What are the best bagels in NYC? It depends on who you ask.
GQ’s Alan Richman entered the debate today with his list of the top 10 bagels in New York. His pick for number 1? Absolute Bagels on the Upper West Side.
“These not-terribly- large bagels had a pleasant texture, soft in the center with an exceptional exterior that offered some of the pleasure of crusty bread,” he wrote.
Are you an Absolute fan? It was closed in 2013 by the Health Department (but who hasn’t been?).
Richman also ranked each of the top 10 by the quality of their sandwich. Black Seed Bagels, the new hot spot that had lines as long as the Cronut line when it first opened, came in first place for sandwich, second place for bagel quality.
Here’s the complete list:
10. Bagel Hole, Park Slope: Bagel Rating: Tenth Place;
Sandwich Rating: Ninth Place
9. Bagel Oasis, Fresh Meadows: Bagel Rating: Ninth Place;
Sandwich Rating: Sixth Place
8. Terrace Bagel, Windsor Terrace: Bagel Rating: Eighth Place;
Sandwich Rating: Seventh Place
7. Bergen Bagels, Prospect Heights: Bagel Rating: Seventh Place;
Sandwich Rating: Third Place
6. Murray’s Bagels, Greenwich Village: Bagel Rating: Sixth Place;
Sandwich Rating: Eighth Place
5. Brooklyn Bagel and Coffee Company, Astoria: Bagel Rating: Fifth Place;
Sandwich Rating: Fifth Place
4. Ess-a-Bagel, Midtown East: Bagel Rating: Fourth Place;
Sandwich Rating: Fourth Place
3. Kossar’s Bialys, Lower East Side: Bagel Rating: Third;
Sandwich Rating: non served
2. Black Seed Bagels, NoLita: Bagel Rating: Second Place;
Sandwich Rating: First Place
1. Absolute Bagels, Upper West Side: Bagel Rating: First Place;
Sandwich Rating: Second Place
What’s your favorite bagel shop in the city? Do you agree with Richman’s list? Tell us in the comments!
