New York bagel experts are boiling and ready to throw some dough. The cause of your outrage? A recent New York Times article stating that “the best bagels are in California”.
“I am personally irritated. If California wants to come face to face with me, I’m ready, ”said Scot Rossillo, 55, owner of Park Slope’s the Bagel Store.
Rossillo says the Big Apple bagel’s superiority goes beyond New York’s famous soft water, which weakens gluten and increases chewing.
“Water is important, but it can be imitated around the world,” Rossillo told The Post. “It all comes down to the love we have for our bagels.”
Rossillo, who grew up behind the Bake City Bagels in Gravesend, said he received training that “goes back at least 100 years. This is not good fun; bagels are my life. “
California newbies may be throwing their hat in the ring (crammed with carbs), but even West Coast residents aren’t buying it, Manhattan bastion shopkeepers Zabar’s and Ess-a-Bagel said.
“Every day, we send hundreds of bagels to California,” Ess-a-Bagel COO Melanie Frost, whose aunt started the family business in 1976, told The Post. The bagels at the store, which has three outposts in Manhattan, are hand rolled and baked on site daily.
“They can’t go near a New York bagel – crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside,” added Frost.
“California, continue with the avocado toast. You know it. “
Scott Goldshine, 60, a 43-year-old veteran of Zabar, also sees a migration of his products to the west: “We sent bagels to LA, but I still haven’t heard of LA sending bagels to us. There is nothing like a New York bagel. “
While this may be true, at least one bagel expert takes a more measured approach. He is happy to see the knowledge and flavor spread like velvety cream cheese.
“I think it’s time,” said Adam Pomerantz, 53, owner of Bagels Murray’s and Leo’s Bagels. “For years and years, you didn’t get a decent bagel outside of New York. Looking at the photos, they have a beautiful shine, a beautiful crust. They look good to me. I think it will be good for us New York Jews to get quality bagels – our soul food – out of town. “
Does he think the Big Apple should give up the bagel crown?
“Definitely not,” said Pomerantz. “New York and bagels go together. There is a special experience of getting a bagel in New York City. “
After all, the lineage is profound. According to “The Bagel: The Amazing Story of Modest Bread” by Maria Balinska, our favorite ship for salmon and schmear possibly emigrated from Germany to Poland as pretzels in the 14th century. Once there, they evolved into the central approach to a modern bagel. Eastern European Jews brought them to lower Manhattan during the great migration of the 19th century.
“New York and bagels go together.”
Although rainbow bagels and everything else are modern interpretations, the best ones are still rolled by hand in Os pastel by the newest releases from our city. And, perhaps, some of the magic stems from it.
“We have a community of immigrants after the next one passing the torch and taking this esoteric skill,” said Peter Shelsky, 42, co-owner of Shelsky’s Brooklyn Bagels. “Recently, it was Filipino immigrants and then the Thai population. Now, there are Mexican rolls. “
As for the claim of superiority of the Left Coast bagel, Shelsky is not sweating his shirt: “A friend of mine from the Bay Area texted me the link and wrote: ‘Do you see this? I replied, ‘LOL. Bulls – – t. ‘
“My first reaction was just that. Now I’m recognizing that one or two places [in California] can do a reasonable job. But above all, it is like the Vatican making a good matzo dumpling soup. “
Shelsky’s business partner, Lewis Spada, 44, added: “Saying they have weight for a New York bagel? This is ridiculous.”
– additional reporting by Tamara Beckwith and Suzy Weiss