515186 Fri May 02 09:11:01 -0700 2008 27 20 Tristate Region 0 3650027 Ok, I have made it known before that I feel Scarsdale Bagels is the best around, but sometimes I'm in other areas. Here's my test. I like toasted bagels, but a good bagel tastes good when not toasted. I had these untoasted (each time in a rush) Scarsdale Bagel (or Garth Road Bagels as I used to call it) - everything bagel with nothing on it, just hot out of the oven. HEAVEN! Maple Street Deli - sesame with cream cheese. Decent bagel, but not great, but near work, so I go there a lot. Choice Bagel in Eastchester - sesame with lox spread. Very bland almost undercooked. Kind of nasty. Another note - they have some of the worst coffee I've ever drank. Bagel Power - this has transformed me. I never knew the little doughy item I love so much could be so horrible. I don't know how they do it, but I've chewed wood that had more flavor and was easier to eat. the bagel is tiny and it is absolutely impossible to chew. I drove from the parking lot to my destination which took me almost 5 minutes and I seriously was halfway done. I could barely chew this thing. Hands down the worst bagel I've ever had Fri May 02 09:11:03 -0700 2008 165800 jhopp217 1 3650850 Different strokes I suppose jhopp but I strongly disagree. Bagel Power bagels are the closest, in Westchester, that I've found to the great bagels of Brooklyn. Crispy interior and dense, tasty interior. Also excellent whitefish salad there. I think the bagels are the right - ie, normal - size H&H versus the oversized dough balls at Essa and certainly properly chewy, not tough. I've never had Scarsdale Bagels. The other very good bagels I've had have come from the bagel place in Wykagl. There was a very long bagel thread here some time ago and just about every bagel place in Westchester was dissected - advocates and dissenters for all. Seems everyone has a different idea of what a great bagel is supposed to be. Fri May 02 12:17:40 -0700 2008 3650027 48135 laylag 2 3652010 Agree with laylag. I think Bagel Power has pretty good bagels (and I like the whitefish salad too). Fri May 02 18:50:49 -0700 2008 3650850 10205 valerie 2 3652406 laylag, I grew up in Brooklyn and every Saturday and Sunday we ate bagels and bread from bakeries that Westchester will never know. In all my travels, I've never had a dense bagel in Brooklyn. The key to a good bagel is light and airy. Since when did a crips and densy interior make for a good bagel. Obviously we don't share a religous background, haha! Fri May 02 23:20:45 -0700 2008 3650850 165800 jhopp217 3 3652640 jhopp, light and airy have never, ever been the appropriate adjectives to describe a great bagel. Challah perhpaps but not a bagel. However, if you like that type of bagel - what I call white bread doughnuts - good for you - there are a zillion places that serve those and you can get them in supermarkets around the country too. Not sure why you are having difficulty locating those. I don't know what your religious/ethnic background is but I come from a long line of Brooklyn bagel mavens - ha, ha! Slightly crispy exterior, dense, chewy interior is what a bagel should be. In fact, the traditional manner of making them - boiling before baking - a step that very few places bother to do anymore is necessary to create this perfection. Sat May 03 06:15:22 -0700 2008 3652406 48135 laylag 4 3653063 All I can say is to try Scarsdale Bagels and then get back to me about Bagel Power. Maybe I'm using the wrong adjectives, but when I say light and airy, I mean that the middle doesn't have the consistency of salt water taffy like the one I had at Bagel Power. Funny you mentioned the Supermarket, because Bagel Power's bagels immediately reminded me of a slightly stale Lender's bagel! Sat May 03 09:52:18 -0700 2008 3652640 165800 jhopp217 5 3655686 I'll give Scarsdale Bagels a try and let you know. I'd still recommend you return to Bagel Power and try again. They are a bit chewy - which I like and think defines a proper bagel but my experience has been nothing close to what you describe and believe me, I can't even tolerate a fresh Lender's bagel - if there actually is such a thing. Sun May 04 14:37:49 -0700 2008 3653063 48135 laylag 5 3655703 jhopp217, have you tried the bagel place in the Quaker Ridge shopping center in New Rochelle, where the A&P is? I still haven't tried Bagel Power or Scarsdale Bagels, but I too was on a quest after having what I consider the best bagels on the planet from Bagel Works in Manhattan and have been happy with QR bagels (the name escapes me) ever since. YMMV. Sun May 04 14:43:20 -0700 2008 3653063 11104 dolores 6 3655897 I'll give it a try this week Sun May 04 16:08:12 -0700 2008 3655703 165800 jhopp217 7 3656816 Quaker Ridge beats H & H and many others, but it's also a question of what the purpose is, as a platform for lox etc. or warm out of the oven. Based on how you use them, bagels become a different food group. Mon May 05 03:38:05 -0700 2008 3655897 80872 addictedtolunch 7 3657511 I like Quaker Ridge too jhopp so perhaps you won't? : ) Actually, they are a bit lighter and less dense than those at Bagel Power. This is why I prefer Bagel Power but you may find Quaker Ridge to be more to your liking. Mon May 05 08:58:56 -0700 2008 3655897 48135 laylag 3 3657530 Sorry but light and airy is EXACTLY what's wrong with most bagels today. Crunchy outside, dense inside is the way a bagel should be. BTW, I'm Jewish and grew up in NYC (lived in 3 of the 5 boroughs). Mon May 05 09:04:04 -0700 2008 3652406 123366 ajs42548 4 3657537 ajs42548, have you been to Bagel Works on the East Side in the 60s? Are they not authentic, then? I find Quaker Ridge -- I guess they are light and not dense, I don't know, I just know I like them -- to be the closest to Bagel Works. Mon May 05 09:06:31 -0700 2008 3657530 11104 dolores 5 3657599 I haven't been to Bagel Works as I live in the low 90's. As far as liking bagels that are light and not dense, well, I'm not going to call the bagel police on you. Like everything else, bagels are subjective. I'm sure you're still a nice person. Mon May 05 09:22:31 -0700 2008 3657537 123366 ajs42548 4 3657558 Thank you ajs! Mon May 05 09:12:28 -0700 2008 3657530 48135 laylag 5 3657649 Ditto, ajs. So laylag, Bagel Power has the bagel that is more in line with what ajs is describing? I will have to do a side-by-side. Mon May 05 09:38:25 -0700 2008 3657558 11104 dolores 6 3660718 imo - yes. Very dense and chewy, lightly crispy exterior and one of my favorite things about them - the onion and garlic are abundantly covered and NOT burnt. So many places can't seem to do this. Wykagl bagel store bagels were good but a bit "fluffier" than they should be. Tue May 06 06:51:02 -0700 2008 3657649 48135 laylag 7 3660767 Thanks laylag, I must get there this w/e. Where again is the Golden Horseshoes shopping center on Wilmot Rd.? TIA. Tue May 06 07:04:20 -0700 2008 3660718 11104 dolores 8 3661143 It's just past the five corners - if you're on Palmer continue past Balducci's and cross the five corner intersection and it will be on your left just across from the Scarsdale JCC. If you're on Weaver heading north, make a left at the intersection. Does that make sense? We've been up here 2 1/2 years and I'm still getting used to the unparallel roads that go NE or NW, SE or SW, etc which are very much unlike Manhattan and LI. Please pardon my bizarre directions. Tue May 06 08:49:20 -0700 2008 3660767 48135 laylag 9 3661203 Just one correction -- if you are on Palmer and passing Balducci's and crossing the intersection, the shopping center will be on the right, across from the JCC, not the left (JCC is on the left). If you want to mapquest it, the address is 1078 Wilmot. Tue May 06 09:03:11 -0700 2008 3661143 10205 valerie 10 3661846 You are correct valerie. thanks for catching that. Tue May 06 11:23:59 -0700 2008 3661203 48135 laylag 9 3661382 Weaver and left, yes now I can picture it. Thanks laylag. Tue May 06 09:49:01 -0700 2008 3661143 11104 dolores 4 3662506 Like I said before, I think my adjectives are throwing people off. Here's what I get when I walk into Scarsdale Bagels on Garth Road - a warm bagel that has a crunch when you bite into it. The outside is soft but crisp (if that makes any sense), then the interior is almost moist it's so soft, but it's not heavy. The biggest difference I find between Scarsdale and let's say Bagel Power (aside from the sheer size and freshness factor) is the same sized bite takes almost three times as many chews at BP. Sarsdale's are much bigger but after you're done, you want another one. Tue May 06 13:56:39 -0700 2008 3657530 165800 jhopp217 5 3662558 Gotcha - it's a matter of level of crispness on the exterior and level of density on the interior. For you - not too crisp and not too dense. Tue May 06 14:07:52 -0700 2008 3662506 48135 laylag 5 3743257 Okay, I FINally got there. So that's where the Golden Horseshoe SC is?? Nice that the parking was free. Had a cinnamon raisin with my mom, and she liked them -- pronounced them 'fluffier' inside. I wasn't thrilled. Got home and did a side by side (not the same day) with a month old frozen Quaker Ridge (what IS their name??) bagel, sesame this time. Hubby and I had the same opinion -- Quaker Ridge was closer to bagel nirvana aka Bagelworks. Crunchier, less tearing required, I can't put a finger on it since it's been so long, but Quaker Ridge is still my go-to place. *sigh* If only Bagelworks delivered. Mon Jun 02 18:07:16 -0700 2008 3662506 11104 dolores 6 3755514 I'll try a side by side sometime in the future but I actually thought Quaker Ridge fluffier - too fluffy inside - and Bagel Power denser. And cinnamon raisin Dolores? Not for a bagel comparison! : ) Fri Jun 06 07:23:03 -0700 2008 3743257 48135 laylag 1 3656111 I AM PROBABLY NOT TOO PICKY BUT MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, i HAVE HAD VERY GOOD BAGELS FROM SCARSDALE BAGELS, LENNY'S IN RYE RIDGE, THE QUAKER RIDGE SHOPPING CENTER, HEATHCOTE SHOPPING CENTER, SAMMY'S, THE BAGEL PLACE NEXT TO TRADER JOE'S IN LARCHMONT, AND, RECENTLY, BAGELRAMA -OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, IN THE FOOD EMPORIUM SHOPPING CENTER IN HARRISON. IT IS HARD TO STARVE WITH THESE CHOICES. Sun May 04 17:41:04 -0700 2008 3650027 189535 Nathaniel Siegel 1 3660215 So, this is what roxlet is talking about...how people don't include the Park Place Bagels in Bronxville in a bagel lineup. http://www.chowhound.com/topics/409322 Just today i tried their mini whole wheat bagel. Light and airy? Dense and chewy? both. It's crackly on the outside, baked to a perfect tan, seemed airy at first, but as you bite down, the bagel is capable of going from full to flat and to full again, very buoyant and flexible. Not bready in a tasteless way, nor airy in an empty way. I realized that I had been wrong before, when I used to get the cinnamin raison all the time. The whole wheat is much more flavorful....at least, today it was. Also like their Pumpernickel, even if at times it can be almost too strong. Mon May 05 21:53:02 -0700 2008 3650027 10422 HLing