New York bagel maelots boil crazy and ready to throw in some dough. The cause of his outrage? A recent New York Times article stated that “the best bagels are in California.”
“I am just upset. If California wants to go face to face with me, I’m ready, ”said Scot Rossillo, 55, owner of Park Slope’s the Bagel Store, a Brooklyn-raised man.
Rossillo says the superiority of the Big Apple bagel goes beyond New York’s famous soft water, which weakens gluten and increases chewing.
“Water is important, but it can be imitated all over the world,” Rossillo told The Post. “It’s about the love we have for our bagels.”
Rossillo, who grew up behind Bake City Bagels in Gravesend, noted that he received training that “goes back at least 100 years. It’s not good fun; bagels are my life. “
California forwards may throw their hats in the ring (packed with carbs), but even West Coast residents don’t buy it, Manhattan, Zabar’s and Ess-a-Bagel shopkeepers said.
“Every day, we ship hundreds of bagels to California,” Melanie Frost, general manager of Ess-a-Bagel, whose aunt started the family business in 1976, told The Post. it has three advanced Manhattan locations, is laminated by hand and baked on site daily.
“They can’t get close to a New York bagel: crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside,” Frost added.
“California, follow the avocado toast. You know it better ”.
Scott Goldshine, 60, a 43-year veteran of Zabar, also sees a westward migration of his goods: “We ship bagels to Los Angeles, but I haven’t heard of LA shipping bagels yet. there is nothing like a New York bagel. “
While this is true, at least one bagel expert takes a more measured approach. He is happy to see that knowledge and taste spread like the velvet cream.
“I think it’s time,” said Adam Pomerantz, 53, owner of Murray’s Bagels and Leo’s Bagels. “For years and years, you couldn’t get a decent bagel outside of New York. Looking at the pictures, they have a nice shine, a good crust. They look good to me. I think it will be nice for us Jews in New York to be able to get quality bagels – our soul food – out of town. ”
Do you think the Big Apple should give up its bagel wreath?
“Definitely not,” Pomerantz said. “New York City and the bagels go together. There is a special experience of getting a bagel in New York City. ”
The lineage, after all, is profound. According to Maria Balinska’s “The Bagel: The Surprising History of a Modest Bread,” our favorite ship for salmon-ia-schmear possibly migrated from Germany to Poland as pretzels in the 14th century. Once there, they evolved into the central approach of a current bagel. Eastern European Jews brought them down to Manhattan during the great migration of the 19th century.
“New York City and the Bagels Go Together.”
While the rainbow and all the bagels are modern interpretations, the latest ones come in handy in a formidable Bone. And maybe part of the magic comes from it.
“We have an immigrant community after passing the torch and grabbing that esoteric skill,” said Peter Shelsky, 42, co-owner of Shelsky’s Brooklyn Bagels. “Recently they were Filipino immigrants and then the Thai population. Now, there are Mexican rollers. “
As for the claim of the superiority of the Left Coast bagel, Shelsky is not sweating: “A friend of mine from the Bay Area sent me a text message and wrote, ‘Do you see it?’ “I replied,‘ LOL. Bous – – t. ‘
“It simply came to our notice then. Now I recognize that there are one or two places [in California] could do a reasonable job. But most of all, it’s like the Vatican is making a good matzo ball soup. “
Shelsky’s business partner Lewis Spada, 44, added: “Say they hold a New York bagel weight? That’s ridiculous. “
– Additional reports by Tamara Beckwith and Suzy Weiss