BAGLES in Berkeley

[Mattdub]

Hey all, I'm looking to get some tasty bagles for my classes on Wed and Fri mornings. I live in Berkeley and will need to pick them up on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Any ideas of where I could grab some good ones with cream cheese?

Of course, they are college freshmen so they are used to ramen and grilled cheese but I thought I would do something nice.

[dotMac]

Berkeley Bagel is *the* place for bagels in the East Bay.

My favorites are the jalapeño cheese and the olive.

Plus there's just something about those bagel dogs...with the huge natural beef hotdogs inside...

[Agent 510]

I second the recommendation for Berkeley Bagel. Manhattan Bagel on 4th st. and Delaware is OK too. Just avoid Noah's, it's not good at all.

[lmnopm]

Berkeley Bagels are probably the best around. Unless you can toast them up the next day, you need to buy them the same day. They will be out of many selections by early afternoon, in any event. Monterey Market carries Marin bagels. I haven't had one "fresh" enough to be a good judge, but they seem good. Any "bagel" that is fresh-seeming the next day without toasting isn't a bagel - it is round bread that looks like a bagel.

[Agent 510]

And just to add to the Berkeley Bagel love, I tried their lox sandwich yesterday and it was delicious. The cream cheese tasted really fresh, the lox was flavorful, the fillings were generous, and the bagel was the real thing.

I had the equivalent from Noah's a couple days before (was attempting a "taste-off"), and it was lousy. BB all the way.

[rworange]

Does it really have to be picked up the night before? There are not a lot of bagel places open late and what is there is usually leftover and will be even staler by the next morning.

AFAIK, the only place for bagels in the entire Bay Area is Berkely Bagel
http://www.chow.com/digest/3964
http://www.chow.com/places/10813

They open at 6:30 am, so you might be able to make a stop before class and get some stellar-fresh bagels ... great smears too.

Berkely Bagel also has a shelf of day old half-price bagels available but, as said, not as good a fresh-made.

If you must shop late, Berkely Bowl sells a few bagels. IMO, Marin Bagels are much better than the Posh bagels, but even then, but 5 pm most of the Marin Bagels are sold out. Smears also available at BB.

[wolfe]

If you have an oven at work and belong to costco get bags of bagels and finish cooking them before serving.Brings the cost down to about 30 cents per bagel and they are hot.
425 watch closely to keep from burning. Nice golden brown, crisp crust.

[chemchef]

Do they need further cooking?

[wolfe]

In the words of Frances Mcdormand in Fargo as Marge Gunderson: "You betcha!" I'm sure that is not what was intended but without the extra oven time they are unfinished bread dough. Toasting the cut side also helps.

[chemchef]

LOL!

Nice reply.