Can I find a good Seattle bagel at... Ben & Esther's Vegan Jewish Deli

A Seattle newcomer lays down its plant-based gauntlet

Welcome to It’s A Shanda, one Northeastern Jew’s quest to find a decent bagel in Seattle (and beyond). If you’re interested in taking this journey with me, make sure you subscribe so you never miss a review. If you want to make sure I review any specific bagels (or want to let me know why I’m wrong), you can email me at seanmatthewkeeley@gmail.com.

In between my previous stint in the Seattle area and the two years since I’ve settled back down here, I spent three years living in Chicago. It’s a fine city but Seattle and the Pacific Northwest got their hooks into me and it was only a matter of time before I was back.

While there are many obvious reasons I love the city and the region, one thing I came to appreciate about it was that as someone who doesn’t eat meat, I had access to a lot of options for quality food. But I gotta be totally honest with you… I think Chicago has Seattle beat on good vegetarian/vegan options.

Sounds crazy, I know. But while the region has plenty of vegan and veg-friendly restaurants, it’s been hard to find anything can that rival the Cuban sandwich and the Reuben at Chicago Diner. I don’t know how they make their sandwich “meats” and frankly, I probably don’t want to know, but it is the only vegan place I’ve ever eaten at where “you’d never know you weren’t eating meat” is actually true.

Couple that with the best “chik’n” sandwich I’ve ever had at Kal'ish and Chicago remains hard to beat when it comes to vegan food that makes me feel like I’m eating meat (Plum Bistro and Cafe Flora are solid too, don’t yell at me).

So it goes without saying that I was extremely excited to hear about the impending arrival of Ben & Esther’s Vegan Jewish Deli a few months back. If you could give me a solid bagel, a half-sour pickle, AND a “pastrami” sandwich that isn’t just slabs of tempeh, then you can take all my money.

Interestingly enough, when Justin King opened the original Ben & Esther’s in Portland in 2019, the place served good, old-fashioned meat-based deli food. However, because King himself didn’t eat meat, he had to come to terms with balancing personal beliefs and business.

“When I opened Ben & Esther’s, I was very business-minded, and I thought that opening a traditional Jewish deli would be good for business,” he told Eater Portland. “After a year, I couldn’t reconcile that with my principles.”

(Side note, is it some kind of unsaid requirement to name your vegan Jewish deli after your grandparents?)

And so, after a year, B&E became plant-based. Now, if you wanted lox, it would come in the form of salt-roasted carrots. If you wanted to put some whitefish on your bagel, that would actually be brined heart of palm.

The move appears to have been an instant hit and, by the time 2021 rolled around, B&E had a second Portland location and quickly expanded south to San Diego. Business was apparently still booming because they opened a fourth location in Oceanside, California in August and now a fifth in Seattle’s Capitol Hill.

As we’ve heard from a lot of the bagel places we’ve reviewed here, their expansion plans go far beyond the West Coast. King told Eater Portland that he eventually wants to bring his enterprise to the East Coast, where their carrot lox and vegan knishes will certainly be put to the test.

“I want to make vegan Jewish food accessible to everyone,” said King.

As for the Seattle location, it’s a bold move to set up shop on Pike and Broadway. That’s mere blocks from very-meaty Jewish deli Dingfelder’s and puts them in the middle of Capitol Hill’s burgeoning bagel district. But it also feels like the ideal kind of business for the neighborhood. Fingers are crossed.

While there’s much to be said and written about their sandwiches and vegan alternatives to traditional Jewish foods, we’re here to talk about one thing. The bagel. Vegan place or not, does it hold up? Let’s find out.

And if you want to know how I define a good bagel, you can find that here.

WHAT I ORDERED

• Untoasted everything bagel with veggie cream cheese.

• Untoasted plain bagel as-is.

THE EXPERIENCE

I had walked past Ben & Esther’s during the week and saw a line out the door, so I figured I would try to get there super-early on Saturday just in case. I got there at 7:30 a.m. and it was apparently just in time as the line stretched to the door by 7:50.

If it wasn’t a chain, you’d have no problem seeing Ben & Esther’s as a new small business right at home in Capitol Hill. The vibe of the place finds a balance between an old-school deli and a more modern and trendy eatery.

I loved that you not only get a good look at the bagels in their respective baskets but are also greeted with bags of discounted day-old bagels, a variety of pickles, and many other classic deli fares. No wonder I also ordered a knish and a half-sour pickle with my bagels. How could I resist?

While I was waiting in line, a delivery person showed up with stacks of fresh-baked bagels, clueing me in that they weren’t making the bagels in-house. It read “Alki Bagel” on the racks. Though I haven’t been able to find that specific name, I did find Alki Bakery, which does sell wholesale bagels. Presuming that was the source of the bagels I would eat today, it also left me to assume that the bagels at each of the Ben & Esther’s must be different. A quick scan of their Instagram account showed me photos and videos of extremely different bagels of various shapes and sizes, which seemed to confirm that. So, just an FYI.

I ordered an everything with scallion cream cheese per usual but was told that they were out of that and I should try the veggie cream cheese instead. And so it was. I decided to leave the sandwich order for another day (and also, sadly, the knish, which never made it into my to-go bag).

UPON FIRST GLANCE

While waiting in line to order, I got a good look at the bagel options and I immediately noticed something. They’re very stout. These were not the skimpy discs you might find elsewhere, these were some sturdy starch mounds. That’s not a bad thing, per se, just good to know going in.

When I finally got home and took the bagels out, it wasn’t until then that I realized how small they are. I’m not sure if they’re as small as Eltana’s bagels, but they’re not that much bigger. Hmm.

The dark brown color was a good sign, though the tops were fairly uniform except for a few imperfections and bumps (we’ll get to the bottom in a bit). There was also a bit of an imbalance with one side of the bagel being much heftier than the other. This thing called for some strategic eating.

TOP

For the plain, the top of the bagel was dark brown. It was mostly uniform in feel with a few bumps and crevices. It was firm to the touch, sturdy with a crispiness detected on the squeeze.

The everything bagel featured a very strong seasoning hand with a focus on sesame seeds and poppy seeds. There was no salt as usual but interestingly I detected a pickled flavor that gave the seasoning a unique twist.

BOTTOM

I wanted to discuss the bottom of the plain bagel before getting to the bite because it was so instrumental in the crunch factor. The bottom of the plain featured a massive crevice running across the entire bagel, much like the trench in the Death Star that Luke flew into. I couldn’t tell if this was what they were going for, but it ended up providing a crunchy base that elevated the whole bagel.

The everything bagel didn’t have the same bottom, though it was pretty strongly seasoned for a bottom half, which I appreciated.

INSIDE/BITE

That groove on the bottom of the plain bagel really helped provide a decent crunch and a firm base for the entire bite. The interior of the bagel was soft but not very fluffy and it did smell like sourdough bread. The more I chewed, I found myself going back and forth, disliking the slightly dry and bready interior but appreciating the crunch from the bottom. There was also a slight aftertaste that wasn’t overpowering but also wasn’t enjoyable.

The everything bagel was less crunchy than the plain version, likely due to the difference on the bottom. It was a sturdy bite but not a particularly crisp one. The interior of the bagel was even dryer than the plain. While the veggie cream cheese provided some flavor and decent-sized chunks, I noticed that the overall bite wasn’t very flavorful for an everything bagel.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This was a rare occasion where the plain bagel was much more enjoyable than the everything bagel. There was a lot going on with the everything, especially when you factor in the cream cheese, but it just didn’t do much of anything for me.

I don’t know if that plain bagel’s crunchy bottom is normal or was an anomaly, but it was the reason why I ended up eating the whole thing.

I plan on returning to Ben & Esther’s very soon to try out the sandwiches and other deli essentials. However, while we’ve certainly had much worse Seattle bagels on this journey, I don’t know if I’ll be going back for another one. At least, not until I can confirm my suspicions over whether or not I just lucked out on that plain bagel bottom.

Is It Good Enough For The Goys?

Here’s the thing. I don’t want to discourage anyone from trying out a vegan deli. Scoff all you like, meat-eaters, but I hope you give the place a shot. And you should definitely try out a bagel with some flavor of vegan cream cheese just to see that it’s not all that different from what you’re getting elsewhere.

If you find yourself in Capitol Hill, I’d still say Rubinstein is your best bet, but I’d put this bagel ahead of Westman’s, Eltana, and Dingfelder’s for sure.

Is It Good Enough For Northeastern Jews?

I’m going to withhold judgment on Ben & Esther’s as a deli experience until I’ve had more of their offerings. Strictly from a bagel standpoint, my advice above applies here as well. It’s not the best bagel in the neighborhood but you do get to pair it with a pickle and Dr. Brown’s cream soda, so at least there’s that.

MY SEATTLE BAGEL RANKINGS SO FAR

1. Bagel Oasis

2. Oxbow

3. Loxsmith

4. Old Salt

5. Rubinstein

6. Zylberschtein’s

7. Ben & Esther’s

8. Rachel’s

9. Westman’s

10. Eltana

11. Blazing Bagels

12. Dingfelder’s

Thanks for actually reading this far. If you enjoyed my Seattle bagel review and want to read more of them, make sure you’re subscribed to It’s A Shanda. Know someone in the Greater Seattle Area (or beyond) who would appreciate way-too-detailed reviews of local bagels? Forward the link their way.