own bagels. People seem to love pick a bagel.
So I declare a mistrial.
I spotted a truck unloading boxes of wholesale parbaked bagels outside the Zabars side entrance/loading area. They buy them parbaked and then finish baking them on site. They are okay if you get them right out of the oven, but bad by the next day
If Zabar’s bagels are second hand how come they’re hot when they restock? Why bother to reheat? Definitely looking forward to trying others on this list.
Zucker’s are so over-crispy they cut the roof of my mouth!
Agree on Zabar’s – those are second hand bagels. They are fine, but are different. At least they were pretty low on the list.
Broad Nosh bagels are much fluffier than the others. I’m personally not a fan, so agree with the pretty low placement.
My two go-to spots are H&H and Bagel Talk. Both are excellent, with H&H slightly ahead of Bagel Talk, so I agree with the ranking.
Not a big fan of Zucker’s bagels though agreed they should be on the list.
It is too bad Lenny’s in the high 90s is gone, as they would also be up there.
Only slightly related but at busy times, all bagel places should have an express lane for those who just want bagels and nothing else. I do everything at home and hate waiting in line forever while people want it scooped (an affront to humanity), toasted, exactly so much cream cheese, etc.
Zabar’s definitely sources bagels. I’ve seen a Zabar van driver picking up bagels from Bagel Talk!
Can’t get away with anything on the UWS 🙂
I think Zabars’ bagels are made by Davidovich.
Absolute Bagels is excellent, but unfortunately, the bagels are not kosher and I can’t bring them home. Bagels & Co. is THE BEST option for me, and truthfully I’m not sure I’ve ever had a better bagel.
Not including Tal Bagels disqualifies the whole experiment.
Tal is the best bagel spot on the UWS. (And who knew Silver Moom Bakery had bagels?)
Agree! Tal Bagels are phenomenal and also in UES
I’m with you. Tal was always my favorite when I lived in the upper 80’s (can’t speak for their quality lately though).
Violently agree with my Lee! Tal Bagels for the win!
I’m not trying to start anything, but Tal Bagels on the East Side (53rd and 1st) has always been better than Tal Bagels on the West Side and is *by far* the best bagel my husband and I have had.
Is this East side vs. West side bagel feud similar to the East Coast vs. West Coast rap battles of the 90s? I hope not as I fear a number of drive-by bagel attacks from both side. Gotham, indeed.
Tal Bagels gets my vote! Doughy, wheaty, not overly sweet. And they are quick to deliver.
Tal has jumped the shark years ago. Rude service, absurd prices, and the quality has suffered as well. It’d be at the bottom of this list in my view.
I was also surprised that he left out Tal Bagels. It may not be the absolute best, but they deserved to be included.
I do have a lot of respect for Robert Sietsema. Maybe it’s too difficult to rate more than 8 bagels.
The last Tal bagel I had was dry, sad and mealy. Might have been the end of a batch, but still. So much better elsewhere.
A friend sent me this list and I wrote back saying the same thing! Why not Tal? They have the best bagels!
Tal’s bagels have holes that are just way too big. The cream cheese, or anything else you use to make a sandwich, just goes right through. Bagels should have holes in the center, but they shouldn’t be the size of a Staten Island pothole!
Absolute Bagels is best by a mile.
Absolute Bagels-The One And Only!
No contest. Absolute bagels is the best. Broadway Bagels shouldn’t have even made the test list – their bagels are terrible.
Interesting. I’d have them in the top half of this list. Too each their own.
Indeed. The bagels at Broadway Bagels always hit me as something purchased in bulk (Costco?) rather than made in house.
Always good/important to note if a bagel store uses malt in their product. Fairly certain Absolute (my personal fave) does … not so sure about the others. Not always so easy to detect, so would require asking the question (and hopefully receiving an honest reply).
By excluding Broadway Bagels, I think what he established is that a thing that is not a bagel can be better than a bagel.
Steamed or boiled..tomatyo-tomahto
Broadway bagel is by far the best. Crispy outside and a soft inside. They are also the size of what a bagel should be.
Zabar’s should stick to whitefish salad and waiting online for anything, especiallyan Absolute bagel is overated
If you think the whitefish salad is good at Zabar’s, then you should try the whitefish salad at Murray’s Sturgeon. There is no comparison. Once you’ve had the Murray’s whitefish salad, the Zabar’s version tastes like filler – with hardly any fish.
Totally agree
I like Davidovich bagels. The owner told me that they are on sale at Zabar’s and at Barney Greengrass.
Never heard of Bagels & Co. Is it located next to Emack and Bolio ice cream?
It is. Accordingly, whether it’s the best bagel or not it’s located next to the best ice cream on the UWS.
Well, it’s close to Amorino, but not right next to it 🙂
Best ice cream. for Sure!
“In geographic order, from uptown to downtown, he stopped at the following nine destinations:
Absolute Bagels: 2778 Broadway, near West 108th Street”
So his top choice was the place he went to first when, presumably, he was the hungriest. I’m no Ph.D., but I suspect this creates a significant statistical bias.
I had the same thought. Maybe he should have taken a week with a bag of the day rather than go from place to place in the same day even though he only took two bites.
His top choice, excluding Broadway Bagels, is actuall Bagels&Co.
But let’s remember this is one man’s opinion and we see their are many opinion
Many opinions about everything is in the soul of UWSiders.
but it wasn’t his top choice. his top choice is 30 blocks south
Absolute Bagels was not his top choice.
What about Modern bagels? I know they’re gluten free and haven’t tried them. Are they a “real” bagel and how do they rank?
If it’s gluten-free, no way it is a bagel, it is only bagel-ish.
I have a GF friend who praises them to the stars. Probably worth a try.
Of course, the upcoming arrival of both Kossar’s and Pop-up Bagels will change the equation. I recently had a bagel from Kossar’s new store on the East Side and it was really excellent.
Pop-up are more like bread than bagel; I would personally not even have them on the list. The seasonal dips are great though
Don’t agree, they are amazing!!!
But when? When is Kossar’s going to open?
A few weeks ago they told WSR it should be Spring.
Bagel Talk is “my” spot geographically, but the variance there is so extreme — sometimes the bagels are excellent, and sometimes they’re a pretty big disappointment. Also, the prices for a bacon egg and cheese have gotten absurd. #4 seems appropriate.
Did you not know that Bagels & Co. (much better) is right across the street from Bagel Talk?
I’ve rarely gone there. The times that I have, I didn’t think it was “much better”. Also, can’t get a BEC there.
Whenever I am in Zabar’s, 4x week, bagels are coming HOT from the kitchen, I wonder how if not made there.
They’re par-baked, brought to the store frozen, and finished on site. Sullivan Street Bakery used to provide them (5-10 years ago) and they were better than they are now.
Yes! And I have been telling people for years that Bagels and Co is the best bagels! It is a weird little kosher place but it is so good. Way better than Orwashers, Zabars, Barney Greengrass and H&H. Some of the others on the list are pretty good too though.
Agreed!
Totally agree on Bagels & Co being the best! Always fluffy. Thank you for the validation.
So great that we have so many bagel options on the UWS!
Beg to disagree. A fluffy bagel is a round roll with a hole. A real bagel is neither fluffy nor bulbous, but achieves a perfect balance of density. tenderness and chewiness. And a top-flight traditional beigel (original spelling) is about half the thickness of the current flock — thin enough that you can taste the lox and cream cheese, not a bready mouthful.
What about Orwasher’s? The best Everything bagels around, dense but not too thick.
Sorry, Orwashers was sold and now has a Goyishe Tam. They don’t even make their signature pumpernickel raisin rolls! Their prices…..OY
Ever since the original H & H closed I’d gotten bagels at Zabars and they were good enough. But when Orwashers opened I started getting them there. Like H & H you can get them fresh and hot right out of the cooker! But they have limited varieties. I’m holding out for Kossars. They’re my last best hope.
I’ve settled or Orwasher’s everything bagels. The sourdough bread has taste. They steam cook the bagels. It’s not traditional but the effect is the same. They didn’t have steam cook convection ovens in the old days. (I remember the boiling kettle next to the oven at H &H. ) So many of the bagels have no taste. I like bread that tastes.
Agreed – I don’t think they’re the best but this was a serious oversight.
Orwasher’s steams their bagels. They would be disqualified by his standard that bagels must be boiled.
I’m munching on my favorite Everything Bagel from Orwashers as I read this.
Orwashers sourdough everything bagel!
agree with most of this list except bagel talk, i just go because they are closest to me. zucker’s everything is very decent and salty, pick-a has the best pumpernickel!
Bagels & Co. (much better) is literally right across the street, same block!
Pic-a-Bagel also has very good mini bagels too!
Zucker’s are way too over baked and crispy.
Must say – all the Hoo-Hah about Absolute has mystified me – and done so for years. But I was a Lenny’s fan. Don’t find their spreads particularly enticing, and their bagel are “FEH” at best. And the assortment of flavors leaves something to be desired as well. Not remotely worth the wait. When the late-lamented Lenny’s closed (boohoo) I transferred my loyalties to Broadway Bagels, and I’ve not been disappointed. And frankly, I think it’s the best Lox Spread I’ve ever tasted – HUGE chunks of real lox rather than some sort of “mystery” orange-colored cream cheese.
My 2 cents – and probably worth that or less…
Pick a Bagel on West End and 61st is amazing. Zabars? I love Zabars but NOT their bagels.
No Orwashers?!?! Article holds zero credibility with me if Orwashers isn’t included. Best bagels, period.
Broadway Bagels is the best by far. If it looks like bagel, tastes like a bagel, and “feels” like a bagel but is bigger and consistently superior it’s a BAGEL,(from Broadway Bagel)
You can’t just take a weekend afternoon, walk the UWS, and presume to RANK the best bagels. This is an admirable effort, but one which requires weeks, if not months, of concerted effort.
I’m still mourning the loss of Lenny’s on 98th
Fairway (Bway/74th) has delicious bagels!
what about Tal’s?
I am glad to see Bagels & Co. getting recognized! Their bagels really are great.
The best bagels in NYC are downtown and in Brooklyn. The UWS should be ashamed!
Who doesn’t love Absolute but for me a close 2nd or sometimes 1st pick is Wu & Nussbaum on 113th and Bway. Pumpernickel everything! Can’t believe no one has mentioned.
I love Tal Bagels. Both sides have sesame seeds, my favorite. I think Absolute Bagels are too doughy.
Bo’s bagels on 116th street is the winner.
Broadnosh deserved a higher ranking than #5.
How could he leave off Barney Greengrass? My personal favorite. Everyone’s tastebuds are different!
In the bagel-ish category – it’s the flagel at Pick-a-Bagel. A bagel that flattened out. Good for those whose mouth is opening-wide challenged. I recommend the everything whole-wheat flagel.
The more interesting question to me: what in the world is a “celebrated” food critic? Who celebrates him? What are we celebrating him for – the accuracy of his “price targets”? Does anyone care what so -and-so thinks about their own personal taste in a common item? Is it just a guy – paid to generate clicks – who can type “bagels” in a Google Map of the UWS?
Within those lines, I see 50 celebrated food critics in this forum alone.
Sietsma has been a professional food critic for thirty years, at the Voice and the (Washington) Post and also Eater. That doesn’t mean his opinion on bagels is holy writ, but it does mean you could find out he wasn’t just some rando with two seconds of googling.
My complaint: if you put a dot on the map for each of the shops Mr Sietsema tested, and then if you find the place on the UWS that is furthest from any of them, it is near my home – let’s say Broadway and 94th or so. Not Sietsema’s fault, but let’s get with it UWS bagel purveyors.
As many have already said. He left out Tal. My go to Sunday morning bagel place. Always freshly baked and often still warm.
I also recently concluded that Bagels & Co. is the best. Lucky for me, it’s also the shortest walk from my apartment!
I miss Lennys. Their Bad Boy bagel was a bagel masterpiece. Everything else pales in comparison.
Lenny’s Unfortunately closed.
Here for the discussion! This is fun! And … now I crave a bagel … or a half dozen.
My husband and I like Broadway Bagels, especially their sandwiches. It sounds a bit “hard-boiled” of your judges to exclude them because the bagels are not boiled. Did they even try them?
Ranking Bagel Talk above Broad Nosh is Rolling Stone-level buffoonery. Never had a bad bagel from BN, never had a good one from BT. Most days Bagel Talk has fewer bagel varieties than the average coffee cart, and the coffee cart bagels are usually fresher.
I don’t think this guy should be tarred and feathered in the town square, but I do think he should be covered with cream cheese and sprinkled with everything seasoning.
Pumpernickel is the key criteria – come on, we need to get behind the pumpernickel more … my pov is any of these establishments that do not make the Pumpernickel should be deleted from the competition
The competition is moot because you left out Tal…
Where did Kramer work? H&H? Did they finally settle their strike?
Why didn’t they include Tal’s Bagel
Absolute Bagels – now and forever.