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I like Area Bagels in North Park Slope on 5th Avenue, which makes a very respectable bagel - not too big, some crunch to the crust and soft inside. The owner learned bagel making from a place out in Little Neck on Horace Harding Parkway that dates back to the late 1940's when the bagel baking union controlled the business and its quality. I will have to re-try Bagel Hole although I remember not being too impressed years ago.

Maybe my preference of getting a plain buttered (not toasted bagel) let me enjoy a fresher bagel in the store, rather than taking it home, missing out on the short freshness life.

Personal Favorites:

Brooklyn: Montague Street Bagels
Manhattan: Ess-a-Bagel

Favorite used to be Bagel Zone (Ave A between 3rd St & 4th St), until they changed their name and stopped baking their own. Was the perfect bagel -- crisp on the outside, soft and bready on the inside...I'd pay a ridiculous premium just to taste one again.

I understand the scientific urge to use the plain bagel as one litmus, but that just aint the whole tale of the taste. And I don't get the animus all the tasters apparently have against size, especially in the rising-price world, if the maker can deliver all the qualities of outer crunch, inner chew, and flavor balance. What, we want a LITTLE bagel? Hard to take that seriously. If you can experience the fresh pumpernickel at Ess-A-Bagel and not immediately comprehend how the combination of rye-and-carraway tartness and the kiss of malt create a tension that is absolutely thrilling--the single greatest bagel experience in NY--then you aren't paying attention. This is an art object. I live down the block from Rolen and Bagel Corner in Riverdale, and every weekend I travel down to 20th and First; there isn't even a serious comparison. Incidentally, Ess-A-Bagel appears, uncredited, in the poem "Creed" by contemporary poet Meg Kearney--to my knowledge, though they have satisfied many writers and appear as props in literature , these are the only bagels actually to be celebrated in a serious work. Here's the link: http://www.megkearney.com/creed.html

@Anapowell try any of the above with the exception of Lender's or Dunkin. They are all better than La Bagel.

"Please put to rest immediately the myth that Montreal bagels are superior to New York City bagels"

http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2007/03/montreal-bagels-exposed.html

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/653172
--Guttergourmet

I think the theory of a bagel expiration taste time is a valid one. I've always been a huge fan of a small place called Bakers Dozen's out in Kew Gardens Queens. They make them there right in your face and have a 6dollar/dozen deal... but you know what, I lived less than a block away from the place so its no wonder the bagels I bought from there were extremely fresh and tasty. I still take the trek out there sometimes to get my fix.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/bakers-dozen-bagels-kew-gardens

Hello,

I just want to thank Carey Jones, Ed Levine and everyone else
involved with this article. It is an honor to be called the best!!

Sincerely,
Philip Romanzi
Bagel Hole
Of Park Slope

I guess none of the commenters live on the UES (I know, no longer chic...), because no one mentioned Tals. I live almost next door to one, and my open windows overlook and capture the almost constant lovely smells of fresh bagels baking in this neighborhood place (the onion must be baking right now - making me salivate). There are a couple of others around - mine is 86th bet 2nd and 1st, another is Lex and about 83d, another First and 54th. I live close to the H&H east side branch, and I used to love them...but too often these days their bagels are soft, pale and puffy - no bite to the crust and not dense enough. I've been to Absolute several times, and they are indeed delicious.

Bagels are a New York institutions. Unfortunatly they are no long made by New York Jews and have become mere rolls. I used to swear by Fairway until they decided bigger is better (and more expensive). H&H is highly overated. Lately I have found that Eli's comes closest to the bagels of my Broooklyn childhood. I buy them at Zabar's where they are already several hours old and eat them the next morning. They are nice and chewy, the way a bagel should be, and the perfect foil for cream cheese and lox.

Why not - my blog is Tamarind and Thyme: http://tamarindandthyme.wordpress.com and I'm based in London.

What a fun thread! Mine's still in its infancy, and most of it links right back to stuff I like on SE, but here it is: http://neverturndownacupcake.blogspot.com

I write about the DC-Metro area's restaurants and also my almost-daily bentos and recipes @ discojing.com