Manna in New York City

I am proud to say that I have eaten the same thing for breakfast every single day that we have been in New York. Each and every day, I enjoy a piece of manna in New York, God’s gift to the world: a scrumptious bagel. People ask me if I am getting tired of bagels—absolutely not! I doubt I will ever become tired of these delicious pieces of manna. Because she loves me, wife goes out to Bob’s Bagels every week for their Monday night special when fresh bagels are just thirty-five cents and buys a week’s worth for me. Who ever knew that thirty-five cents could bring so much happiness?

New Yorkers love their bagels and they love the bakeries where they buy their bagels. Amongst New Yorkers, there are passionate debates regarding where to buy the best bagels. Most New Yorkers will agree that a fresh bagel should never be toasted, but while some love the large, doughy bagels, others prefer chewier, dense bagels. No matter what the preference, there is a bakery that will make the perfect bagel for you.

What is a bagel? The word bagel is thought to derive from the Yiddish word bugel, and from the German word bugel, which means a round loaf of bread. Bagels were brought to America by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe as a breakfast food.

A bagel is similar in size and shape to a donut, but made of only flour, water, yeast and malt. This dough is boiled in water and then baked. This boiling, or “kettling,” gelantinizes the gluten in the dough mass, sealing the surface, and retaining the full flavor a slow baking. It is this process that makes NY bagels so special—many bakeries today just steam the bagels instead of actually boiling them. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a shiny, browned and chewy exterior. Bagels are often topped with seeds baked onto the outer crust with the most traditional being poppy or sesame seeds. Some are mixed with cinnamon and raisins, while others have salt sprinkled on the bagel. My personal favorite is the “everything” bagel, on which they put, you guessed it, everything. Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, onion flakes, caraway seeds, garlic flakes, pretzel salt, and pepper, are all popular toppings that most bakers put on the everything bagel.

So, where should you get your bagel when you visit New York? Everyone seems to have their own preference, but here are some of the most popular bakeries.

H&H Bagels

H&H Bagels is among New York City's most popular bagels and are well loved by fans of the sweeter, fluffier, doughy bagels. H&H Bagels are available for delivery world-wide, so you might find them in your city. From what I can tell, these are the most expensive bagels in the city, ringing up at a whopping 95¢ each. Wife and I each enjoyed one of these wonderful treats on the day that we took our cruise. Wow…it was really that good.

According to their website, H&H Bagels was founded in 1972 by Helmer Toro and has grown to become one of the largest bagel manufacturers in the world. From its original location at Broadway and 80th Street in New York City, H&H has expanded to a plant on 46th Street at 12th Avenue where bagels are produced for shipment throughout the United States and around the world. H&H produces “millions and millions” of bagels each year.

H&H Bagels has been featured on numerous television shows and movies. Most recently H&H appeared on NBC's "Seinfeld" and on the feature film "You've got Mail" staring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Other television shows that have featured H&H include NBC's "Friends", "Saturday Night Live", and "LA Law", CNN, Good Morning America, ABC's Wide World of Sports, USA Network's US Open, and many other television programs and movies.

Bob’s Bagel

This is where Wife buys me my bagels. The bagels are big and chewy, with a nice, slightly crunchy exterior. Locals in Greenwich Village insist that the best bagels in New York are made here. Typically, the bagels are 70¢ each, but on Monday evenings the price drops down to just 35¢. Simply heaven on earth.

Ess-a-Bagel

This is another exceptionally popular bakery for bagels. There are violent arguments amongst New Yorkers as to whether Murray’s or Ess-a-Bagel offers better boiled bread. While they offer another of the doughy bagels, Ess-a-Bagel said to offer slightly smaller bagels. Wife and I have not yet visited this establishment, but it is on our list of places to go soon. Bagels are 70¢ each.

Murray's Bagels

Smaller than H & H Bagels, but are still the doughy style, Murray's bagels are considered by many to be the best in the world. It appears to me that Murray’s is the third most popular bagel in the City. Bagels are only 75¢. Wife and I tried these bagels once. While our bagel was good, we really didn’t feel it lived up to the hype. Locals who come here particularly love the flavored cream cheeses (which are argued to be the best in New York as well). It is a treat just to listen to locals order their bagels (they take it quite seriously). A popular order is asking for the doughy middle of your bagel to be scooped out so that more fillings can fit inside. That seems like such a waste.

Bagelfeller's

Conveniently located for tourists in Midtown, near Rockefeller Center, this bakery sells the chewy, denser bagel style (which many New Yorkers love). Bagels are only 60¢ here. This is another place Wife and I have not yet graced.

Kossar’

This Lower East Side bakery is most famous for its bialys, but Kossar's also offers dense hand rolled, kettle boiled malt bagels for 65¢ (while their bialys are 50¢). Nope, we haven’t eaten here yet either.

Bagel Hole

Many New Yorkers argue the best bagel is in Brooklyn at the Bagel Hole in Park Slope. Bagel Hole features the dense, chewy bagel. Wife and I have not tried these 55¢ treats (of course, the only time we have eaten in Brooklyn thus far is when we visited Costco).

There are many other wonderful bakeries here in New York famous for their bagels. In a perfect world, we will have an opportunity to try the bagels at all of them.