Black Seed Bagels In All Its Glory

Despite my love of food in this city, there is one thing I typically never do: wait in line. In heels. I haven’t even had a Cronut from Dominique Ansel due to this fact. Yet, bagels hold a special place in my heart, so in honor of Black  Seed Bagel’s opening weekend, I made the decision that I was going to tough it out. The weather is no longer miserable, and I was also pretty hungover, so there was never a more perfect time for me to keep my eyes on the prize (aka mass quantities of food). I become something of a human garbage disposal in that state. But I digress.

Not the wisest choice of footwear for a 45 min wait. But pretty tiles!
Not the wisest choice of footwear for a 45 min wait. But pretty tiles!

Upon my arrival, I saw a fairly long line down Elizabeth Street. It was 11 am. I thought most New Yorkers don’t get up on Sundays before noon..? I guess for these bagels they do. A staff member was passing out small cups of Stumptown black coffee (score!) and told us it would be about a 45 min wait. My brain popped at that point…but I made the commitment. I was doing this. Oh and also, 3 bagel per person max. So naturally I got 3 bagels:

Everything bagel with Scallion Cream Cheese (my go to), $4.75

Poppyseed with salmon (they were out of the beet-cured salmon already), horseradish cream cheese, tomato, red onion, capers, $11.00

Poppyseed with Tobiko cream cheese, smoked salmon, and butter lettuce. $13.00

Oh yea and of course, potato salad with bacon, $5.00

Bagels for one?
Bagels for one?
Lacks mayo, doesnt lack delicious.
Lacks mayo, doesnt lack delicious.

That last bagel was Joel Tietolman’s recommendation and he is one of the bagel masters behind this Montreal-based operation. For those of you who don’t know – quick fact – Black Seed Bagels stems from Mile End Deli, the Canadian-based deli with some of the most amazing smoked meat sandwiches EVER. Again…I digress.

So. Here’s my rundown of these bagels…

Taste: Just straight up – these bagels would taste good with nothing on them. Boiled in water that has a splash of honey in it, then hand rolled and wood-fired, they are slightly sweet, perfectly chewy, not too dense, and wonderfully crispy on the outside.

Size: Kind of small, in my honest opinion. Smaller than my hand (and I have small hands) and thinner. I actually enjoy the thinner aspect, because some of the NYC bagels here look like they have been pumped full of HGH and it scares me a little.  I’d say if you’re a big eater, get two. Or in my case…three….

For scale.
For scale.

Favorite: Toss up but I honestly might go with the one Joel suggested – the Tobiko cream cheese was AWESOME and I was not expecting that. It was a perfect combination with the salmon. That said, the salmon, tomato, horseradish cream cheese concoction was no slouch either. It bulked up the bagel a bit and was so salty, briny, and delicious. I’m normally not a big fan of this sandwich, but I might be converting.

Just do it.
Just do it.

Least Favorite: Obviously by process of elimination, the Everything bagel with scallion CC. I know most places put WAY too much cream cheese on their bagels, but this was not enough. Sorry. I need a nice, sizable SHMEAR and this was way too little for me; even for a relatively small bagel, it could have used another swipe of the stuff.

Even Bobo was a bit skeptical..
Even Bobo was a bit skeptical..

Price: I think this place is slightly more expensive than your standard NYC bagel shop. For example, my place does the Lox/cream cheese bagel thing for roughly $9.20. Black Seed does it for $11. Not a HUGE discrepancy, but when you combine that with the long wait, it wouldn’t be my go-to bagel shop. But for a splurge on a day when I have nothing to do, I’d be all about this place. I’m already kind of thinking about that Tobiko cream cheese…

 

Black Seed Bagels

170 Elizabeth Street

212-730-1950

Hours: 7 am – 4 pm

 

 

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