STONE COLD BAGELRY (Vic’s Bagel Bar)

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

SADLY, VIC’S BAGEL BAR IS NOW CLOSED.

Vic’s Bagel Bar has intrigued me since they opened just over a year ago. It’s the first bagel place that has attempted to put an interesting and hip spin on the classic New York snack. I’ve read that they offer customized cream cheeses where you choose a cream cheese base, then pick some add-in’s, and then watch as the workers mix them in. It’s difficult to explain the concept without comparing it to Cold Stone Creamery’s ice cream techniques. It’s sort of amazing nobody had thought of this before. And it may be catching on since Bagel Schmagel will be opening with a similar concept.

The other thing that makes Vic’s stand out from all the classic bagel locations and firmly sets it in the new century is that on certain weekend nights they stay open until midnight when the bagels are turned in to pizza bagels and the bar truly comes to life. Games of beer pong are hosted. And if you don’t know what beer pong is, then you were just as clueless in high school as I was.

Victoria Glazer (the namesake behind Vic’s) is a graduate of Dartmouth who must have had a major passion for bagels or just really believed in this concept because she skipped out on medical school to open this shop last year. And it’s hard for me to figure out if it’s been the success she hoped. The concept really intrigues me and while it verges on being gimmicky, I didn’t find that to be the case.

I was disappointed to discover that aside from some themed artwork on the walls, the place resembled most bagel/deli shops in Manhattan. I was expecting a different more hip and less typical feeling. But white walls, a bagel counter, and a few scattered chairs were completely recognizable to me. It was on my way out that I noticed the tiny bar in the front of the store. It was hard for me to imagine turning this place into a nightspot with beer pong and bagel pizza. I may have to come back after hours one night to see what that scene is like.

The scene at about 3:00 on a weekday was pretty non-existent. The workers certainly outnumbered the few customers and while everybody was terribly nice to me, I watched a few customers grow frustrated at the slow pace and lack of organization. I think the main guy behind the counter was new because he was slow and tentative with every order.

I picked a plain bagel with cream cheese which is often enough for me, but since this place has such a unique concept, I had to try a mini version of something else. Much like those DIY yogurt joints, it seemed like there were an endless number of mix-in’s available for your cream cheese. The obvious toppings were there: smoked salmon, scallions, onions, berries. But then it got strange: za’atar spice, BBQ sauce, and potato chips. Those crazy takes on bagel toppings are very attractive to me, but I decided to pick one of their Signature Menu items on an everything mini bagel, the Tokyo Tel Aviv, which was cream cheese with chopped lox, wasabi, scallions, and edamame. It was unusual enough for my experimental side while still enabling me to get a good sense of their bagels.

Strangely, the most overwhelming ingredient in the Tokyo Tel Aviv was the grainy edamame.  The lox were chopped up so much that I could only gather some saltiness but was unable to detect how fresh it was, the scallions added some crispness, and the wasabi was practically non-existent. The flavor combination made sense to me intellectually, but was a bit out of balance. And toasting the bagel I’m learning truly inhibits the joys of eating a fresh baked bagel. This may have worked better if I resisted the urge to toast it.

The plain untoasted bagel was better, although less interesting to look at. It was quite large but a little wrinkly and there was some discoloration throughout the bread. It didn’t smell or taste like mold and I watched guys in the back making new bagels and the crispy bottom and soft exterior led me to believe that this was fresh enough. Could it be it got too close to one of the wacky green toppings and it rubbed off? The cream cheese was smooth and tangy.

Vic’s is a playful idea and while I don’t think it’s fully realized, it’s a step in the right direction to bringing old-style bagels to the modern masses. The bagels themselves aren’t as good as some of the classic New York bagel spots, but the ideas are innovative and the topping combinations are crazy enough that I will have to return and see what works and what doesn’t.

Does Vic’s Bagel Bar have the best bagels in NY? It’s a really cool idea and gets a 6 out of 10 for using seemingly fresh ingredients and not getting lost in the gimmick, despite clueless workers and less than perfect bagel techniques.