By Gus Saltonstall
It has become almost commonplace for different publications to attempt to rank the best bagels in New York City. But, it is not for The New York Times.
On Tuesday, the Times published “The 17 Best Bagels in New York City Right Now,” and the Upper West Side was featured at the top in more ways than one.
According to a search function on The New York Times website, it appears to be the first time in the 21st century that the publication has released a ranking of bagel spots in the five boroughs.
“Bagels have been getting bigger and fluffier for the past couple of decades, with the traditional methods (hand-rolled in ropes, cold-fermented overnight, baked on a burlap board) changing to accommodate new generations of New Yorkers and their tastes,” Times reporter Becky Hughes wrote. “But there are those who would say the city’s buzziest versions are hardly bagels at all.”
Hughes ate more than 70 bagels at 36 different shops across the city to create the article. While she tried a variety of flavors at different eateries, she never toasted the bagels during her research.
The first of the 17 bagel spots featured on the list (which, yes, was done alphabetically)? Absolute Bagels on Broadway between West 107th and 108th streets.
“Absolute Bagels represents a later generation of bagelry,” reads the Times’ article. “The shop was opened by the Thai immigrant Sam Thongkrieng, who learned the craft at New York establishments like Ess-A-Bagel. His hand-rolled bagels are near perfect for devotees of a chewy crust, and worth both waiting in the omnipresent line and taking out cash for.”
Pop Up Bagels on Columbus Avenue near 76th Street, and Tal Bagels on Broadway near 90th Street were the other two Upper West Side bagel spots featured in the ranking.
The three local spots means that the Upper West Side was the most-represented neighborhood of any in the five boroughs on the list.
“As a general rule, all bagels are great when hot, but Tal’s pass the real test,” The New York Times wrote about the bagels from Tal’s. “Even after they’ve cooled down over the course of a commute, their crust is thin, bubbly and crackly, giving way to that ideal New York chew.”
The new list gives Upper West Siders another ranking to point to when it comes to claiming the neighborhood is the best in the city at producing bagels.
You can check out the full ranking, and the other 14 featured bagel spots — HERE.
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We are fans of Pick a Bagel on West End near 62nd
H&H on Columbus and Bagel Talk on Amsterdam.
Love love love Tal Bagels
edit: “pass the real test”
Uh oh, here we go. Dare the Times ever pick the “best” pizza?
Glad to hear that there are some chewy hold-outs (and that everyone hasn’t gone fluffy).
Yes, totally agree! Bagels that aren’t chewy aren’t bagels!
Kossar’s! They even freeze well. And the bialys are Proustian.
Yes — when Kossar’s first put up a sign, I thought “whatever.” But their bagels and bialys really are worth waiting on line for, even in a neighborhood with a lot of other options.
That picture from Absolute Bagels makes my mouth water. No. Wait. I think I’m drooling.
Regarding Absolute Bagels, I watch people stand on line which often reaches around the corner, and have no idea why anyone would do this. They are good bagels – my daugher bought two dozen to take back to California where they don’t have “good” bagels, and can’t understand why anyone would stand on a line to buy bagels except that some list said they were the best.
“It’s so busy, people shouldn’t go there”. Got it.
Given the dimensions of the bagel in the picture, the cream cheese is spread too thin. There should be at least twice as much cream cheese.
Bagel Talk! 🙂
UWS-ers should venture a bit north and try Bo’s Bagels, which also made the list, and are extremely tasty!