Looking for the Perfect Bagel in the city that never sleeps [On The Road: New York]

I came back to New York and this time I decided to look for the best bagel, or beigel for my British friends, yes the baked rolls with a hole, with hundreds of years, apparently created in Krakow around 1610 named bajgiel it was given as a gift to women in childbirth. So as usual I did my research looked for recommendations for fellow bloggers, critics, bagel masters, and whoever might have an idea where to get a outstanding bagel in a city full of places offering the traditional bread product. So my mission should I choose to accept it was to look for the best bagel in the NYC. 

Bagel time

Ess-a-Bagel 

The Austrian baking family that established their bagel parlour in 1976, 2 locations in Manhattan, kosher certified. Got a duo the sesame bagel with cream cheese and lox. It was really good, the capers, onion, and tomato, classic flavour. And a oat bagel with scallions and nova salmon, a bit better, bagel not too overpowering, the scallions gave a nice touch.

Ess-a-fellow

Bagel baskets

First to go

Ess a Bagel 

T: +1 212 260 2252
Bakery / Bagels

Approx Damage: $15pp

Area: Gramercy
Borough: Manhattan
NYC

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Absolute Bagels 

Neighbourhood gem in the upper west side, popular for Columbia students, baked in house, hand roll, friendly decor with flowers. Got sesame bagel with herbs cream cheese brie and tomato, it was magnificent, the bagel was toasted a bit, the flavour was great, the cream cheese superb, overall one of the best ones I had. 

Not the vodka place

More bagels

Say cream cheese

A beauty

Cross section

Absolute Bagels

T: +1 212 932 2052
Bakery / Bagels

Approx Damage: $9pp
Area: Upper West Side
Borough: Manhattan
NYC

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Murray’s Bagels 

The shop of Adam Pomerantz an ex banker who decided to follow his hart and stomach and leave Merrill Lynch learn everything about his childhood passion, yes bagels, until he opened in 1996 his place in Greenwich Village naming it after his father and with the objective to give New York the best bagel they can get. Got a whole all grains bagel with peppers cream cheese, corned beef, tomato, capers, and onions. The bagel comes with a pickle and coleslaw on the side, excellent flavour, really nice bagel, and definitely the nicest of all the bagel joints I visited. 

The financial market

Corned beef

Even more bagels

Murray’s Bagels 

T: +1 212 627 5054
Bakery / Bagels

Approx Damage: $14pp
Area: West Village
Borough: Manhattan
NYC
Twitter: MurraysBagels

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Russ & Daughters 

Lower east side institution, opened since 1914, selling high quality smoked fish, caviar, and specialty foods, as soon as you enter smells tradition, and it’s supported by four generations of the Russ family. My posh side took control with this bagel, whitefish roe, gav lox, and caviar cream cheese, and it tasted beautiful, great flavour, nice combination, and the store is definitely an experience. 

Caviar time

Pimp my bagel

Call me Nova

Inside

Russ & Daughters 

T: +1 212 475 4880 
Delicatessen / Bagels

Approx Damage: $15pp
Area: Lower East Side
Borough: Manhattan
NYC
Twitter: LoxPopuli 

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Bagel Hole 

The Brooklyn one, opened in 1985, hand roll old style, their recipe comes from Germany in the early 1940s, claimed the best in Brooklyn according to food critic Arthur Schwartz. Got the puppy seed bagel with olive cream cheese and havarti cheese, nice flavour, a bit far if you’re staying in Manhattan. The cheapest one I have. 

Brooklyn time

Holy bagel

Half time

Bagel Hole 

T: +1 718 788 4014
Bakery / Bagels

Approx Damage: $5pp
Area: Park Slope
Borough: Brooklyn
NYC 

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Kossar’s Bialys 

Oldest bialy bakery in the US, brick oven to give the old fashion flavour, every aspect handmade, you enter the place and immediately think in tradition, located in the historical Jewish neighbourhood in the lower east side, an institution in the area unchanged by modern technology, doing what they know since the 1930s, and that's bialys, the traditional Polish roll, similar to a bagel but with no hole just a depression filled usually with diced onions. Here you can have plain bagels, straight forward, no frill, no thrill, if you want cream cheese they had but to take away, I tried the cinnamon bagel and couldn't miss the bialys, loved the flavour, simple and traditional. 

Cinnamon bagel

Bialy

Stash

Give me more

Kossar’s Bialys 

T: +1 212 473 4810
Bakery / Bialys / Bagels 

Approx Damage: $3pp
Area: Lower East Side
Borough: Manhattan
NYC 

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Bagels remind me the Seinfeld episode “The Strike” 

Kramer: Great news! Yeah, the strike has been settled. I'm going back to work 

Jerry: What strike? 

Kramer: H&H Bagels. That's where I worked 

Jerry: You? 

Elaine: Worked? 

Jerry: Bagels? 

Kramer: Look, see. I still have my business card. Yeah, we've been on strike for 12 years 

Elaine: Oh, I remember seeing those guys picketing out there, but I haven't seen them in a long time 

Kramer: Yeah, well, H&H wouldn't let us use their bath room while we were picketing. It put a cramp on our solidarity 

Elaine: What were your demands? 

Kramer: 5.35 an hour. And that's what they're paying now 

Elaine: I believe that's the new minimum wage Kramer: Now you know who to thank for that

Di Fara that’s what I call a pizza [On The Road: New York / PizzAttack]

In my latest stop to NYC the first place I wanted to visit was Domenico DeMarco pizza place in Brooklyn. The place no other than Di Fara. A small, cosy, authentic, and traditional place, run by Domenico himself since 1964, he will make sure the pizza is delivered correctly, using traditional Italian ingredients meaning the right flavour, you smell perfection as soon as you enter the place. 

Italian Hero

He has won so many awards I lost track, best pizzeria in NYC is the most common one, high scores in Zagat and 8 years being crowned as the best NYC pizza. Open only Wednesdays to Sundays for two services lunch from 12 to 4pm and dinner from 7 to 9pm. 

Taking care of the business

Got to the place with Marisol, small queue, we had to wait 30min, that’s nothing as I read most of the time the waiting is more than an hour, we went for a Di Fara Classic, sausages, peppers, mushrooms, onions, olives, and a touch of olive oil and fresh basil before serving the pizza. 

Decision time

Marisol inside

It was heaven pizza, amazing, traditional Italian flavours, is the best pizza I’ve had in NYC by far, and Domenico serving you the pizza by himself is priceless. 

Pizza time

Final touch

Authentic flavours, probably the best pizza I’ve had outside Italy and in top if you compare him to his terra natale counterparts. 

Italian heaven

Domenico reminds me Poppie from Seinfeld in the episode “The Pie” 

Audrey: Ah! Poppie 

Poppie: Sweetheart, hello 

Audrey: Poppie, this is Jerry 

Poppie: Welcome 

Jerry: Hello Poppie 

Poppie: Don't fill up on the bread. I'm making you a very special dinner. Very special

Di Fara

T: +1 718 258 1367

Italian cuisine / Pizza

Approx Damage: $20pp

Area: Flatbush

Borough: Brooklyn

NYC

Twitter: difara

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A Diner to die for in Brooklyn

A place I have been wanting to go for a long time was Diner. Basically since I saw the Anthony Bourdain “No Reservation” episode The Other Boroughs when Tony and food writer Peter Meehan ate at the place and Peter tells Tony that Diner’s burger was his favourie in NYC. Diner is one of Andrew Tarlow and Mark Firth’s three restaurants and Marlow & Daugthers butcher shop. Already a Bib Gourmand recognition, Tarlow and Firth concept is pushing the culinary boundaries in Brooklyn but keeping old school butchery traditions, sourcing their restaurants with any part of the animal they want giving the chefs of their restaurants plenty of room to get creative. 

The Place

Postcard Style Bill

The place and old 1920s wooden diner, how convenient, white tiles, dim lights, wooden cabin, classic diner booths, indie music out loud and helmich maneuver posters as part of the décor. I got really late around midnight as my plane goy delayed, thinking I was going to miss the burger and Chef Sean Rembold culinary artwork, but the place was open and serving food, sat at the bar, looked around and spotted just a couple of New Yorkers having drinks, got the menu a long hand written piece of paper from an old tilt roll but I already knew what to ask. 

Menu

Inside

Grass fed burger with melted cheese, fries, and pickled onions. The burger was perfectly cooked medium rare, the melted cheese was awesome, perfectly covering all the patty, the fries were excellent crunchy and a side sauce some sort of aioli to die for that I used to dip my fries.

As it Came

Close up

Almost Ready

Take Four: A Panoramic View

If there is a food heaven Diner has a spot right there. 

Diner reminds me the episode of Seinfeld “The Soup” 

Jerry: What are we doing out here? Aren't we going to go in and eat? 

George: I can't go in there. I feel too uncomfortable 

Jerry: Oh, what are you saying? So we're not going to go in there anymore? 

Elaine: Hey, What are you doing out here? 

Jerry: We can't eat here anymore, because he took a waitress out for a walk 

George: What's the difference? Let's go to Reggie’s 

Elaine: Reggie’s? I can't eat anything there 

George: It's the same menu 

Elaine: There's no “Big Salad” 

George: They'll make you a “Big Salad.” What do you think, they're the only ones that make a “Big Salad”?

Diner

T: +1 718 486 3077

Diner / American Cuisine

Neighbourhood: Williamsburg

Borough: Brooklyn

New York

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