The New York Bagel Is Back With A Vengeance

Ask a New Yorker where "green witch" village is and he'll most likely be polite in his response, but start arguing with a New Yorker about bagels? Now you're stepping into hot (preferably boiled to achieve that crusty exterior) water. New Yorkers love their bagels, but these days you're more likely to run into a puffy, machine-made dinner roll-like creation than the authentic article. People further lamented this trend with the closing of the original H&H Bagels, an Upper West Side Jewish bagel haven.

But real bagels are coming back to New York with a vengeance. As lines wind out the door for a taste of the artisan bagels and toppings at the Montreal-style Black Seed Bagel, which just opened this past week on Elizabeth Street, people are also awaiting the highly-anticipated opening of Baz Bagel, an authentic, old-fashioned shop on Grand Street next month.

At Baz Bagel, the owners have said that they are going for simple, classic hand-rolled creations with decidedly-pronounced holes. Cooked in a wood-fire oven, bagels from Black Seed are based on Montreal-style bagels (smaller and denser than New York-style), and come with a variety of unusual toppings. like tofu cream cheese and almond butter.

"In New York, bagels have become very ubiquitous — available at every corner store like a puffy kaiser roll or an egg and cheese," Black Seed owner Noah Bernamoff told Zagat. "Just because you can get it at a corner bodega doesn't make it good."

Joanna Fantozzi is an Associate Editor with The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @JoannaFantozzi