'I grew up in Brooklyn': Sharing our bagel bona fides
It’s honestly one of my favorite things about the newsletter.
Welcome to It’s A Shanda, one Northeastern Jew’s quest to find a decent bagel in Seattle (and beyond). Along with free bagel reviews every Sunday, we also offer bonus posts each Wednesday. If you’re already subscribed, I hope you’ll consider upgrading to a paid subscription! Thank you for reading.
When your name is Sean Keeley, you get very used to having to explain your Jewish bona fides.
When I was 12 or so, I boarded a bus for a Temple youth group trip and a chaperone started reading attendance roll call off a clipboard. With each name, he’d note the kid raising their hand or saying “here” and then move on.
“Adam Rosenfeld…”
“Danny Edelstein…”
“Steven Sandberg…”
“Sean…….Kee….ley?” he said, turning my name into a question.
It wasn’t unheard of for a gentile kid to sneak their way onto one of these trips, especially if it involved girls, so I immediately felt the need to justify my entire existence. I assured this strange adult that I was indeed Jewish and would be happy to recite some Hebrew as needed (I was deep in Bar Mitzvah studies at the time). It wasn’t ultimately necessary but he remained slightly suspect.
All of which is to say that I completely understand the need that so many of us have to immediately justify our bagel bona fides up top when meeting one another here.
Imagine how I feel as a guy with the most Irish name possible trying to convince you I know a good bagel. So it doesn’t surprise me that just about every interaction that I have with a reader or subscriber begins with them letting me know that they’re also capable of discussing the finer details of Jewish deli food because of where they were born or used to live.
It’s honestly one of my favorite things about the newsletter. I’ve come to fully expect it every time I see a new comment or email I’m going to find out the person in question grew up in Brooklyn or spent 20 years living in North Jersey. It’s truly delightful.
I didn’t want to keep all this fun to myself so below I’ve compiled every one that I could find. Don’t worry, identities and specifics have been removed. What’s left is the pure distilled essence of the bagel bona fide.
I’ll level with you, it doesn’t always check out. I’ve had multiple people tell me they know bagels because they grew up in Jersey or Queens and then confidently say Blazing Bagels are the best they’ve ever had. No offense but if that’s true someone back east failed you.
But hey, ultimately, who am I to tell you that you’re wrong? Whether we grew up in Hackensack, the Bronx, Philly, or elsewhere, we all bring our own special bagel histories, experiences, and nostalgia with us. A special tip of the hat to those from outside the Northeast who offer up your own bona fides as well. It’s always fascinating for me to see what the bagel experience is like for you. And whether you tell me your favorite local bagel is Bagel Oasis, The Bagelry, Eltana, or something else, I know where you came from is part of how you arrived there. Just like me.
Without further ado, I present everyone’s bagel bona fides:
“I was born and raised in Brooklyn (been in Seattle since 2004)…”
“(Another Northeasterner here) I’ve been on the same quest since relocating in 2006.”
“Originally from Brooklyn…”
“I'm a Chicago, not East Coast, transplant, but definitely looking for a bagel to call home.”
“I've always loved them, and my friend who grew up in Queens Village swears by them…”
“How I long for a crusty salt bagel with plain cream cheese from Greenvale Bagels on a rainy Sunday morning in Long Island.”
“Lived in Philly and NYC. I know a good bagel.”
“As a Jersey-Girl-in-Exile…”
“As a NYC Jew who just moved to Bellingham…”
“[They] claim they got their training in Ithaca, NY - my home for almost 30 years.”
“I grew up in NYC (actually Queens) so I can appreciate your love of bagels.”
“Fellow NE Jew transplant here…”
“I've been wanting to try them, but being a NY Jew myself, I was skeptical at best…”
“My parents were part of the great exodus from Brooklyn to Long Island in 1950 when I was 5.”
“I’m a Southeastern Jew living in Seattle…”
“I am also an East Coast transplant on a 20-plus-year quest for good West Coast bagels.”
“I lived on the east coast for many years…”
“As a Jew from The Bronx…”
“Born and raised in Essex County NJ. Lived in NYC 10 years.”
“My credentials for judging and comparison include growing up in NYC in a family that just about every Sunday had Bagels and Lox, Smoked Whitefish, Sable, Sturgeon, etc. for breakfast.”
“The only bagels I'll eat is the one in Bellingham. They're the real deal. I'm from NYC.”
“As a born-and-raised Long Islander…”
“I’m an old Jew married to a shiksa in Woodinville.”
“I too am Jewish and originally from the Northeast (Boston area)…”
“I’m originally from the Midwest, but my wife grew up on Long Island and has taken me to her childhood bagel shops multiple times.”
“As a Jewish NY/NJ transplant living here in this Jewish food wasteland…”
“When I lived in NY I used to get my bagels on 63rd in Rego Park…”
“I was born and raised in NYC.”
“From Long Island and Bergen County NJ. Guess I’ll have to try Bagel Oasis but hard to believe they’ll be as good!”
“This native Northeasterner, now a Seattle resident for 16 years, still prefers Bagel Oasis.”
“Like you, I’m a displaced East coaster…”
“I’m from NYC and really miss good bagels…”
Please keep those qualifications coming, everyone. I truly enjoy it so much and I look forward to seeing yours in the comments or my inbox
Thanks for actually reading this far. Know someone in the Greater Seattle Area (or beyond) who would appreciate way-too-detailed reviews of local bagels? Please forward the link their way.
I'm just happy that despite having no bagel bona fides except having lived near the (now mostly vanished) little Jewish district in Ravenna since middle school, I had the correct opinion about Seattle bagels all along.