Bagels in LA?
Where are the best bagels? I like the ones from Barney's Greengrass, but I'm wondering if there's a place that is a bit more reasonably priced than $3.50 a bagel!
I did a search on here to no avail.
Thanks for the help.
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choctastic
Dec 9, 2009 04:05 PM
Do any of these bagel places have tofu cream cheese like in NY? I had the most amazing bagel with this awesome tofu cream cheese at Ess-A-Bagel and want one just like in here in LA/OC. They had all kinds of flavors too: plain tofu cream cheese, with scallioins, with sundried tomato, some kind of walnutty spread and I forget what else. Thanks!
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re: choctastic
Not really... never been sure why it's so common in NY - maybe for kosher folks who aren't strict enough to go to a kosher certified place but strict enough not to mix dairy and meat? The reason it's so good is because those places mix their own. I haven't seen it at many places here, but even when I have seen it, it's usually just out of a tub.
You can make a pretty good rendition of the vegetable tofutti at home by adding grated carrot, minced red onion, salt and pepper, and optionally a little minced garlic to the non-hydrogenated tofutti and mixing well with a fork. Then bring it along with you to the bagel shop. Not as convenient, but at least it'll save you money.
Personally, I'd be happy enough for a decent bagel in LA, even without the tofu cream cheese.
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re: BSW6490
I am so excited to read your post. I & Joy from the 60's WAS "the bagel". When I left LA and moved to an area with NO deli food whatsoever, the things that passed and continue to pass for bagels was so upsetting I stopped trying. But lately, even in LA when I visit, they are not so good. I am heading for The Nosh and hoping to revisit I & Joy days!!!
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We need bagel and/or deli's on the east side -- Silverlake/Los Feliz. Yeah, we have Langers -- that's a drive and not open for dinner or Sundays (which is a major pain!).
Just a few years ago, LA had so many bagel places -- I think w the carb dieting craze, many went out of business, but now w the recession, people want comfort food. Bring 'em back is what I say! Here me, prospective restaurateurs!?
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re: monku
wutzizname
Apr 27, 2009 07:44 AM
And if you're just looking to sit down with one and a cup, Silverlake Coffee gets Brooklyn Bagels fresh each day.
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Silverlake Coffee Co
2388 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039 -
re: monku
Mr Taster
Apr 27, 2009 09:52 AM
Unfortunately, my experience with Brooklyn Bagel Bakery is that they produce dense leathery wheels that are barely edible without loads of condiments to help it go down without scratching your throat up.
A great bagel needs no embellishment. It has a layer on the outside which lightly cracks before giving way to the softer, chewier inside. Great bagels are soft and moist enough to eat like a German soft pretzel, but dense and chewy enough to hold up against some vigorous chewing. It should not be cakey or bready, nor should it be dense like a brick, as BBB's are.
Me Taster
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re: Mr Taster
Has anybody tried the NY Bagel Bistro (I know, kind of an odd name) in Sherman Oaks on Moorpark and Woodman? After living nearby for years I finally tried it when it appeared to have new ownership.
They ain't the bagels I get in NY, but to my taste they're the best I've gotten in LA.
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I'm from Brooklyn (originally) and believe me NYBD on WIlshire is the only thing that comes close. The owner is from Brooklyn too.
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re: paprkutr
moto
Mar 14, 2009 08:26 PM
we were in that part of town on Wilshire and I remembered these posts about NY bagel deli, so we tried a couple (spouse from NYC, I lived 16 years in mid-state) -- they were as close to n.y. bagels we could expect for the wrong corner of the country.
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Yesterday, guided by this thread, I did a bagel tasting around L.A. A little crazy, I know, but I’ve been shipping bagels from H&H and they recently dropped their flat-rate shipping policy. Necessity dictated that I find a new source for pumpernickel bagels. My gold standard for bagels is Ess-A-Bagel in NY. Here's what I found:
H&H at Barney's Greengrass – the winner hand’s down in the pumpernickel flavor category. That said, the bagel was dry from its journey from NY and cost $3.
Sam’s Bagel – On Larchmont, this bagel place was number 2. Great tasting bagels with lots of flavor. Good texture. They have a new landlord (and thus a new lease) and thankfully have NOT gone out of business. The best option for flavored bagels outside of a real NY bagel (see below on where to get a great plain bagel).
Bagel Broker – Pretty good bagels but not anything like what you get in NY. Most flavors were good. The cinnamon raisin had no raisins, but was great tasting otherwise. Their Everything was a thumb’s down (I like a lot of stuff on my Everything bagel, and this one was under-seasoned). Their pumpernickel didn’t make the grade. That said, not as good as Sam’s, but for Los Angeles, will do in a pinch.
The Bagel Factory – Went to their Robertson branch. Terrible all around. Flavorless bagels. Poor texture. Won’t go back.
Brooklyn Bagel Bakery – They have two kinds of bagels: regular and a ‘New York style’ bagel. The latter was excellent, though I believe it only comes in Plain, and was possibly the best bagel I ate all day. Unfortunately, their non-New York style bagels (read: every other bagel in their store) were cakey and pretty awful. The pumpernickel tasted like it had added sweetner. The Everything bagel had lots of stuff on it, but the bagel itself was so poor that it wasn’t edible. I highly recommend the NY style bagel but can’t recommend anything else.
Bottom line: A bagel from New York is the best option and there’s nothing in Los Angeles that really compares. Hopefully H&H will bring back flat shipping. In the meantime, if you live near Sam’s, go there. I live on the Westside, so guess I’ll keep searching…
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re: Miriam22
Mr Taster
Oct 7, 2008 10:51 AM
Hi Miriam, thank you so much for your legwork (and mouthwork) on this.
I live around the corner from The Bagel Broker, so it's been a long time since I've gone further afield for bagels. Of course Sam's isn't so far away, so I think I'll check them out next sunday when I go to try the roast chicken at the Larchmont farmers market.
As for Brooklyn Bagel Bakery-- I've gone 3 times in my 12 years living in LA, and all three times I received a dense, hard-to-swallow, leaden monster of a bagel. I wonder if this "New York style" bagel is a new invention. Maybe I'll give them another shot... it sounds promising.
Thanks again
Mr Taster-
re: Mr Taster
wutzizname
Dec 2, 2008 10:21 AM
Just a great example of how different palates are looking for different things. I'm also from New York and also live around the corner from Bagel Broker, and I think they're fairly decent, but I drive the 20 minutes (give or take) to get to Brooklyn Bagel whenever I want the real thing.
And I find Sam's Bagels (and Ess-A in NY by the way) to be the "cakey" ones that I try to avoid. In my book, Brooklyn is the opposite of cakey, whatever that is. Piey?
N.B. I couldn't agree with you more, Miriam, about the Bagel Broker's "Everything" bagel. This is usually my variety of choice, but theirs is so heavy on cornmeal and light on everything else, that I'm forced to go Onion there if I want any kind of flavor. Someone please tell them what the definition of everything is...lots of every thing.
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New York Bagel and Deli on Wilshire, across from Whole Foods in Santa Monica. They are the closest to the Old Manhattan bagels, and they have the best onion pletzels nee onion boards, brown and cripsy with fresh onions. If you know you are going call ahead and they will make sure they have it.
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Chowpatty
Aug 9, 2008 09:17 AM
I went to the Bagel Factory on Robertson yesterday based on the recs on this thread and I have to say, compared to Brooklyn Bagel, they are terrible. They are undercooked and bland. Everything is a pasty white color, even the rye bagels. In addition, there is no air conditioning and the place is sweltering, I felt sorry for the girls working behind the counter who are taking plenty of lip from the yentas and nearly melting in the heat. I haven't tried every flavor I bought yet but I see no reason to return.
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Cherylcyn
Aug 8, 2008 12:25 PM
I have to say that MY favorite bagels are at Panera Bread on
Ventura Blvd and Laurel Canyon in The Valley. The Cinnamin Crunch with the honey almond cream cheese is just the best. The other bagels are very good as well and are reasonably priced at $2.99 for the bagel and the cream cheese. -
Frank, as a New Yorker I totally feel your pain. I was not very impressed with Brooklyn Bagels, Western is tasty, but not exactly New York-like.
The best I found is in Larchmont Village, a place called Sam's Bagels. They are great and they sell for $12-$13 a dozen. They are able to fill my craving. Good luck!
Sam's Bagels
150 N Larchmont Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90004
(323) 469-1249 -
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re: ROBBARNES
Das Ubergeek
Apr 15, 2008 11:02 AM
Because the bagels are nearly $4 each after tax is added -- and that's just for the bagels, no toppings.
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I once went to Bagel Nosh in SaMo and it was surprisingly good. Having grown up in NYC where Bagel Nosh (used to be?) a chain of so-so bagel sotres, I wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised. Other than the old fabulous I & Joy bagels chain from the late 80's/early 90's (which I understand was sold to the Manhattan Bagel chain which may or may not still exist), Bagel Nosh were probably the best bagels I have had ont he westide of LA. Though I live in the culinary wasteland called the South Bay, the best NY Style bagels in LA are without question at Manhattan Beach Bagel on Sepulevda and 19th Street in Manhattan Beach. They are much better when fresh out of the over, but are still the best bagels this ex-Nyer has had in California. And oddly enough, although the South Bay is a culinary wasteland, not only does it have the best bagels in AL, it also has the best NY Style slices of Pizza at Paisano's in Hermosa Beach. If you like thin crust without too much cheese (for NY tourists who think Ray's Pizza is "real" NY pizza, you can skip the rest of my comments, their crust is too thick and they use way too much cheese), then Paisano's is the way to go. I grew up in NY in the 70's and cut my teeth on many of the old style NY slice pizza joints in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx, and I believe Paisano's is the closest thing to what I grew up on. There was a period in my life when I swore by Ray's (the one in the village and the one on 3rd and 76th) but I eventually came to realize the error of my ways. This crisp crust, with a moderate coating of tangy sauce and cheese is the real thing -- Paisan's (though some complain about the attitude at Paisano's, perhaps that makes it all the more authentic).
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re: davidrauch
As this thread lives on, it seems like a democratic obligation to just repeat what was said way higher up. Brooklyn Bagels, hands down, problem solved for all in the high density Chow zones of LA. No frills, no fuss, reminds me exactly of the places in Queens where I grew up, of which only Bagel Oasis on the L.I.E. still remains.
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re: EricW
Mr Taster
Apr 15, 2008 02:51 PM
Please tell me what bagels you order at BBB and at what time of day do you buy them that the bagels don't chew like dense rubber and require a tall beverage to swallow without discomfort.
As stated above, Kossar's in Manhattan's LES is my benchmark for bagel (and bialy) greatness.
Mr Taster
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re: EricW
I second the salt and poppy and - they are only place I've seen in LA that offers regular poppy (water) AND egg poppy.
Plus their rye bagels are just lovely. Great flavor, chewy but not tough.
Oh and I just had my first batch of intelligentsia coffee - fab. So maybe Erics plan is the way to go -- for the price of two barney bagels, you could gave a few tasty BBB ones and, a half pound of Excellent coffee. Smugness and joy all around.
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re: davidrauch
As a NYC transplant, I also think that Paisano's in Hermosa is the closest thing I have found here after trying many, many places here in LA. I have not read the hundreds of posts in the who has the best pizza in LA threads here because I have found what I like: pizza with maybe 6-8 topping choices (please hold the clams or even macaroni on my slice thank you) with not too much cheese and the sauce not too sweet... And remember, the is also a lot of REALLY TERRIBLE PIZZA IN NYC also sooo....
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re: winstars
I have been there also. I wouldn't say its the best pizza---it may be the closest to NY but maybe NY doesn't have the best pizza. What I dislike about there is that the staff doesn't like to give you proper change or a receipt even if you are not dining in. And all the drunks at a certain point in time.
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re: ROBBARNES
Das Ubergeek
Apr 15, 2008 07:43 AM
BLASPHEMER! STONE HIM!
Wait... McDonalds even has bagels (or, more likely, bagel-shaped bread rolls)?
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Midlife
Apr 12, 2008 10:59 AM
Brooklyn Bagel fan of 35 years!!! I used to live on the Westside and work in Lincoln Heights and often took Beverly Blvd. downtown, so I'd go right by it on the way. Then I found that a fellow I worked with (in retail) is the son of the owners....... he now runs the place. We moved to OC 20+ years ago and the only bagel that comes close for me here is at a 2-location place called Bagels 'n Brew (Lake Forest & Mission Viejo). There's a density to a good bagel, and a bite to the outside, that is what I look for and remember from my youth in NYC. Most other bagels are just too soft.
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I like Western Bagel and Bagel Broker but hands down my favorite bagel is Sam's Bagel on Larchmont. They have another location on Main Street in SM as well. Sam's are soooooo sooooo good!
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re: omgirlie
wutzizname
Apr 9, 2008 05:14 PM
Unfortunately the Larchmont location is being evicted. Not sure if they're even still open. Didn't realize they had a SM branch.
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re: wutzizname
David Kahn
Apr 10, 2008 03:37 PM
Sorry to report that the Sam's on Larchmont is closed. Don't know about other locations.
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ROBBARNES
Apr 8, 2008 04:41 AM
....my fav joint is....Bagel Nosh 17th @ Wilshire, Santa Monica.
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re: ROBBARNES
Every time I pass that place it looks to me like it's closed and has been for years. The windows have this caked-over smear on them that looks like a closed subway stop -- or like subway cars' windows; that's what it is! Maybe that's the NYC-nostalgia factor that's so strong. I've tried their bagels and am unimpressed.
I think 'bagel' is one of those comfort-food emotional things. Like the poster who mentioned Vons (you're kidding, right? No; I know you're not), I actually even have a soft spot in my heart for frozen Lender's bagels. That's what we ate growing up: it was a treat. However, I'm not claiming they're a chowish find.
I think Bagel Factory seems a legitimately LA-incarnation of another city's icon. I think their help is thoroughly sullen, at least in the WLA location, and should be a match for the aforementioned ladies' fresh-bagel assertions.
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Not too big and that's a good thing because it leaves room for more. The outside has a crust with a nice baked color. The inside is moist as it should be. You will notice a slight crack, or small crunch, when you bite, which is followed by the tug and then the chew. The prices are reasonable so buy a half dozen or more. The whipped cream cheese is also very good.
Buellers Bagels (With a name like Buellers, it's gotta be good)
10840 W Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA
(310) 474-6064
South- East Corner of Olympic at Westwood Blvd. Between Westwood and the Westside Pavillion,›1 Reply-
re: JeetJet
lil mikey
Oct 5, 2008 08:39 PM
Buellers Bagels is a chain, with many many locations in OC, not so many in LA. I actually looked into buying a franchise at one time, but you have to buy like 4 of them and I couldn't swing that large of an investment then. But I really like them.
They typically can be found in the same minimalls as Starbucks.... What I like is that they make the bagels fresh in small batches right there; you can watch them. And you get them right out of the of the oven.
When I'm home, I go to Brooklyn Bagel. But when I'm in the OC, I go to Bueller's.
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THEY DON'T REALLY EXIST. DON'T LISTEN! That is one major frustration of mine. all I want is one good bagel and some fresh STRAWBERRY cream cheese...The Brentwood shop was so disappointing. The Name even had New York in it, ALL lies. The pacific can't handle the bagel.
edit: the Brentwood shop does not make the soft, chewy, glossy beautiful specimines you can easily find in places like, MA, CT, NJ, and NYC...maybe even NH and to add to my dismay they did not have very good cream cheese and way too much chive in their cream cheese.
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Das Ubergeek
Apr 5, 2008 03:07 PM
For those who like St-Urbain style bagels, it is. For those of us who grew up with bagels, bialys, and the all-important stop at the appetizing, New York was and is the standard.
Which is not to say that Montreal-style bagels are not excellent -- they are -- but they're a different beast, and one that's impossible to find in LA.
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wutzizname
Apr 5, 2008 10:37 AM
There've been 2 references now to flat/flattened bagels on this thread. Are you folks talking about a Bialy? Or is there some other flat bagel creature out there that I'm not familiar with?
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re: foodieqt
Finally tried these flagels from NYC. Granted, they were about 3/4 of a day old, but I wasn't impressed. And a typical New Yorker's interpretation of how much salt belongs on a bagel or flagel is definitely in a different league from that of the typical Angeleno. I almost gagged upon taking my first bite...
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The same way you can't really get a decent burrito in Manhattan, you can't get a NY style slice of pizza or bagel here. It's just the way it is.
I've tried Brooklyn Bakery, and don't think they're all that. I think part of the appeal of the place is that it's in an out-of-the-way location, very bare-bones, and kind of a factory, so its fans feel they're in on a secret. Just a theory.
Having said that, like pizza, you can get some good bagels in LA if you're willing to lower your standards and/or eat a fluffy kind of bagel. I'd rank them:
- Western Bagels, particularly the Valley locations
- Bagel Factory, particularly the one on Robertson (also has great soup)
- Manhattan Bagel in Santa Monica, though I think they were sold to another ownerI also worked in an office that had really great bagels delivered once a week, and I believe they used Bagel Nosh in Santa Monica. But it does indeed look sketchy from the outside - never been there myself.
Goldstein's are on the extreme side of H and H style mega-dough city style bagels. Good for what they are.
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re: scoot
wutzizname
Apr 5, 2008 10:51 AM
For what it's worth, though I do enjoy the underground industrial vibe of the Brooklyn Bagel factory, I rarely ever go, as I long ago discovered that the Silverlake Coffee Co. on Glendale Blvd. gets theirs from Brooklyn each morning. So I usually head there instead to sit and enjoy LA's best bagel with a coffee and paper.
By way of emphasis, let me add that I live around the corner from Bagel Broker, and as I said up above, I think they may be LA's second best bagel. But when I'm truly itching for the real thing, I head all the way over to that northeast edge of Silverlake. They're that good.
If anyone knows of other coffee shops or cafes that are serving Brooklyn's, please, do tell.
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re: scoot
Das Ubergeek
Apr 5, 2008 11:55 AM
Dude. Have you BEEN to H&H in New York? You talk about sketchy-looking! You walk in and it's this giant cavernous place with frowning people behind the counter and a crusty old fridge for the shmeer.
Bagel Nosh is way nicer on the "sketch" scale :)
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re: scoot
Goldstein's may well be on the extreme side of H & H bagels, and I do enjoy them very much, but on the other hand so do most New Yorkers as I understand. I hear very few NY style bagel bakeries are left in the Big Apple (anyone here that Apple makers of ipods and iphones are suing NY for using a green apple logo??), and most also sell H & H style bagels. I cannot really speak to Manhattan burritos, but there are definitely excellent pizzas here. I hope to try a NY pizza icon one day to see what the difference between them. I just find it difficult to believe that pizza in Los Angeles is unacceptable, that there is no place serving decent pizza.
And to help out das ubergeek, I hear Pasquale's Grand Brew Cafe flies Montreal bagels in . . .
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As has been said on this message already, all you need to know is Brooklyn....Bagel.....Bakery. For both price and taste not to mention it's mostly wholesale and not a retail operation. The smell alone when you walk in tells you it's the right place. I like the egg poppy the best.
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re: oro3030
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re: wutzizname
That jerk recommended Casa Bianca, so you cannot really trust him to judge food for food itself . . . It's only the Gold Standard cause his last name is Gold, hardly the Gold standard in Chowhound criteria . . .
Sorry but I liked reading his reviews until I actually went out and tried Casa Bianca which he raved about so many years as the best pizza in Southern California, I am a little bitter . . .
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re: apple7blue
Das Ubergeek
Apr 4, 2008 07:44 AM
It might be time to get help, then -- it's just a restaurant. Chalk it up to "different strokes for different folks" and move on.
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re: Das Ubergeek
The pizza was inedible . . . but I guess I am a different kind (stroke and folk) of Chowhound from you, I figure other Chowhounds would want to share opinions, rather than get "help" . . . I think Bagels ship easily so it would be interesting what someone's experience importing bagels from one of NY's few remaining NY style (ironic!) bagel bakeries . . .
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I actually like the bagels at the Von's supermarket in the Mar Vista area on Centinela.
When I get them I get them in the morning when they are fresh.Also, there is a place called Donut King on Sepulveda just South of Venice. It is in between Papa Johns and Panda Palace CHinese. They have a sign that says they have Western Bagels there. I tried it for the first time yesterday. They are good but small.
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re: imissla
This is going to sound sac religious but I like the bagels at Von's especially the poppy seed. Some may think them goyish or not authentic but after eating them almost my entire 48 years, I've come to the conclusion that for me, light and chewy is better than heavy, dense and rubbery.
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BasilKitty
Apr 3, 2008 11:09 AM
Billy's diner in Glendale makes an excellent bagel and you can purchase all other items for them if you desire (cheeses, kosher meats, mustards, etc.).
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Bagels aren't a strong suit of LA. My two favorites are Bagel Broker, aforementioned, and Sam's Bagels in Larchmont Village (which has lost its lease).
FWIW, I hate Brooklyn Bagel Bakery. To me there is nothing worthwhile about their bagels and they don't taste at all to me like good NYC bagels. The taste and texture approximate bleached white bread.
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re: aventinus
Mr Taster
Apr 9, 2008 12:29 AM
Concur.... having grown up in the shadow of NYC, I've desperately wanted to love BBB but all three times I've gone there, the bagels have been flavorless, unbearably tough and chewy bricks. I'm not entirely sure how J Gold can speak with authority on this one, other than to say that he's yet another well intended but misguided Angeleno housing the spirit of a New York Jew.
Bagel Broker gets my vote, though I've yet to try Bagel Nosh in Santa Monica. Oh, how I wish there were even a slight approximation of New York's Kossar's here in LA.
Great bagels need no embellishment, nor beverage to wash them down. They can be fully enjoyed plain, torn apart into pieces, as one might eat a soft pretzel. (In fact, salt bagels are a long time guilty pleasure of mine for just that reason.)
Mr Taster
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re: butterqueen
Mr Taster
Dec 5, 2008 09:44 AM
Of course not.... that's not what I was saying. I was stating that inferior bread products are often toasted to improve their flavor, whereas a great bagel can taste great both toasted AND untoasted... toasting is not a prerequisite to make the thing palatable, as it is for many LA bagels (and subway/quizno's pseudo-breads)
Mr Taster
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re: butterqueen
a_and_w
Dec 5, 2008 09:47 AM
Butterqueen, I think wutzizname was referring to the establishment Brooklyn Bagel Bakery here in LA. Regardless, my point was that a really good bagel place will stand behind their product with no toasting. Murray's and H&H are two NY places off the top of my head that won't toast bagels.
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re: a_and_w
wutzizname
Dec 9, 2008 04:28 AM
Correct. I don't think the borough of Brooklyn has a statute against bagel toasting.
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re: Mr Taster
New York bagels are supposed to be tough on the outside and chewy--though not bricks, since the 70s most bagel bakeries in Manhattan have moved to a new style . . . also following the thread, maybe you want it toasted for a sandwich so the surface of the bagel that touches the parts being sandwich have a different texture than a bagel untoasted, Quizno's didn't start toasting, Goldstein's was toasting bagels for sandwiches before Quizno's was around . . . You can still disdain the practice, just explaining why some of us have them toasted, you might enjoy a bagel without any embellishment but you might also enjoy a bagel sandwich. Also, I like a beverage to wash down all my food, otherwise I am thirsty, especially if it's salty . . .
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Their was a similar thread a year or more back, and one of the favorites is Bagel Factory. The location I'm most familiar with is in the strip mall on the S/E corner of Sepulveda at National -- Bagel Factory has a very simple sign just saying "Bagels" and is near the north end where the 20/20 Video is. Good bagels, often hot from the ovens in the early mornings. Since I can only eat one at a time and always toast mine, I look for the day-olds, which are sold in a bag of a dozen for about $3.50, last time they had garlics or onions which I like. You can then head a few short blocks east on National or south on Sepulveda to either Trader Joe's nearby and get cream cheese and lox for much more reasonable prices than the shop.
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re: nosh
I wholeheartedly agree with you here... Bagel Factory was the only place that even offered fresh bagels to the Westside back in the 70s. I still recall the little old Jewish ladies belting out their orders, "I want the freshest egg bagels - and I want the ones you just baked back...vhat - you're already out of bialys?" And the guys were more than accommodating. Their bagels have a really nice chew factor, and their bialys are definitely my favorite. Their soups really hit the spot as well - good flavor and not oversalted.
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re: QualityMart
Foodandwine
Apr 7, 2008 07:47 PM
The Bagel Factory has Three (3) locations that I visit all the time. The Robertson location is heads and shoulders over the other two ( 2 ). Robertson is baking all morning long and Fresh Chalah on Friday as well..
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Bagel Factory
21221 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance, CABagel Factory
2320 S Robertson Blvd, Los Angeles, CABagel Factory
3004 S Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, CA-
re: Foodandwine
Ah good, I'm glad to encounter this at last. I don't know about many of the other stores mentioned above and agree these Bagel Factory ones aren't quite up to H & H standards (the ones Barney GG in NY uses and were rumored to be jetted in each morning for the LA Barny GG's when they opened here. If that's not obsessive I just don't know what is), but I like them all the same. I don't know whether that means my standards have just gone downhill, but I'm really satisfied with my weekly bagel trip to there. Try their whitefish salad. It's really a treat IMO.
BTW, does anyone know whether it's really true that Barney GG flies bagels in daily from H & H? Honestly, that would be so iconic of *something* if true?! (LA's inferiority complex perhaps?)
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re: aliris
Mattapoisett in LA
Apr 9, 2008 12:09 AM
I asked about that once when inquiring about a large order. They are shipped par baked and frozen but its not daily. They finish the baking at GG when they are needed.
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re: a_and_w
WildSwede
Apr 15, 2008 02:56 PM
I had H&H when I was in NY and was so not impressed. Give me Western Bagels any day over them - since I & Joy Bagels is long gone. Noah's come in 2nd with Brooklyn Bagels and for me, Goldsteins are just bad - too bad, since I am moving and will be a couple of blocks from the Arcadia location.
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re: DrBruin
I was by the Bagel Factory on Sepulveda in West LA yesterday to p/u some bialys yesterday. It had been a little while since my last visit and I noticed they're poofier now - not somewhat flat a crispier like "the old days." Maybe it's a preference thing, but I enjoyed the previous style better. Are they going Noah's on me?
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re: bulavinaka
a_and_w
Apr 26, 2009 12:57 PM
I think "bagel crust" may be the most misleading description ever. There is nothing remotely poofy about it, as bulavinaka says. I think they're actually referring to the poppy seeds, seasame seeds, etc. that you can get baked into the crust. Regardless, the description just seems to confuse people -- I urge Abbott's to abandon it.
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re: a_and_w
Midlife
Apr 26, 2009 05:43 PM
"Poofy Bagel Crust" suggests a bagel with a less-than-chewy consistency from the crust inward. "Chewy" is usually used (at least for me) to describe the body of the bagel but I can see someone including the outer 'shell' or 'crust' in that description. I don't like bagels that are soft and light in texture and would probably call them 'poofy' too (crust included).
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re: bulavinaka
Not sure what the definition of your "old days" is. I gather you've been around here a while. I've been eating their bagels regularly since, oh, 2002 maybe? From the Sepulveda locations, and I don't think they've really changed since then. I tried the Robertson location sporadically since around 1994 and I could just never get over the incredible rudeness of the ladies working there. It's pretty much the same on Splvda too, only I just grin and bear it these days. You gotta pick your battles and I've grown accustomed to their bagels. But coming here from NYC I do remember turning up my nose originally.
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re: aliris
I guess I am old. My first bagel there was back in the mid-70s. The bialys used to be a bit flatter, more dense in texture, and baked to the point where the entire bialy had a nice amount of crust and a little browning on the onions as well. Maybe it was an anomaly? Or maybe it's just my fading memory?
IMHO, the toughest and rudest folks in the shop were the little old ladies who would interrogate the counter help about the bagels' freshness. If I saw more than a couple of them ahead of me, I'd leave, shop at the (then) Sav-on, and return in about fifteen minutes, hoping those little human buzzsaws were done with their tongue-lashings and had moved on. My guess is that the rudeness factor of the bagel shops' help is a result of these repeated barrages. They've faced off with some of the toughest customers on earth.
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re: bulavinaka
Das Ubergeek
Apr 26, 2009 05:08 PM
I agree, bulavinaka -- great pizza crust reminds me a bit of the outside of a Kossar's bialy.
And clearly your old ladies were imported from Ess-A-Bagel, where it wasn't unusual to see a very, VERY well-dressed woman in fur step out of a car, walk in, and screech in the most unpolished Lower East Side accent ever, "I want a dozen mixed, and you make sure they're fresh, I didn't schlep all the way downtown for stale!"
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re: bulavinaka
Das Ubergeek
Apr 26, 2009 08:59 PM
"And hurry up, I still have to go to Russ and Daughters to get the appetizing."
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re: bulavinaka
I eat at Bagel Factory all the time but can't co-sign on them as being particularly great. They're good when you're in the neighborhood (as I am) and want a bagel. But I'm praising their convenience more than their quality.
My favorite bagel, anywhere, is Absolute Bagel on B'way and 107th in Manhattan (I've had Ess-A-Bagel several times but wasn't as impressed). I've yet to have any bagel in LA that comes close but in terms of the best I've found so far, Manhattan Bagel would rank high; it's just not some place I'd drive to if I wasn't already in the area.
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re: odub
I don't think their bagels are the same as in the old days. I mentioned upthread (March 14, 5:33PM), after my first revisit there in a while, that the bialys seemed to be poofier - the same with their bagels. My guess is that the vast majority of bagel eaters like their bagels more Noah's-esque - maybe Bagel Factory has followed along.
As for bagels in NYC, I'm still a firm believer that these will never be replicated here. I'm a firm believer that breads and other higher protein raised dough-based bready-things are strongly influenced by water chemistry as well as the endemic bacterial and yeast cultures. I've never had a NYC bagel so I guess I'm lucky - I don't miss them at all, and at the same time, I have those to look forward to when I head out that way...
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re: DrBruin
DrBruin
Dec 12, 2009 10:32 AM
I'm sad to report that the bagel/bialy qualify of Bagel Factory (in the Torrance location) has been suffering the past few times I've been there. The bagels are tasting more like round bread.... There's a difficult to describe lack of chew the past few times I've been there. I wonder if they've changed bakers or with the price of ingredients going up, decided to change the recipe.
Anyone else notice this?
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re: DrBruin
Foodandwine
Dec 13, 2009 06:45 AM
Bummer to know that. The location on Robertson is the main spot, I have not been there for a few months but like that loacation the best in all of Los Angeles ( personal favorite ) As to the Torrance location since they moved to the new location the place went way down hill. They cant even cut a bagel without a conference..
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re: DrBruin
Foodandwine
Dec 13, 2009 06:47 AM
Dr. Bruin..In the Manhattan Beach, try Manhattan Bread and Bagel good spot for the South Bay..
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Manhattan Bread & Bagel
1808 N Sepulveda Blvd, Manhattan Beach, CA
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Das Ubergeek
Apr 3, 2008 08:10 AM
In descending order of goodness:
Bagel Nosh (if it's still there), 17th and Wilshire, Santa Monica. The owner is from New Jersey and had a bagel shop in Woodbridge Center Mall that had lines out the door when I was a kid. When you get lines out the door within the "sphere of influence" of New York, it's a good sign.
Union Bagel Company in Union Station, Vignes Street and Alameda, DTLA. This is what saves my commute on the way to Burbank.
Goldstein's in Arcadia or La Canada Snootyridge. A bit breadier than the others but their good point is that if you toast them they taste 'right'.
Western Bagel Too on Ventura and Coldwater Canyon, Studio City. This is better than the other Western Bagel (on Santa Monica Blvd in WLA) but not good enough to justify the schlep to the Valley except on a Saturday morning with no traffic.
Western Bagel on Santa Monica and (?) Barrington, WLA.
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re: Das Ubergeek
mollyomormon
Apr 3, 2008 08:39 AM
Bagel Nosh is just around the corner from me! Thanks for the info...
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re: Bjartmarr
Das Ubergeek
Jun 12, 2009 06:59 PM
Oh God... well, since you've bought the bread (you can't call those bagels, they're "broyt mit a lukh" -- bread with a hole) you might as well turn it into bread pudding or whatever.
Sorry dude... better luck next time. Izzy's is 15th and Wilshire -- Bagel Nosh is 17th and Wilshire.
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re: Golem
mollyomormon
Apr 3, 2008 08:38 AM
There's also one in the same strip mall as Nook in West LA, I believe (corner of Barry and SM Blvd.).
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I have been a fan of Chowhounds for years, and this is a topic that constantly comes up. I love Goldstein's Bagels. They are much cheaper than that. I buy by the dozen, and they make their own cream cheese too, and it is good. There used to be one conveniently located in Old Town Pasadena, unfortunately Old Town property developers cashed out pushing out most of the merchants that made the place great. Anyways, there are two locations of Goldstein's Bagels that have moved in to fill the gap. One has an open drive-thru, and is close to Pasadena on Verdugo or something. Google it I am sure you will find it, the other is next to In-n-Out and is very far inland. Cal State LA used to sell the bagels, and they are much closer to central LA, but I do not know if they still do with the redevelopment of the Student Union, I think King Taco left CSULA also. They never made bagel sandwiches anyways, the CSULA shop, the main shops do and their sandwiches are worth it also . . .
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Always a fan of the Bagel Broker, on Beverly near Fairfax, expecially when I'm able to catch them just out of the oven..
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re: jacinthe
David Kahn
Apr 3, 2008 11:44 AM
Agree. BB is my favorite as well.
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Bagel Broker
7825 Beverly Blvd 5, Los Angeles, CA 90036
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New York Bagel Co in Brentwood on San Vicente (across from Coral Tree) is the BEST! My pic is the Pumpernickel Raisin Bagel w/ reduced-fat cream cheese. They also have amazing flattened 'Everything' bagels that are great. The place is packed on weekends, but worth it...
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monku
Apr 2, 2008 10:17 PM
Brooklyn Bagel? They make bagels for many restaurants around town. Pretty authentic NY style bagels.
Monday-Friday 3pm-5pm half price.http://www.laweekly.com/eat+drink/ask...
Brooklyn Bagel Bakery
2217 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles
(213) 413-4114
7am-11pm 7 days›3 Replies-
re: monku
wutzizname
Apr 3, 2008 06:08 AM
If your serious about real, NY quality, than Brooklyn Bagel is the only game in town. Unfortunately (if you're coming from SM) it's almost downtown, but I'd say worth the trip.
Bagel Broker is a very distant second best.
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re: monku
Glad I clicked into the bagels section, cuz I had the address wrong....it's been maybe 13 years since I last went to Brooklyn Bagel. I used to live in Angelino Heights, but I thought they were gone the other day cuz I was cruising for them on Temple Blvd. not Beverly. Thanks for the address - there is a god.
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