My search for the best bagels in New York continues….
“It’s not a bagel!!” That’s what most of NY’s bagel connosieurs cried when Simit + Smith opened up in town. The new company has introduced the city to a round bready breakfast food with a hole in the middle. It sorta looks like a bagel, it comes topped with sesame seeds, and you can spread creamy cheese on top. But it’s not a bagel.
A simit is a Turkish bread meaning “crisp” that is often sold from street carts. In New York, they could only be found in Turkish restaurants and cafés out in the boroughs. Simit + Smith has made them a little more mainstream since opening three stores around Manhattan. I finally visited their Financial District location for a mid-morning snack.
The varieties on offer are not as diverse as bagels and stick with traditional sesame, whole wheat, and multigrain. And for schmear (they don’t call them that, of course), they have a variety of Turkish favorites like feta, hummus, and olive spread, or you can pretend this is a bagel and top it with cream cheese, smoked salmon, or turkey.
I wanted to see what happens if I treated the simit like a bagel and spread cream cheese on it. It was toasted without my permission (which would have put me into a rage if this was a proper bagel), which ended up giving the bread a really nice warm, crunchy quality.
The big difference with these and bagels is that simits are much lighter. Since they’re not boiled and much thinner, the crispiness lives throughout. They remind me more of Montreal-style bagels (minus the sweetness) than NY bagels.
It’s a nice round bread for making sandwiches and I really love the texture. Truth be told, these are not as heavy on the stomach as bagels and I think a better option for an in-between-meal snack. I’m eager to return to try a more traditional topping. But I won’t be calling it a bagel anytime soon. Looks can be deceiving.
Does Simit + Smith have the best bagel in NY? They’re not getting an official rating from me because they really are not NYC bagels. These are closer cousins to pretzels, but still a nice crisp bread for eating with toppings.
Whatever you want to call it, Brian, it definitely looks yummy!