Also grebbit: Sesame bagels, onion bagels, garlic bagels, cheese bagels, poppy seed bagels, and many (but not all) kinds of everything bagels. Horseradish cream cheese, scallion cream cheese, garlic and herb cream cheese, or cream cheese and lox -- but not lox chopped up in cream cheese (good in theory, I've just never experienced its goodness in practice).

Not My Bagel: sweet bagels in general (the bakery out here, which is the St Louis Bread Company elsewhere and I forget what here, makes all their bagels very sweet, nearly as sweet as danishes), the various fruit danishes, fruit cream cheeses, etc. The whole joy of the bagel is having something savory for breakfast that's still bready! Otherwise just get a donut/danish/etc.

Destroy: frozen bagels (although I'm sure they're better than when I was a kid), grocery store bagels that are just kaiser rolls shaped like bagels, and unfortunately, my homemade bagels, which are ugly and labor-intensive and not terribly tasty and go stale in about six hours.

*drool*

I don't think I've ever had a good bagel outside of NYC, however.

Oh yeah, Goldstein's bagels rule!

(with a small shmear of plain "lite" cream cheese)

and I hereby present the origin of the bagel: they were invented by a Polish baker as a gift to the king, who was a riding fanatic.

the shape was supposed to resemble a saddle. or whatever you call those things that go around the horse and you sit on them. I know it's sketchy.

http://english.montrealplus.ca/infosite/477826/3.html

I like egg bagels best.

Sweet bagels are fine with me, though I hardly ever eat 'em, and almost never with cream cheese when I do. That said, I have never understood chocolate in bagels--white, dark, bittersweet, whatever. It seems unnatural somehow.

Even if you're a girl.

(also blueberry with strawberry cream cheese)

BEIGEL

The search function is rather spiffy these days.

Ess-a-Bagel established in 1976 on 21st Street and 1st Avenue

http://www.ess-a-bagel.com/

bergen's jalapeno cream cheese is a++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

i've been wanting to try jalapeno cream ch!

all other cream cheeses now taste bad to me.

do it! you will not regret

cream cheese from real bagel places is like dunking a bagel in peanut butter ice cream to me. butter all the way. do any of you hit up places that do unusual bagel variations? i am collecting knowledge on finding herbal sourdough/pumpkin/strawberry locations in ny.

many bagels a day anyway.

wait what does that mean, peanut butter ice cream? like it's too much cream cheese?

peanut butter ice cream on a bagel sounds great btw

i occasionally do butter but it's usually cream cheese v. egg bacon and cheese for me

i do like thinly spread c.c. tho and not AVALANCHE

you know what's reall good? a thin spread of cc and bacon.

pig + c.c. is so decadent but yeah undeniable

(i made salami + c.c. canapes for a party once)

One of the perks of my job is every Friday morning, we have fresh bagels delivered to us from a nearby bagel company. There's lots of different varieties and they are mmm mmm good. We also have a bunch of different cream cheese flavors, but I prefer to bring my own fat free cream cheese.

i miss bagels!

place near my gf's house makes these incredible breakfast sandwiches on bagels. i am damn near addicted to them. egg, sharp cheddar, pancetta.

is there anywhere that does good hand-rolled non-generic deli bagels downtown kinda central, not hitting the 1st/12th st fringes with the best old school places? i want to pick some up after work.

the peanut butter ice cream thing just refers to how cream cheese avalanche makes me want to choke, like having that mouth-coating quality peanut butter has, but being in massive swirly form like ice cream.

quintessential bagel accompaniaments: tomato soup; avocado (not at once)

omg wow

i did salami and cc the other day! was gr8

PS i feel silly but i actually EAT allll the cc they put on my bagels now :/ but it's low-fat!

the wow was @ pancetta

yeah i had never really had much experience w/pancetta but it is sickkkk

current standing of my bagel variation expeditionary work detailed below:

ess-a-bagel 51st/3rd: pumpernickel raisin (downtown ess does not toast, damn purists)

bagel place down the street from masonic temple, BK: weird pink strawberry bagel

bagel place i guess around north first next to metropolitan pool in williamsburg: regular specials like pumpkin, some weird kind of swirly candy bagel, chocolate, alluringly purple blueberry bagel, jalapeno cheddar (currently). oatbran raisin is good.

bagelsmith, as above: sourdough

place a second away from west fourth/ifc center, heading southeast: herbal sourdough, blueberry variation, sundried tomato, seven grain, dark russian pumpernickel-esque bagel.

collecting knowledge on finding herbal sourdough/pumpkin/strawberry locations in ny

Oh my GOD what I wouldn't do for a pumpkin bagel. Crikey.

I agree about the peanut butter ice cream analogy, the whipped cream cheeses we get are really...it's too much. I don't like an avalanche, either.

Avocado on any type of bread = A+++

^^

the other day i had sesame encrusted french bread with salami and avocado OMG

sorry off subject...

There's a place on the eastside of the Seattle area that does French Toast bagels...good, but very sweet.

I think they do like some kind of apple pie variation as well.

Avocado on any type of bread = A+++

word. i pretty much live off avocados, but they're real good for you.
forgot french toast bagel at the will.i.amsburg place too, in case anyone is transcribing the above into a handy pocket guide.

pumpkin bagel was excellent. i am not american and was totally intrigued by the beatlemania-esque fever of pumpkin harvest time.

place a second away from west fourth/ifc center, heading southeast: herbal sourdough, blueberry variation, sundried tomato, seven grain, dark russian pumpernickel-esque bagel.

i'm trying to picture where this is - bagels on the square?

beatlemania-esque fever of pumpkin harvest time.

Oh hell yeah. I even used to be into pumpkin beer for awhile, until the brewery here changed their recipe. I love pumpkin anything...pie, muffins, hell...one Thanksgiving recently this lady made pumpkin bread pudding...incredible. Ha! I even eat pumpkin puree right out of the can, I'm serious.

streetview tells me yes, that's the one. they have a pretty broad selection. herbal sourdough = o k. am kinda intrigued by the blueberry one because it's labelled as B.E.D or something that doesn't correspond to being exclusively blueberry themed. potential berry medley bagel: will keep you posted.

about pumpkins: i was asking around to try to determine the roots of it, and i think it was a staple way back when, for like settlers maybe; it feels like there is this over-arching pumpkin narrative i am missing out on. but seeing pumpkin butter and pumpkin everything spring out all of a sudden was nice.

most canned pumpkin is actually butternut squash.

nah, I don't believe that. I've eaten butternut squash out of the can, too!

Anyway, what's the deal with strawberry bagels though? Whenever I've had these strange pink colored things, they don't actually have a strawberry taste. Anyone have a different opinion?

there is no such thing as strawberry taste outside of strawberries really though. strawberry flavour references strawberry flavour, not the fruit.

i am not really down w/ the idea of fruit-flavored bagels (or fruit anywhere near my bagel in general)

ahhh i would kill for an everything bagel w tomato and cream cheese

also yknow whats mostly gnarly, but kind of good? everything bagel w plain cream cheese and orange marmalade

I miss living 2 blocks from Bergen Bagels

i like your username bear, bear, bear

um...

oh yeah, i LOVE strawberry creamcheese on a poppy. nothing like it. and the place near me, they actually have like HUGE chunks of strawberry in there

Wowza!

Man, Tofu Scallion CC on Everything..

if i was able to find a vendor who would spread flatly and exercise restraint, that's the one i'd go for. + walnut variations.

I like this bagel sandwich from Russ & Daughters: pumpernickel bagel, scallion cream cheese, lox, onions, tomatoes, capers. I also like the bialys(ies?) from Kossars, but whenever I bring them home they are like the poor bagel stepchildren.

I thought I was going to try and give up bagels, but unfortunately I live around the corner from a passable bagelry (Brooklyn Bagels) even though it's confusing since I live in Queens.

My willpower shrunk to nothing and I bought 3 "mini" pumpernickel bagels (this means they are about 3/4 the size of a giant bagel, "nonfat" cream cheese and lox.

Are bagels bad for you? Tell me the truth.

Also, whole wheat bagels: a healthier choice or self-delusion?

I miss being able to go to East London regularly and get proper bagels. DAMN YOU RUBBISH SUPERMARCHE BAGELS THAT TASTE LIKE BUMMING.

That is all.

dense chewy bagels in nyc => murray's bagels at #4

Should I go there? I have yet to find the dense compact chewy bagels that I expected to find in NYC. Everything tastes too much like bread.

if you wanted dense chewy bagels you missed montreal by about 600km, dawg

but seriously i am no help on nyc bagels. the only ones i had when i was there were RUBBISH

I live 7 blocks from an Ess-A-Bagel but a) I haven't been there yet because it's too hot to walk that far, but fall weekends it will prob be a LIFE STAPLE, and b) I grew up on Lender's so I always wish "real" bagels had that slight...sourness.

I found Montreal bagels in Hendon Central!