NYC bagel mavens are crazy and ready to throw dough. The cause of their indignation? A recent article in the New York Times in which it is claimed that ‘the best bagels are in California’.
“I’m peed personally. If California wants to go head-to-head with me, I’m ready, ‘said Bagel shopkeeper Scot Rossillo, 55, owner of Park Slope’s Bagel Store.
Rossillo says the Big Apple’s bagel superiority goes beyond New York’s famous soft water, which weakens gluten and increases toughness.
“Water is important, but it can be imitated around the world,” Rossillo told The Post. “It comes down to the love we have for our bagels.”
Rossillo, who grew up behind Bake City Bagels in Gravesend, noted that he receives the training that ‘goes back at least 100 years. It’s not nice; bagels are my life. ”
Forwards in California may throw their hat in the (carbohydrate-plugged) ring, but even West Coast residents don’t buy it, say shopkeepers at stalwarts Zabar’s and Ess-a-Bagel in Manhattan.
“Every day we send hundreds of bagels to California,” Ess-a-Bagel chief operating officer Melanie Frost, whose aunt started the family business in 1976, told The Post. Bagels at the store, which has three outposts of Manhattan, are rolled and baked by hand on the premises daily.
“They can’t get close to a bagel from New York – crunchy on the outside, sticky on the inside,” Frost added.
California, stick to the avocado toast. You know it best. ‘
Scott Goldshine, 60, a 43-year-old veteran of Zabar, also sees a westward migration of his wares: ‘We send bagels to LA, but I have not heard LA send bagels to us. There is nothing like a bagel from New York. ‘
Even if this is true, at least one bagel connoisseur will take a more measured approach. He is happy to see knowledge and taste spread like velvety cream cheese.
“I think it’s time,” said Adam Pomerantz, 53, owner of Murray’s Bagels and Leo’s Bagels. ‘For years and years you could not get a decent bagel outside of New York. If you look at the pictures, it has a nice sheen, a nice crust. They look good to me. I think it would be nice for us Jewish New Yorkers to get quality bagels – our soul food – outside the city. ”
Does he think the Big Apple should give up its bagel crown?
“Definitely not,” Pomerantz said. ‘The city of New York and bagels go together. There is a special experience of getting a bagel in New York. ‘
After all, the gender line is deep. According to “The Bagel: The Surprising History of a Modest Bread” by Maria Balinska, our preferred salmon-and-a-smear vessel may have emigrated from Germany to Poland in the 14th century as a cracker. Once there, they evolved into the centerpiece of a contemporary bagel. Eastern European Jews brought them to Lower Manhattan during the great migration of the 19th century.
“New York and bagels go together.”
While rainbow and all bagels are modern interpretations, the best are still rolled into thorough Os by the city’s latest arrivals. And maybe some of the magic stems from that.
“We have one immigrant community after another to pass the torch and pick up this esoteric skill,” says Peter Shelsky, 42, co-owner of Shelsky’s Brooklyn Bagels. ‘It was recently Filipino immigrants and then the Thai population. Now there are Mexican rollers. ‘
As for the allegation of left-wing bagel superiority, Shelsky does not break a sweat: “A friend of mine from the Bay sent me the link and he wrote: ‘Do you see it? “I answered,” LOL. Bulle – – t. ‘
“My first reaction was just that. Now I admit that one or two places [in California] can do reasonable work. But overall, it’s like the Vatican to make good matzo soup. ”
Shelsky’s business partner, 44-year-old Lewis Spada, added: “To say that they like a bagel from New York? This is ridiculous. ”
– additional reporting by Tamara Beckwith and Suzy Weiss