Eat Bagels in NYC

I've been bagel deprived for ten years! When we lived in Florida the only bagels we enjoyed were Ray’s New York frozen bagels found in the frozen aisles of Publix supermarkets. Ray’s New York said, “It’s the water!” New York’s unique water with low concentrations of calcium and magnesium plays a role in making chewy and tender bagels.

Bagels outside of New York are hard and unexplainably different. And the cream cheese variations in most NYC bagel stores are just mind-boggling. If you have never been to a bagel store you will be overwhelmed with the different types of cream cheese displayed at Ess-a-Bagel.

Right after we entered Ess-a-Bagel, a line started forming. A man called out for a quarter pound of cream cheese to go and another was getting his baker’s dozen. I chose my sesame seed bagel with raisin walnut cream cheese – the man at the counter smeared the cream cheese generously onto my bagel. I thought “wow! That must be a quarter pound of cream cheese just for breakfast!”

My teens and husband had the following: pumpernickel with cream cheese and lox, plain with vegetable tofu and everything bagel with baked salmon. Each of our bagel sandwich prices range from $3.75 (vegetable tofu) to $10.25 (baked salmon).

These bagels were warm and chewy. You don’t need to toast the bagels at all because it is already crispy on the outside. An Austrian baking family - Gene and Florence Wilpon and her brother Aaron Wenzelberg, opened the first Ess-a-Bagel store on First Avenue NYC in 1976. The dining area is small and still maintains the authentic 70s style with old style chandeliers.

More information: http://www.ess-a-bagel.com/