516414 Tue May 06 11:02:28 -0700 2008 39 3 California 0 3661733 I'm having a difficult time finding a real bagel (not the Einstein's variety). You have so many great smoked fish options, but I need a good bagel to go with. Does the boiled bagel exist anywhere in San Diego County? Tue May 06 11:02:30 -0700 2008 186891 Leahsift 1 3661985 LOL Oh, you poor thing. Missing Kaufman's or the like, huh? Word has it that good bagels can be found in Solana Beach, but I can not remember the name of it. Let me search. Tue May 06 12:01:02 -0700 2008 3661733 105150 Enorah 2 3661990 Top of the Bagel in Solana Beach. Rumor has it, as I have not yet tried them. Tue May 06 12:02:27 -0700 2008 3661985 105150 Enorah 3 3664948 Top of the Bagel is the best, closest bagel you will find here in San Diego. But sadly, they are not close enough. Wed May 07 10:00:51 -0700 2008 3661990 141689 Ewilensky 3 3703438 I live nearby and their bagels are very good, the best I've had in San Diego. Unfortunately the store seems to be struggling as a Panera Bread opened up nearby in the same shopping center. Of course their bagels can't compare. Mon May 19 19:37:26 -0700 2008 3661990 12536 PGB 1 3662026 Kaufman's...yum... It's just a distant memory now... I'll definitely try Top of the Bagel. I think there's one in Carlsbad, too, but I've been scared away. After trying Del Mar Bagel and Garden State Bagel, I'm just depressed. I'll give it a whirl--thanks! Tue May 06 12:10:30 -0700 2008 3661733 186891 Leahsift 1 3663496 This doesn't help MUCH, but Bruegger's bagels are better than Einsteins - where you can find them. Many of their shops have disappeared. They took over Baltimore Bagels, the only REAL bagel place ever to exist in SD (at least to my knowledge). I still miss their seedy sticks. Tue May 06 20:00:02 -0700 2008 3661733 11803 Alice Q 1 3663541 Goldstein's Bagel Bakery in Pasadena. Tue May 06 20:25:38 -0700 2008 3661733 168597 The Old Man 2 3663575 ohhhhh--their chocolate peanut butter bagels!!!! ohhhhh!!! Tue May 06 20:39:10 -0700 2008 3663541 10853 daantaat 1 3665444 I did want to say one more thing: Places like Garden State do boil their bagels first as does (I think) Einsteins--they just aren't very good. Wed May 07 12:16:59 -0700 2008 3661733 168597 The Old Man 2 3667028 I'm pretty sure the folks at Einstein Bros. Bagels do *not* boil their bagels, same as Noah's Bagels. Manhattan Bagels does make very good boiled bagels but the nearest one to San Diego is 120 miles away in Studio City. Bruegger's Bagels are boiled and are better than most in San Diego, but they have limited varieties (they don't make egg or rye bagels, my favorites). The best bagels ever made in San Diego were the excellent ones made by Baltimore Bagel Company, which to my great sadness was bought by Einstein Bros and are now made completely differently (not boiled). Baltimore Bagel's demise was a sad day indeed for S.D. bagel lovers. My guess is that much of the problem with maintaining kosher-style delicatessens in San Diego has to do with the population shifts of San Diego's Jewish population, who have been steadily moving northward from the southern and central communities. There used to be a pretty decent and quite popular delicatessen and bakery named Blumers on El Cajon Boulevard near the intersection with 54th Street. It was actually the oldest New York deli in San Diego. When a large number of Jews moved north to the Del Cerro neighborhood in the early 1970s the business slowed and the deli closed. D.Z. Akins, being closer to the Del Cerro neighborhood but not far from the SDSU campus, would benefit from this shift. Since that time many other delis have come and gone, some better, some worse, but none would ever come close to the benchmark N.Y. city delis. I would like to put a word in for my favorite S.F. Bay Area delicatessen: Saul's Restaurant & Deli on Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley, just north of the famous Chez Panisse restaurant. It's my favorite deli in the entire S.F. bay area, with great food and excellent management by Peter Levitt and Karen Adelman. I recently moved from Oakland back to San Diego and really miss the place, and wish that San Diego had a place like it. By the way, Saul's gets their bagels from Manhattan Bagels, which in our opinion are currently the best bagels made in the East Bay. Wed May 07 20:28:53 -0700 2008 3665444 113696 nileg 3 3667260 I think that Einstein's are boiled, but someone will have to go on a fact finding mission. I talked to one of the heads of the company, in fact he opened all the ones in SD, and he said they were. However, this was over 10 years ago. Wed May 07 22:31:32 -0700 2008 3667028 168597 The Old Man 4 3667337 I believe it's more accurate to say they're steamed - they have special ovens that work kind of like washer/dryers - that do it all in one process. Wed May 07 23:42:53 -0700 2008 3667260 11803 Alice Q 5 3667823 Yuck. Well I guess that explains it. Thu May 08 07:00:20 -0700 2008 3667337 168597 The Old Man 1 3667277 One of the saddest culinary truths in SD is the lack of a great bagel spot or deli. As an East Coaster, I pine away for the great delis of my youth like Bain's in Philly or bagels from H & H in New York. I find it strange that L.A. can have a more than serviceable deli like Canter's (and even a chain like Jerry's on a good day). Also, they have a truly great bagel spot in Bueller's bagels on Olympic. San Diego can support places like this, and I hope someone aims high to make it happen. It'll be great when Einstein's and D.Z. Akins are only just two of several options. Wed May 07 22:48:33 -0700 2008 3661733 182292 Maxmdwinter 2 3667757 Having has the pleasure of enjoying authentic bagels, from NYC and other parts of the East Coast, I haven't found any in the SD area that adorn that distingtive sheen or chew which comes from a bath in boiling H2O. Thu May 08 06:39:18 -0700 2008 3667277 149836 cstr 3 3668373 I also wish we had access to good lox. Thu May 08 09:24:32 -0700 2008 3667757 10809 Josh 4 3668824 I've had good luck with Lox at Costco, give it a try. Thu May 08 11:11:26 -0700 2008 3668373 149836 cstr 5 3668890 Not to be pedantic, but before I spend the $ on it, is it very thin, with a little bit of chew to it? I hate the spongy stuff that passes for smoked salmon. Thu May 08 11:23:13 -0700 2008 3668824 10809 Josh 6 3668924 It's sliced thin, but not paper see through, I think it's in a 16oz. pkg, it has that 'cured' chew that you need to pull just a bit at with your teeth and good flavor. I like mine just on toast points, but you can put a shmear of cream cheese or capers with some chopped hard boiled egg, that and a good glass of chard, yum. Thu May 08 11:29:44 -0700 2008 3668890 149836 cstr 4 3669498 They had decent smoked salmon @ Fresh and Easy. They have 2 or 3 different types and it was sliced thinly and not spongy. My biggest criticism was that it lacked somewhat in flavor and oily-ness. They have a garlic cibatta loaf to go with it. Quality was equal or slightly less vs. costco, but a much, much smaller package. Thu May 08 13:53:36 -0700 2008 3668373 23771 JRSD 5 3669512 The oiliness is a big factor, IMO. Thu May 08 13:56:07 -0700 2008 3669498 10809 Josh 5 3671079 Was it Norwegian?, that's where Costco may have the advantage. 16 oz. pkg (for Costco that's small) could make a nice platter for 4 or 2 ravenous people. Fri May 09 05:23:54 -0700 2008 3669498 149836 cstr 6 3671250 There are two different packages/types at Costco. One is a 16oz (or less) round package that I believe is marked Norwegian and the other is a 2 lb rectangular pack that I can't remember what it says. Fri May 09 07:00:23 -0700 2008 3671079 168597 The Old Man 6 3671956 I couldn't remember whether it was norweigan, so I went back to look. There are 3 types there now: a wild-caught smoked from poland, (looks great, but not as tasty), a norweigan smoked (cheaper and oilyier) and now they have gravlax (in fridge waiting for its demise at lunch). The wild caught was $1 more per 1/4 lb, but was not as good as the regular, which was average. Will let you know how the gravlax is, but having been to Barney Greengrass last month, I am tempering my expectations... Fri May 09 10:14:31 -0700 2008 3671079 23771 JRSD 7 3672015 That must have just hit the shelves, imported?, size pkg? come back with your opinion on the grav. Fri May 09 10:28:55 -0700 2008 3671956 149836 cstr 8 3672917 F&E Gravlax in 4oz package was $3.98. It is farmed in Norway and "produced" in Poland. It was better than I thought it would be, pretty oily, and flavorful. Not a huge marinated flavor, but you can tell it was marinated and had some dill flavor. I thought it was the best of the three that they offer. Fri May 09 14:30:23 -0700 2008 3672015 23771 JRSD 7 3672177 Barney Greengrass is awesome. Really sorry I didn't make it there on my last trip back. Fri May 09 11:07:32 -0700 2008 3671956 10809 Josh 8 3673746 I think there's a Barney Greengrass in W. LA somewhere if you can't make it to NYC. Fri May 09 19:49:21 -0700 2008 3672177 10853 daantaat 9 3674577 I think it is in Beverly Hills. Given the price of gas, it could be the same cost to have them ship, though. Sat May 10 09:59:44 -0700 2008 3673746 23771 JRSD 10 3674632 It's in the Barney's Dept store on the 5th floor. Sat May 10 10:28:59 -0700 2008 3674577 11803 Alice Q 1 3680243 Driving around RB area and I saw "New York Bagels Cafe". Mon May 12 14:18:20 -0700 2008 3661733 157583 epicureous eggplant 2 3680515 I can find you a lot of places that make pizza that have Chicago or New York in the name, but is ain't the same. Same with most bagel places. Mon May 12 15:32:06 -0700 2008 3680243 168597 The Old Man 3 3680568 True. It still might be worth a try for the person that posted. I tried to find more info about the place on Yelp, boiling was mentioned. Mon May 12 15:54:04 -0700 2008 3680515 157583 epicureous eggplant 1 3687302 Try Langs. They recently closed their market in the college area, but they have an outlet center in Kearney Mesa. You can order your bagels 24hrs ahead of time. I just called them and found out they do boil them and they double seed their bagels top and bottom! Good luck. Lang's Premium Kosher Bakery, Deli & Foods 858-496-5264 langsbakery@langsbakery.com www.kosherbread.com Wed May 14 14:16:00 -0700 2008 3661733 21396 normalheightsfoodie 2 3699203 Have you had breakie or lunch there? Anything in particular to recommend? Sun May 18 16:36:06 -0700 2008 3687302 24126 amyzan 3 3702848 They no longer serve the public the way they did in the College Area, they are simply take away bagels. They do not serve bagels, only bags of bagels to go, but you need to order ahead of time. Mon May 19 16:20:50 -0700 2008 3699203 21396 normalheightsfoodie 1 3701650 What about Elijah's in La Jolla? I haven't tried their bagels, but I like their Matzoh Ball Soup better than DZ's. I've been told there's also a Jewish Style Deli In Del Mar - Those are often the best bets for a good bagel. BTW - I recently had a bagel from the Coffee Bean on my campus - and it was the WORST bagel I've had in ages. Mon May 19 11:27:20 -0700 2008 3661733 58881 SRosie 2 3702285 You may be thinking Milton's. Already been discussed and slammed. Mon May 19 13:40:29 -0700 2008 3701650 168597 The Old Man 1 3705132 Sadly, not many good bagel places in SD. But, I agree that Lang's have the best and most authentic bagels in SD. I had been going there for over 20 years when they were in the college area. An older Jewish couple owned and ran the place. I imagine that they are just too elderly now to run a place full time. It will be a sad day when they finally close up for good, so call ahead and get your bag of bagels now! Tue May 20 10:24:36 -0700 2008 3661733 193791 Bakcheia