bagels + lox?

[jsa307]

any suggestions for new york style bagels and lox in DC? ability to deliver an order would be a plus. thanks!

[Smiles2008]

In Alexandria, Virginia there is Bagel City in the Bradlee Shopping Center. They boil. And of course Bethesda Bagels. The Italian Store gets bagels from NYC but I don't always find them fresh because they have been sitting out for a while. In my opinion these are the only ones that seem good in DC.

There is also Manhatten Bagels out here in VA but they get their dough from another vendor frozen and then just bake.

[flavrmeistr]

Market Deli in downtown Frederick. Best bagels in the area. You have to get there early, because they sell out quickly

[Mister Big]

Not DC, but Goldberg's Bagels in the Montgomery Hills section of Silver Spring is a decent choice.

[Just Visiting]

But they have a very limited quantity and sell out early. And of course, they close early on Fridays and are closed all day Saturday. I've been to the Potomac location and the bagels were terrible. Big puffy doughy things. No crust or chewiness whatsoever.

[skipper]

I;m pretty sure that Goldberg's only has Rockville and Silver Spring locations and I think that the bagels are only made in Rockville (although I could be wrong about the latter comment). There is a Goldberg's Bagels in Baltimore that is no longer related to the two stores in Montgomery County. As Goldberg's is a kosher establishment, you are correct that all three stores are closed for the Jewish Shabbat.

[Just Visiting]

http://goldbergsnybagels.com/

Three Convenient Locations to Serve You

301-816-9229 - Rockville
240-450-4177 - Silver Spring
240-403-1210 - Potomac

[chowsearch]

Goldberg's Baltimore was the original, ripped off in suburban MD by his former assistant. The Baltimore guy was unable to afford legally protecting the name, which was derived from the NJ-based bagel dough company they both use. Baltimore guy has a new branch in Cockeysville north of Baltimore, more modern, less hectic, both the tastiest lox&bagel in 100 miles.

[braver]

In DC, I like Bagels Etc. on P St. near Dupont. Important note: it's cash only.

If you're willing to go to Rockville, I think Bagel City is better. They cater, so I bet they deliver.

[drewpbalzac]

Wegmans has in-store, boiled bagels in flavors across the bagel spectrum. They also have an entire counter of smoked fish and kosher products.

Unfortunately, you will have to pick it up yourself, but they have a pretty good catering department that can help you get an order put together if you don't feel like doing the presentation yourself.

[Manassas64]

Wegmans bagels are not NY bagels. Maybe Upstate NY Bagels, but not NY Bagels ;o)

No way, no how.

[Bob W]

If you consider the bagels you'd get on First Ave in NY -- Ess-A, Bagel Boss, David's -- to be good examples of New York bagels, then there is nothing whatsoever in this area that qualifies.

Personally, I'd forget about trying to find "NY bagels" around here and just figure out which bagels you like. I think Wegmans are decent, a bit small but that's probably a good thing. They have very good whitefish salad.

[drewpbalzac]

Here - here . . . Welcome to Washington, DC! We do not have the foods from your home towns - the way they do it in your home town.

Eating the food of your past is why you flock home over the holidays and leave us blissfully free of traffic for a brief wonderful couple of days.

[Bob W]

I just want to reiterate that I think there are good bagels to be had in this area -- certainly better than in South Florida, where the target bagel eater has no teeth -- just not NY bagels.

Not much good rugelach, either. But the babkas they sell at Wegmans are very good.

[Just Visiting]

We order the lox (actually nova) from Russ & Daughters along with the whitefish salad and other fish items. Nothing in this area comes close. As for bagels, well...the problem is that the bagel stores here all seem to use dough softeners aka conditioners, probably because few people here buy bagels the way people do in New York - a single bagel on the way to work. It doesn't have a chance to get stale. Here, people buy a half dozen or dozen bagels at a time, so I guess the bagel makers have no choice but to use dough softeners. Meaning the bagels lose that chewy "fight back" quality that a good NY bagel has.

The bagels at the NY Bakery on Arlington Rd in Bethesda aren't bad but I think they have egg bagels only on weekends.

[ClevelandDave]

Well, now we know where they were "just visiting" from: apparently for New Yawker nothin's as good as New York. Sigh.

[Just Visiting]

Actually, I've lived here 26 years. And I took the time to explain WHY bagels are better in NY. It is NOT just some NY superiority complex. It is because the way people buy bagels here is different from the way people there buy bagels. When you buy a half dozen or a dozen bagels at a time, odds are that unless you are having people over, you won't eat them all the same day you bought them. So they have to use dough conditioners and it is the dough conditioners that give them a different texture.

But OK, you just want to criticize me based on your own biases and ignore everything I wrote.

[c oliver]

I gotta agree with you on NY bagels. And I live in NoCal. What I WILL do is bring a couple dozen home, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze. You have to toast them to eat them then but better than anything I've found out here. I understand the water has a lot to do with it. There are simply some things that certain areas of the country do better. No biggie.

[Just Visiting]

I think you really hit the nail on the head. I never toasted a bagel before I moved here because if I wanted a fresh bagel, I just went to the bagel shop and bought a bagel that was out of the oven no more than an hour or two. I wouldn't keep bagels overnight. So why toast a perfectly fresh bagel? People only toasted bagels if they weren't fresh, because by the next morning, the bagel would be hard and you had to toast it to eat it. Some NYers (most?) consider toasting a fresh bagel to be a travesty. Though I've always wondered how much of that is due to the impatience of people in line who then have to wait while your bagel is toasted.

[Manassas64]

Now I want a bagel.

I made home made bagels at Christmas using a cooking light recipe of all things. They were very good, right out of the oven. The key is barley malt syrup.

[Elyssa]

Bethesda Bagel has the most legit bagels (and lox) I've found in DC. Nothing can compare to them!

[woodleyparkhound]

I third Bethesda Bagels on Dupont Circle. I don't think they deliver though.

[Manassas64]

Italian Store in Arlington. They may deliver, too, if it's a big enough order and depending on location.

[dining with doc]

BETHESDA BAGELS DUPONT CIRCLE. NOT SURE ON DELIVERY