I only moved to Brooklyn a few weeks ago, and through a friend's suggestion, found the bagel Hole in Park Slope. I thought he bagels were great, but I'm a man who likes to have options. I live down in Bensonhurst, but don't mind a bit of traveling. Any places that have struck anyone's fancy?
JSHAFT78
Oct 26, 2007 01:25PM
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jshaft78
They're in Bay Ridge, not Bensonhurst, but I've found Bagel Boy on the corner of 3rd Ave and 80th St and the Bagel store on 86th St and 4th Ave. (I think it's called 5 Star bagels) to have pretty good bagels. Both have a high product turnover, something that really makes a difference when you're dealing with bagels. They both make good muffins and they both have very fresh cream cheese spreads. The store on 86th St has many different varieties. There used to be a really good bagel store on 17th Ave and 65th st, but I don't even know if it's still there.
I haven't read it but perhaps this old thread will give you more information
Happy munching! :-}
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/360202
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Oops! I forgot to include the Bagel Boy site. Here you go...
http://www.bagelboyonline.com/index.html
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Try Bagel Factory on 17th and 4th. They have very fresh bagels and very high product turnover. Good selection of cream cheeses and different kinds of bagels. The coffee's only okay. Apart from the bagels, they have some pretty decent sandwiches.
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Second the Bagel Factory. Ask them what's hot -- they often have bagels straight out of the oven.
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I lived across the street from the Sheepshead Bay branch (Ocean Ave/Ave Z) for several years and I miss it terribly! They baked the bagels on racks that produced this special circular scoring that just made them a little bit crispier/chewier. I haven't found bagels like that anywhere else. I wonder if the other branches also have the 'scored' bagels?
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yeah, bagel boy on ave z was my family's go to place once bagels r' us closed down across the street from sheepshead bay station (RIP).
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Court Street Bagels in Cobble Hill (181 Court). I think Bergen is the nearest subway stop.
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Many posters (myself included) will say pretty good things about Terrace Bagels in Windsor Terrace (PPW, aka 9Ave, between Windsor Pl and 16th St.). They're bigger and softer than Hole bagels, but they have a nice chew (when they're not undercooked, which they sometimes are). They also freeze well, which Hole bagels don't. But Bagel Hole is still the best bagel in the borough by far, IMHO(tep)
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I've never had a problem freezing Bagel Hole's bagels. I slice them in half all the way through and keep them in plastic bags.
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Windsor Terrace bagels are my absolute favorite. May be slightly less authentic, but boy are they good.
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ditto terrace bagels - they're the ones the coop (PSFC) sells. pumperknickel are my fave.
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Bagels on Kings Highway between East 16th and 17th Street, right by McDonalds. Better than Bagel Hole.
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the bagel hole is the best bagel in new york city. the runner up, many notches below bagel hole in the park slope is terrace bagels.
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Where's the love for Hot Bagels in Brooklyn Heights? (Montague between Henry/Hicks). I think the best hand-rolled bagels, consistently ranked up there in magazines and such. Great selection of spreads as well (whitefish salad, shrimp salad, etc.)
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In a neighborhood where everything closes up by 9:30 or 10 pm, the Bagel Store on Montague Street is open 24/7.
I think they are by far the best bagels around. They are always fresh baked, and are not sweetened, like most other round things that pass for bagels these days.
They also make my favorite, the Flagel, the flat bagel that is almost all crust, and little fluff. They will split and toast for you as well.
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I agree that Bagel Hole is number one, but for another good old-school bagel you might try Bruce's Bagels on Flatbush Ave. in Marine Park. Not sure of the cross streets. It's not as good, but if you're over that way, try Bionic Bagels in Sheepshead Bay (Nostrand and Avenue Y).
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Bergen Bagels of course!! FYI..This is coming from a Jewish girl who grew up on bagels and cream cheese.
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i agree with the bagel hole kudos, also having grown up on bagels bought on brighton beach avenue and coney island avenue and ave u in the 1970's. has anyone tried the bagel shop in bensonhurst on new utrecht around 16th ave on a corner? i see it on my way home from work from that area to downtown and have gotten curious. there's also a shop on 18th ave and 62nd in the 'hoist that looks interesting.
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Bagels without real texture are not bagels at all. Most New York places make BSOs (Bagel Shaped Objects) -- gigantic, cottony and sweet as cake. H&H is the most horrible example. To know where I'm coming from, I grew up on the real stuff, and for me the only proper amount of sugar in a bagel is ZERO. The bad places will lie to you and say sugar is necessary to make a bagel rise, but that's only if you want Wonder Bread.
I like Bagel Hole on 7th Avenue. I buy some fresh ones and then load up on the cheap bags of yesterday's product, which I freeze and then microwave.
Almost as good is Kosher Bagel Hole on Coney Island Avenue near Avenue K.
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KRS .. You are the man. Everything you said about bad bagels, I have been saying for years. Your BSO description of bagels is right on. That's all we have here in Manhattan. I also agree with your assessment of H&H bagels.Way too sweet. And like you, I grew up on the real thing. It's been a couple of years but the bagel store on Cropsey Ave just north of the Belt Parkway had decent(maybe not the best, but ok) bagels, I thought, at least as my memory serves me.
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Aren't bagels boiled in sugar, or even carmelized, water? That may be the reason some are sweeter than others.
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That's a Montreal bagel. A NY bagel should be boiled in plain water. Although I believe H&H puts some sugar in the pot, and others have followed suit, which is one reason why they're all so sweet nowdays. A NY bagel should be made with no sugar at all, just malt, and no eggs in the dough, just water.
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You might look over the recipes on google. What goes in the boiled water ranges from carmelized sugar, a potato, lye, malt, whatever else. I cannot see how the brown glazed crust, not seen on bialys, can happen without some sugar. BTW, isn't malt mostly maltose, a sugar? I have no first hand knowledge of bagel making, like most people I get all my info from google and publications owned by Rupert Murdock.
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Absolutely hands down best bagels - Cropsy Avenue by Belt Parkway exit. The best.
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I went out to the deli, it’s not that far
But there in the case, straight ahead
The bagels were gone, not even a one
My head swerved to the right, then to the left
But I couldn’t see what I’d come to find
I’ll never forget the sinking feeling that night
My craving was real and now it’s worse
Oh, where oh where has my bagel gone?
Where oh where has my onion bagel gone?
Greedy customers came and took them away
And left me here all alone
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Bagel World on 5th Ave and 4th St. gets my vote, but convenience is part of that (just blocks from my apartment). Great bagels to rival the great David's in Manhattan, with whom I still carry on a love affair. They're big and crusty, great mix of seeds etc. on the everything, and with that wonderful doughy center. Now if only Bagel World could get my order straight...
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There is a new bagel place on 4th Avenue and Union Street that has really good bagels. Great texture, not overly doughy...very good. I think it's called Brownstone Bagels, but I'm not positive.
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i really like bagel factory on 5th ave and 17th st.(?). super biased because it was really convenient to my apt at the time. i live in south williamsburg now and i don't have a close bagel joint anymore :(
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I know that this question was posed a while back, but since then a newer place has opened in Bay Ridge, which is where I live. "Brooklyn Bagels Cafe" is on the corner of 5th Ave and 87th St. I like them a lot, and I used to live right next to the Bagel Hole in Park Slope. These are better. They're enormous bagels, really huge. The service was awful when they first opened, but they're getting their act together. Sandwiches and deli meats from there are good too.
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Does anyone know if the Bagel Hole in Park Slope is a branch of the Bagel Holes on Coney Island Ave. bet J and K; and on Ave. J and East 15th Street? Those are kosher.
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What about Henry's on Union & Henry- perfect texture!
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I love the Windsor terrace bagels. WOW. and they have flat bagels so I can have my fix with a few less calories.
bergen bagels is closest to me (flatbush and bergen) and they are only okay in a crunch usually, but last weekend I got an everything bagel and it was vastly improved, dare I say delish. even my roommate was shocked at how good it was, almost back to the glory days....
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Cobble Hill/Dumbo - Le Bagel Delight - Excellent
Bay Ridge - H&L on 3rd Ave and 88 or 89th Street. - Excellent
We've tried other places in each nabe and frankly, its all just rolled bread. These palces are the real deal.
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