Bagels are changing (evolving?) in New York City. Perhaps it started with Black Seed’s introduction of Montreal-style bagels to the city. Things have gotten darker, smaller, and crunchier since then.
They’ve also somehow turned into a trendy Instagram sensation. The bagel – crazy! No doubt that started with the colorful rainbow bagels, but now, it seems that bagels are trendier than ever.
Case in point – I stopped by Apollo Bagels, the new permanent home of a Brooklyn pop-up, in the East Village on a weekday morning and to my amazement, I encountered a line down the block.
Thankfully, it did not take quite as long as I had anticipated, but it still took a full 15-20 minutes before I was able to order and walk out with my food.
Once inside, I was shocked at how spacious the bagel shop was. I have no doubt that the owners are keeping people outside longer to create a line and a buzz. The staff were very friendly and it smelled fantastic – smoky and savory.
I went a little overboard, but realizing I will probably never wait in that line again (no matter how good this was), I went with a whitefish sandwich AND a bagel with just cream cheese. I grabbed my warm food and headed out to find a place to taste it.
It’s when I revealed the everything bagel with cream cheese that I realized bagels are changing. These crunchy, slightly charred sourdough bombs are very different from the ones you’ll find at a classic New York bagel shop like Ess-a-Bagel or Absolute. This is the new guard.
I’m going to try not to be an old man here, because the bagel was really really good. It had an unbelievable infinite crust and you can taste all of the bread, yeasty, bagely notes. The everything seasoning was spot on and the cream cheese was more dispersed than places that slather on a brick.
It was a great delicious thing to eat. I just have a hard time calling this a bagel (at least with the adjective of New York). It had all the flavors you’d expect (and more), but the texture while pleasurable was not quite right. It didn’t have much pull or chewiness here. It tasted like a very fresh toasted bagel. And any bagel purist will tell you not to toast a New York bagel.
I was rather disappointed by the whitefish sandwich, which struck me as an interesting order – especially with the mustard and pickled peppers.
The whitefish salad had the opposite issue of the cream cheese. There was barely a layer of it slathered onto the sesame bagel. Beautifully composed and open-faced, it was complimented by cucumbers and dill.
There was a lot going on although the main thing I tasted were the cucumbers. It was a little too delicately composed – it felt like I had taken a fine dining course to go. The bagel itself also got lost in the weight of the ingredients and was not quite as impressive as the bread by itself (or with its natural cream cheese pairing).
Bagels are changing, it’s true. And that’s not a bad thing. It’s exciting that bagels are a big part of the next generation of foodies. I just wish that bagel evolution didn’t include a ridiculously long line.
Does Apollo Bagels have the best bagels in NY? These are masterfully cooked sourdough in the shape of a bagel. They work and have a crunchy flavorful bite, but the purist in me can’t completely surrender to the fact that this passes muster as a “New York bagel. Still it’s great so it gets an 8.5 out of 10.
| APOLLO BAGELS |
| 242 East 10th Street (between First and Second Avenues), East Village |
| instagram.com/apollobagels |
