YADA YADA YADA (H & H Bagels)

My search for the best bagels in New York continues….

SADLY, H & H BAGELS IS NOW CLOSED.

No doubt the most famous bagel shop in all of New York is H & H Bagels. It opened in 1972 and has been featured on a slew of television shows and movies, been visited by thousands of people from all over the world (including lots of celebrities), and is the name that most often comes up when talking about bagels in New York (especially with people outside of the city). But is it the best?

Of course, I can’t say for sure. As I’ve always learned these best lists are a matter of opinion and I can only state my own. But if Jerry Seinfeld says it’s the best, then most people would have to agree with him. Yada, yada, yada.

The original location for H & H is on the Upper West Side, which I would say is the prime neighborhood for bagels. It still has a big Jewish population and feels much more like a family neighborhood than the other major Semetic ‘hood, the Lower East Side. There are two other H & H’s in Manhattan, one on 12th Avenue (which seems far for anybody without a car) and one on the Upper East Side (however this location has no affiliation with the famous one). But of course, I had to come check out the original.

And it’s amazing I had never been here before. I’d read about all the quirks that many bagel novices might be turned off by, but I was open and ready for anything. I arrived a little later in the day so I missed out on the crowds. I did take my time in ordering and asked the lady what was hot. This is the first bagel shop I’ve been to where the entire bagel process is on display. It feels much more like a factory than a restaurant. There are no tables or chairs. It is strictly take-out or “stand around”.

Another thing that people might complain about is that there’s no toasting of bagels (I’ve been through this already on this site), they won’t even slice them for you, and all you get is the bagel itself. If you want cream cheese, lox, butter, etc., you’re pretty much on your own. H & H sells those condiments in the nearby refrigerator, but won’t schmear anything on it and you’re lucky if you can get a plastic knife. I’m fine with this concept, but the thing that upset me the most is that the cream cheese they do offer was in familiarly generic silver packaging and hinted at another major American city: Philadelphia. I know this is not completely uncommon at bagel shops in New York. Philadelphia Cream Cheese is pretty darn good, but I think it’s a little tacky to at least not try to hide it. And helping a brother out with a schmear is always appreciated.

But I was expecting little imperfect quirks like this. What I was most interested in were the bagels (which are definitely made in this city) and how they tasted. I picked the usual plain bagel and while the Everything ones attempted to seduce me, the only two that were warm were the Multi-Grain (no thank you) and the Raisin. For some reason these two seem to always be the ones that are warm. Maybe they’re the most popular so are baked most often.

Since there was nowhere to sit inside, I found a bench across Broadway to enjoy the bagels. The beautifully formed raisin bagel was indeed warm and smelled incredible. I could have spent all afternoon just holding the yeasty bagel to my nose. Inside I found it to be very soft, but a little dry. Perhaps it was the cinnamon, but this one made me rather thirsty.  I thought the outside could have been a little crisper, but it had a nice chewiness that made tearing it apart pretty fun.

The Plain, like the Raisin was formed perfectly with nary a blemish. These are perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing bagels I’ve discovered yet. And this one even looked like he had a joyous smile coming from his hole (that came out all wrong!) There’s clearly a mastery to making the bagels here that makes H & H stand above the crowd. They’re large, but not too plump and if I didnt know any better I would have mistaken them for a doughnut.

I think this one suffered from similar texture issues, but I can’t say it wasn’t soft and pillowy. In fact, I think that was a bit of the problem. The inside was sort of airy in a caky way. I’d rather them be dense and chewier. The innards here almost crumbled apart in each bite. Maybe he was a little too happy. It wasn’t an unpleasant texture, but not what I consider a perfect bagel.

But apart from some minor (and I’m nitpicking here, folks) texture imperfections and some annoying procedures in the shop, it’s now clear to me why people love H & H. The bagels are beautiful and for the most part rather tasty. Don’t just take my word for it. Movie stars love these. Now you know they must be good!

Does H & H Bagel’s have the best bagels in NY? They may have rated higher if they had offered a schmear, but they get 8 out of 10 for a gorgeous specimen and mostly well-made bagels.