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If you're ever in Williamsburgh, my vote - hands down - is:
Bagel Store
(718) 218-7244
247 Bedford Ave

Bagel Store
(718) 782-5856
754 Metropolitan Ave

They have a nice crust on the bottom and they are chewy. To me, they are the real deal.

I didn't even know about La Bagel. I will check it out. Sounds promising. I agree with you about Ess A Bagel. Its bagels are too big and too sweet.

Bagel Hole in on 7th Ave. in Park Slope makes a nice version of the old-fashioned chewy dense bagel that must be eaten that day. Terrace Bagel in Windsor Terrace makes very good slightly larger slightly softer bagels and good bialies. I had some good bagels from a place on Coney Island Ave. in Midwood, as well. Kosar's seems to have changed recipes withing the past year or two. Their classic bialies are no more, in my humble opinion, although the onion board (pletzl) is still tops.

H&H always was second rate. The place near Columbia is great (Absolute). Columbia Hot Bagel used to be great too.

Anyone remember the great New Jersey bagel places of yesteryear? I remember one on Chancellor Ave. in Irvington, and another on West End Ave. in Jersey City. Both were great places, basically wholesalers with small service counters. My dad would take us late Saturday night to get the early edition of the Sunday paper and hot bagels. Wiggler's in Union, NJ was great also.

I'd love to hear about other great bagels which are no more...

Hey, if you want good cookies just go to the war zone...the cookie isle at Food King and look for "Fucking Jim's Cookies"...they are awesome.

Forget it! Get a zipcar or something and drive all the way out to Hot Bagels, on Montauk Highway in Sayville, Long Island. Then, since you're stuck way out there already, go hang out on the beach for the rest of the morning, then get a beer and some steamers at the Cull House and forget about the city for a while.

Bergen Bagel is good, but Absolute is the absolute! Their egg bagel with a schmear of butter would be on my Last Meal list. So sweet, dense, and chewy.

Terrace Bagel in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn. Their Everything bagel is a glorious mix of all the goodies, including kosher salt, and is heaven with a hole in it. I have yet to be disappointed. La Bagel Delite in Park Slope is a nice 2nd.

Ed, about two years ago you wrote a great New Year's article about the great bagels in New York, and through it I discovered your 'bronze': Bagel Oasis, off the Long Island Expressway, in Queens, New York. What a great find.

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My family's been devouring "Bagel O's" bagels ever since. If necessary, we take advantage of their excellent FedEx service (though they have a two or three dozen minimum!).

Thanks Ed. Your "everyday gourmet" approach makes life better, once again.

If you haven't tried the chocolate chip cookies at Grey Dog (carmine st), you've missed something. They are huge, crisp around the edges, chewy half way with a soft and gooey middle. The can heat it up for you but I like it just the way it is!!!

Not everyone would agree, but think the chocolate chip cookies from City Bakery are beyond awesome. I've gotten a few people addicted to them. Also, the cookies from Jacques Torres have..dare I say, too much chocolate? But in a good way. Whenever I make "food packages" for people outside of NY, I give them something from CB, JT, and Levain. I thought R&V and Bouchon were just okay. Once I had a great chocolate chip cookie from The Donut Pub, but my good mood may have made the cookie taste better than it actually was. The Donut Pub is pretty awesome though, may as well check it out. :)