499320 Sat Mar 15 04:08:07 -0700 2008 50 18 Manhattan 0 3494919 and if not, which bagel is best Sat Mar 15 04:08:07 -0700 2008 15732 MarkG 1 3494920 They never were, though they are fine for most purposes. A bit too much sugar, overly soft interior as a vehicle for lox etc. Depends on what you are using the bagel for. Sat Mar 15 04:14:34 -0700 2008 3494919 80872 addictedtolunch 1 3495365 A lot of people like Ess-a Bagel, which I tried once and didn't love. Other contenders are Absolute Bagels and Murray's Bagels. Sat Mar 15 09:27:00 -0700 2008 3494919 10216 Lucia 1 3495498 i really prefer h&h over ess-a-bagel by far. actually, i don't feel there is any comparison and i just don't understand their appeal. but, then again, i prefer a soft interior. absolute bagels is also very good. murrays is not bad either. i still can't find an equivalent manhattan bagel to the ones i 've had in the outer boroughs or nj. i love those bubbles on the crust with a soft interior and more porous with a crispy exterior but nothing too heavy. i also appreciate the fact that h&h has fresh bagels no matter what time you saunter in there. even as late as 1am, you can actually get a fresh bagel (sometimes even hot) . any other place will either be long closed, out of bagels or toss a stale bagel at you for being stupid enough for wanting a bagel outside of the only time you are ever supposed to eat bagels (6am-11am)!!!!! Sat Mar 15 10:23:37 -0700 2008 3494919 57300 nativeNYer 2 3495507 are H&H bagels still the best?? You betcha they are! :-) Sat Mar 15 10:27:06 -0700 2008 3495498 95060 idia 1 3495636 absolutely the best. And as nativeNYer pointed out, you can go in there almost any time of day and get a fresh one, still hot from the oven. Crispy exterior, soft interior. Sat Mar 15 11:23:38 -0700 2008 3494919 104084 LNG212 1 3496250 Ess-a-bagel kicks H&H's ass. Sat Mar 15 15:00:57 -0700 2008 3494919 10173 guttergourmet 2 3496508 i like H&H fine, although i will say i've never had one direct from them. i really like Tal bagels, and think they're awesome, esp. the sesame (my personal favorite). Sat Mar 15 16:49:52 -0700 2008 3496250 25190 charlie_b 1 3496645 Aren't there more than one H+H? Sat Mar 15 17:48:27 -0700 2008 3494919 12469 chaz 2 3497020 yup. there's one on 80th and brdwy and the other is on 46th and 12th. never been to the latter. Sat Mar 15 20:45:35 -0700 2008 3496645 57300 nativeNYer 3 3497704 Yes, and those 2 are related. However there's apparently also a place on the east side calling themselves H&H that is emphatically not related to the west side ones (according to the west side people). Sun Mar 16 08:19:38 -0700 2008 3497020 104084 LNG212 4 3497852 wow. i guess they are getting away with it b/c the original is 'h&h bagels'????? Sun Mar 16 09:19:23 -0700 2008 3497704 57300 nativeNYer 5 3498177 Maybe. There was a big sign hanging in the 80th St. location. So, of course, I had to ask. :) The people were emphatic that the east side "H&H" had nothing to do with their venerable operation. The disgust dripping from their words about that other place was palpable. But since I'd never heard of the east side place, I'm not familiar with any *history* or anything -- and wasn't about to ask about it either! Sun Mar 16 11:31:00 -0700 2008 3497852 104084 LNG212 6 3499456 this would be my nightmare if i owned a business. i would hope their customers would know the difference without question like us. as far as the other place is concerned,... well, never mind, i'll just be deleted. Sun Mar 16 20:08:24 -0700 2008 3498177 57300 nativeNYer 1 3496812 H & H definitely has my vote... Sat Mar 15 18:59:36 -0700 2008 3494919 169210 10yrresident 1 3497061 My personal favorite is Murray's, but H&H bagels are still great, IMO, and probably still considered the gold standard by most NYers. I do not care for Ess-a-Bagel at all. Sat Mar 15 21:16:36 -0700 2008 3494919 102095 vvvindaloo 1 3499371 My vote goes to Ess-a-Bagel. Sun Mar 16 19:36:41 -0700 2008 3494919 19354 scarlet starlet 1 3499571 I'm going to ask a dumb question: How are H&H and Ess-a-Bagel bagels different? I've had bagels from both the UWS H&H and Ess-a-Bagel. I thought they were both great. But I didn't do a side by side comparison. H&H bagels innards are soft, but not without bite. I think I remember Ess-a-Bagel bagels being similar. Can someone enlighten me as to the stylistic difference? Sun Mar 16 21:03:45 -0700 2008 3494919 64215 cimui 2 3500745 I am an Ess-a-Bagel fan. If you don't like your bagels big, hot, crusty on the outside and soft on the inside with about a pound of onions, garlic, poppys or other toppings then go with the other guys. Mon Mar 17 09:58:00 -0700 2008 3499571 10173 guttergourmet 3 3501502 Hmm. So I'm basically hearing that H&H and Ess-a-Bagel are pretty much the same, stylistically, but Ess-a-Bagel has more by way of toppings. H&H appears to sell bagels that are big, hot, crusty on the outside and soft on the inside, as well. Mon Mar 17 12:59:48 -0700 2008 3500745 64215 cimui 4 3505013 ess-a-bagels are just like H&H on steroids, i.e. twice the size and hence twice the amount of toppings. Tue Mar 18 13:52:23 -0700 2008 3501502 10173 guttergourmet 4 3505106 H&H bagels have an inherent sweetness to it that Ess-a-bagles dont. I'm def. an ess-a-bagel guy. Tue Mar 18 14:19:13 -0700 2008 3501502 12821 ESNY 5 3505481 aha -- thanks for the explanations! Tue Mar 18 16:17:32 -0700 2008 3505106 64215 cimui 5 3510507 Funny, I have found Ess-a-bagel to be more on the sweet side, while the outside is less crispy than I would like. They are definitely the largest, though. Thu Mar 20 07:36:11 -0700 2008 3505106 102095 vvvindaloo 4 3506188 IMHO Ess-a-Bagel and H&H are a breed apart. Ess-a-Bagel has a crisp outside, chewy, dense inside, and is loaded with toppings. H&H are smaller, sweeter and less dense. Each has its strong points and legion of rabid proponents. I grew up near Ess-a-Bagel. Maybe that's why I'm more partial... Tue Mar 18 21:02:33 -0700 2008 3501502 80217 fsd1116 5 3509706 Sweet + less dense = not a good bagel, no? Wed Mar 19 21:07:08 -0700 2008 3506188 15954 meatme 6 3511036 Not necessarily, no. Some, myself included, prefer a more traditional NY bagel that's a bit denser and chewier than H&H. Thu Mar 20 09:55:56 -0700 2008 3509706 18466 a_and_w 6 3512373 Correct, sweet and less dense is NOT what a bagel should be. Thu Mar 20 15:16:19 -0700 2008 3509706 123366 ajs42548 7 3512834 Oops, I misread the post. I completely agree that sweet and less dense is NOT what a bagel should be. Thu Mar 20 17:47:42 -0700 2008 3512373 18466 a_and_w 1 3500620 I basically chose my apartment for two reasons, and proximity to Ess-a-Bagel was one of them. a west-side friend made me try H&H once and I wasn't really thrilled...kind of reminded me a little of Dunkin' Donuts. however, I give H&H points for having BLUEBERRY, which my beloved Ess-a-Bagel doesn't offer. Mon Mar 17 09:25:49 -0700 2008 3494919 67939 Sophia. 2 3500677 there is also an H&H on the UES...80th/2nd i believe...i like H&H bagels but i actually had a great bagel from hot&crusty yesterday morning. not my ultimate favorite but still very good... Mon Mar 17 09:41:55 -0700 2008 3500620 95861 bosox 3 3500785 see my comment above re: the "H&H" on the east side. Mon Mar 17 10:06:20 -0700 2008 3500677 104084 LNG212 4 3500827 that's so interesting - i was always told they were related. and i've never had a bad experience with the 80th st location! i used to live on block up so it was my regular bagel place. now i'm on the uws and frequent both zabars and h&h for bagels... Mon Mar 17 10:16:34 -0700 2008 3500785 95861 bosox 1 3500747 my vote is for Absolute. Crunchy on the outside and chewy (but not too chewy) on the inside. Also, my second favorite is Daniel's bagels on 38th street. Mon Mar 17 09:58:12 -0700 2008 3494919 133413 offthebeatenpath1 1 3500804 Anyone know where Fairway gets their bagels from? They aren't ethereal, but they are quite a contender for 60 cents! A very good supermarket bagel indeed! Also bagels vary by flavor tremendously. I love Absolute's sesame, but I find the raisin disappointing--not enough cinnamon and color. H&H has a good raisin, but I don't like their sesame. I could go on and on... Mon Mar 17 10:12:02 -0700 2008 3494919 13427 Ora 2 3505341 I believe they bake their own bagels. Tue Mar 18 15:28:50 -0700 2008 3500804 39861 daveyboy 1 3500852 ugggg. they never were, read below Mon Mar 17 10:23:01 -0700 2008 3494919 11476 intrepid 1 3501518 As was pointed out already, H&H uses too much sugar. In my opinion, the best bagels are now found in the outer boroughs and LI. Mon Mar 17 13:03:46 -0700 2008 3494919 123366 ajs42548 1 3506977 Yes H&H bagels are the best. I have eaten all of the mentioned bagels and prefer H&H-everything bagel and tasty whole wheat bagel are my favorites. Wed Mar 19 08:00:43 -0700 2008 3494919 55914 marlie202 1 3510993 The best depends on your preference, but I don't like that H&H serves a non-traditional NY bagel that's softer and sweeter than most. Some prefer Ess-A-Bagel, but they always reminded me of an enormous stale sandwich roll. I really like Murray's, which are more manageable and provide a nice balance of density and crust, esp. when fresh out of the oven. As Goldilocks would say, just right... Thu Mar 20 09:45:58 -0700 2008 3494919 18466 a_and_w 2 3511140 Yes! Thu Mar 20 10:15:20 -0700 2008 3510993 102095 vvvindaloo 2 3514685 most hole in the wall places in brooklyn and queens are better than H&H, way better Fri Mar 21 10:40:14 -0700 2008 3510993 11476 intrepid 3 3515454 Yup that's what I said previously. The outer boroughs and LI have better bagels on average than most places in Manhattan Fri Mar 21 14:40:32 -0700 2008 3514685 123366 ajs42548 1 3514919 no way!! Absolute bagels at 108th and Broadway are the best. Fri Mar 21 11:50:59 -0700 2008 3494919 176746 anna_harlem 2 3514955 ok, new yorkers have a thing with " the best", cant be good,, gotta be the best...go ny go lololol Fri Mar 21 12:02:37 -0700 2008 3514919 11476 intrepid 2 3521253 I just tried them for the first time this past weekend. They are good! Mon Mar 24 03:49:55 -0700 2008 3514919 64215 cimui 1 3518887 What ever happened to Columbia Bagels near 110th and Broadway? Those were the best bagels I've ever had. I'd take guests from out of town and they'd nearly collapse with pleasure. Did they move, or is the whole operation gone? Sun Mar 23 00:29:54 -0700 2008 3494919 170966 bodoben 2 3519474 columbia bagels has been gone since 2004. dynasty and westside market met the same fate all on the same corner. westside market has returned but the bagel store never resurfaced. i liked their bagels as well. Sun Mar 23 09:50:48 -0700 2008 3518887 57300 nativeNYer 3 3520380 Yep, the building all three were in was torn down to make room for a new building. Only Westside Market returned. Absolute Bagels is only two blocks away and has mighty fine bagels. Sun Mar 23 17:16:37 -0700 2008 3519474 15631 Joe Food 3 3522634 Apparently the Columbia folks turned up near Times Square ... http://www.chowhound.com/topics/373998#2330007 Mon Mar 24 11:54:10 -0700 2008 3519474 10496 squid kun 4 3523356 wow! thanks. I did not know this until now. i just called them. yup, they confirmed they are the same bagel store but they close by 11pm. i gotta give this a try. thanks again. Mon Mar 24 14:49:06 -0700 2008 3522634 57300 nativeNYer