Bagels

[jducoeur]

On a lighter note: while I don't entirely want it to be "discovered", the good stuff should be publicized.

While Boston isn't New York, we do have ongoing discussions about where to find the best bagels. After six months of patronizing the place, I now have a clear favorite: Bagelsaurus in Porter Square. (I assume the name started as Bagels 'R Us, but that's just a guess.)

Of course, bagelology is a highly subjective field, and not everybody is going to agree. But Bagelsaurus has a lot going for it:

• A fine variety of flavors, including most of the traditional favorites. (Onion, Pumpernickel, Everything, Salt, etc.)
• Remarkably generous toppings: when I buy a six-pack of Everythings, I wind up with a considerable puddle of toppings that have fallen off in the bottom of the bag, and they still look utterly covered.
• Bagels are large -- not insane, but a generous lunch.
• Bagels are light -- not the horrible white-bread-pretending-to-be-a-bagel that you sometimes see, but not the typical lumps of lead either.
• Bagels are well-finished, and wonderfully crisp when toasted.

They also make a variety of tasty-sounding bagel sandwiches, but I always get them takeout to make at home, so I can't speak to those.

There are a couple of downsides to note:

• Their Onion bagels are the onion-on-the-inside variety, not the onion-on-the-outside that I prefer. (This is a matter of taste.)
• They can get crazy jammed at lunchtime, especially on weekends. Be prepared for a line if you arrive after noon.
• They start selling out of flavors during the lunch rush, so if you have favorites, get there before noon.

Overall, though, they're the best bagels I know this side of NYC, and better than most New York bagels I know. More or less my platonic ideal. Check it out...

Comments

[etherial]

most of the traditional favorites

In my mind, plain, onion, and egg bagels make up the core of bagelry, but I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find places that carry egg bagels. This seems ludicrous to me, like a pizza place that doesn't carry "extra cheese". Is this your experience, or am I just too emotionally attached to the varieties Lenders makes?

[jducoeur]

I confess, I've never been partial to egg bagels myself, so I haven't paid much attention to them. I'm mainly about the powerhouse savory flavors: onion, garlic and everything...

[etherial]

Whereas I've never understood the point of the "everything" bagel. It always struck me as what happened when nobody was willing to eat the bagel at the bottom of the bag.

[jducoeur]

Heh -- very chacun a con gout. I'm the one who not only wants that, I pour anything that fell *off* the bagels in the bag onto the top of my lox. (Mmm, extra garlic.)

Granted, that's only the right option if the definition of "everything" is good. But I'm very fond of their version of the kitchen-sink bagel...

[writerkit]

When I could still have eggs, egg bagels were a core flavor for me and I would also be surprised at finding one that doesn't have them. Being now someone who can't have them, I haven't been paying that much attention lately, though. (And Rosenfeld's, which is where I would be getting bagels because nowhere is topping Rosenfeld's, definitely has egg.)