Schmendricks bagels

[Robert Lauriston]

Starting a new topic since the other one was mostly misinformation and speculation.

[hyperbowler]

They're on hiatus, from their website, http://www.schmendricks.com/, "Schmendricks is going into a period of hibernation as we figure out our next steps. We have outgrown our current production space and the team needs some time to take the business to the next level. Don't forget us..."

[Robert Lauriston]

The next step turned out to be to give up. "At this point in our operation, we reached a tipping point where we outgrew our old kitchen, and looking at going forward, there was no viable option."

http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/6...

[sunnyside]

Too bad, I only got to try them once but thought they were the best in the Bay Area. Although purchasing them was too much of a hassle to make them a regular thing.

[Robert Lauriston]

Same here. Once again I don't know where to get a good bagel within 2800 miles of home.

[Cynsa]

What replaces a 'good bagel' nearby?
What's local? What's not a bagel, but good?

[Robert Lauriston]

There are lots of good things that aren't bagels, but if I'm craving a bagel there's no substitute.

The closest (not very) things to a bagel I care about locally are probably Acme levain and Tartine bread.

[hungree]

No love for the multiple good bagel spots in Oakland?

[Robert Lauriston]

Baron's texture is right. Second-best I've had around here in a long time.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/8578...

[Spatlese]

That's pretty much my top choice amongst the "new wave" of East Bay bagel purveyors as well. I never summoned up the motivation to drop $3 per for one of Schmendrick's product to properly compare - c'est la vie.

[Cynsa]

http://www.schmendricks.com/
Since I'm won't be standing in line for bags of bagels on the weekend, I can go to the pop up on Wednesday and Friday mornings for my coffee and two bagels, Plain is my favorite, too - sometimes they are still warm from the 7:30 am delivery: Fayes Video at 3614-18th Street in San Francisco, just down from Tartine and across the street from Bi Rite. It's the easy way.

[Robert Lauriston]

Finally got my hands on some yesterday. I prefer plain but there was no choice this time. The salt bagel I ate immediately was fantastic, slight crunch, dense, great chew, excellent flavor.

The ones we ate five hours later had lost their crunch and gotten even chewier, so we toasted them lightly. Still great texture and flavor (except for the gross dehydrated garlic on one of them).

It's kind of ridiculous to have to order in advance and drive to SF just to get a real bagel. Why can't anybody else do this? Maybe with Schmendricks as a role model they will.

[m00se1111]

Thanks for this. As an East Coast resident I heard about Schmendricks, on thier mailing list and was wondering how they were. Hopefully I'll be able to snag one myself when I get to town in November for my annual visit.

[Robert Lauriston]

There is a "special requests" field on the order form, so I guess it was my bad for not asking for plain.

[Spatlese]

How did it stack up against the various East Bay options (Beauty's, Baron, etc.)? Worth the extra cost/hassle?

[Robert Lauriston]

Schmendricks is the only bagel I've found locally that's really what I want when I'm craving a bagel. They've only had them in the evening this once and I'm never going to get to SF before noon.

Baron's was the best bagel I've had in the East Bay in a long time, good texture, not as much flavor.

I liked Beauty's but they're a very different style.

The other "bagels" I've had in the East Bay in recent years were just round bread.