My search for the best bagels in New York continues….
Matt Pomerantz must be a very modest guy. He owns three bagel shops with proper names claiming the bagels and not one of them is named Matt’s or Pomerantz’s. The very popular (and quite delicious) Murray’s Bagels is named for his father, Zucker is his mother’s maiden name and his Tribeca bagel spot, and the most recent is named for his uncle Leo.
I pass by Leo’s Bagels every single week on my Food Cart Tour and in fact, its facade is featured early on in my bagel video. It was just a matter of time that I got up early enough to grab a bagel before the tour started at noon. The day finally come and while nothing was hot out of the oven at 11:00, the bagels were all fresh and I grabbed an everything with cream cheese.
As I inspected the specimen, I realized how long it had been since I took a bite of a plump bagel like this. I’ve been so busy concentrating on a different type of yeast product (beer) that bagels have gotten the short end of the carb stick.
Either the service here was not as surly as Matt’s other two bagel shops or I’ve become much more tolerant in the months since my last bagel tasting. Let’s assume it’s the former. I’m still pretty intolerant.
Most patrons at this tiny Financial District storefront must take the bagels and smoked fish sandwiches to go since there are only a few tight seats against the window. I had nowhere else to really go so I set up shop while the suits around me hurried in and out.
I have only minor complaints. At $2.50 for a bagel and cream cheese, I expect a heavier schmear of the white stuff. Unlike other bagel shops that practically cement the two bread rounds together, this one kept it refined and light. The bagel itself had a nice chewy pull with a more generous smattering of everything seasonings.
The prices were a bit high I thought, but no doubt this is a very good bagel. I’m not quite sure it’s worth a special trip all the way down to the bottom of the island, but for those that work in the area it’s nice to have a quality option. And for the rest of us, Matt oversees Murray’s and Zucker’s (a new location is opening in Midtown soon) and continues to make quality New York bagels in a very unselfish way. Maybe if I stay on his good side with these positive reviews, he’ll name a bagel shop after me.
Correction: Leo’s Bagels is actually owned by Matt’s brother, Adam Pomerantz, who is just as modest as his brother.
Does Leo’s Bagels have the best bagels in NY? Not sure they’re worth a special trip, but for those who work this far downtown these are definitely the best in the area. A solid 8 out of 10.
| LEO’S BAGELS |
| 3 Hanover Square (between Stone Street and Beaver Street), Financial District (212) 785-4700 |
| leosbagels.com |
