Can I get a good New York bagel at... Black Seed Bagels

Can one of the NYC's most-hyped bagel chains live up to it?

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 ensure I review any specific bagels (or want to let me know why I’m wrong), you can email me at seanmatthewkeeley@gmail.com.

Why are so many places that make Montreal-style bagels embarrassed to say they make Montreal-style bagels?

Here in Seattle, Eltana plays down its Montreal-style bona fides and seems to exist in a liminal space in between styles.

In New York, Black Seed Bagels describes theirs as “a New York-style bagel made with some baking techniques borrowed from Montreal.”

If you’ve read this newsletter long enough, you know where I stand on Montreal-style bagels (or bagels made using Montreal-esque techniques, as it were). I have yet to eat one that made me understand the appeal.

Would Black Seed be the one to break the spell? Given how many people recommended them to me before my NYC trip, you’d hope so.

Dianna Daoheung grew up helping her mother make authentic Thai food but didn’t initially feel like that was her calling. After spending four years working in advertising, she shifted back towards the kitchen, studying at the French Culinary Institute, and building up her resume in high-end San Francisco and New York restaurants.

After spending some time at Mile End Deli, which uses Montreal-style techniques, she found her calling in the world of baking.

Meanwhile, in the early 2010s, Mile End founder Noah Bernamoff and hospitality entrepreneur Matt Kliegman were kicking around the idea for a bagel shop. Specifically, they wanted to bring bagels to the Nolita neighborhood where a restaurant scene was really starting to take off.

Dianna came aboard to figure out the bagel recipe they would feature and, in 2014, Black Seed Bagels was born with its initial location at 170 Elizabeth St. The hype was legit, and Daoheung earned a couple of James Beard nominations for her work.

Pretty soon Black Seed started spreading across the city. Today, there are ten Black Seed shops, including Chelsea Market spot, Rockefeller Center, and several Brooklyn outposts.

So what makes Black Seed so popular and successful? They’d say it was their bagel process.

“Black Seed's artisan bagels start with a naturally leavened, fermented, glutinous dough,” says their site. “They are then boiled in water with honey added for a touch of sweetness. Our bakers fire each batch of bagels by hand in a wood-burning oven, just long enough to achieve perfection in crispness, chew, density, and deliciousness. When the bagels are lightly browned and ready to be removed, they are tossed into a marble chute for cooling, using hand-carved wooden peels.”

By all accounts, Black Seed has established itself as one of the most well-known bagels in New York City and a must-visit on my trip. Did their kinda-Montreal-style, kinda-not bagels live up to the hype? Let’s find out.

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

WHAT I ORDERED

• Plain bagel as-is

• Everything bagel with scallion cream cheese.

THE EXPERIENCE

As soon as I stepped through the door at Black Seed’s original location, I could see that this wasn’t going to go well.

The whole vibe felt like the nicest Einstein Bros. store I’ve ever been in. Looking at the glass counter full of baskets from 25 feet away, the shine emanating off the bagels pre-told a worrisome story.

I happened to come across a photo from this Black Seed location in 2016 and it was pretty clear to me that whatever indie soul this place once had died at some point in the name of corporate synergy.

UPON FIRST GLANCE

“This is it?”

That was my first thought looking at the bagels. For real? THIS is the bagel I’ve heard so much about? THIS is the bagel people have said is among the best in New York City? I’m being pranked, right?

I sat there looking at them feeling like Tim Robinson in roughly 78% of all I Think You Should Leave sketches.

Things didn’t get better.

TOP

The top of the plain bagel was indeed very shiny. Small and thin, it was fairly uniform all the way around. The coloring was golden brown on the slightly lighter side. I noted a tiny bit of crispness when pressing down. I also noticed some off wrinkles around the edges, which I presume come from the honey boiling process.

Forgot to take photos before I started eating…

The everything bagel was more of an oblong shape with one side larger than the other, though it still maintained a smaller, thinner frame than the traditional bagel. I didn’t note much texture or crispness on the touch.

Black Seed has a fairly soft seed hand with a seasoning mix that was mostly poppy seed. I suppose they have to do that given their name, but I had a feeling that would have an impact on the flavor.

BOTTOM

The plain and everything bagel bottoms

While both bagel bottoms seemed to have some interesting things going on at first glance, they were both pretty soft. Those wrinkles on the plain were more apparent here, along with a few craggy spots. The bottom of the everything bagel included some seasoning, though again it was mostly poppy and sesame seeds.

INSIDE/BITE

Ripping into the plain bagel, I did get a whisp of crispness. On the bite, however, I didn’t get much texture, and certainly no crunch. I also noticed a weird tang on each bite that I couldn’t quite place but reminded me of mass-produced and factory-line bagels that you’d get at a chain or supermarket.

The bagel would rebound significantly after each bite, which helps with subsequent bites and for schmear application. That’s the best praise I could muster, unfortunately. Ultimately, everything about this bagel felt generic and uninspired.

Regarding the everything bagel, I didn’t find any crispness or texture on the bite here either. As expected, the seasoning distribution led to a lack of flavor. Thankfully, the scallion cream cheese was extremely solid and very flavorful. That was the best part of the whole experience. Unfortunately, that essentially made the bagel a cream cheese delivery vehicle because there wasn’t anything else there to notice.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I have a feeling that when Black Seed Bagels opened in 2014 and built its reputation, they had a pretty good bagel. There’s just no other way to justify the kind of hype they received and the success they’ve had in the years since. If I had to guess, as they turned into more of a chain, they did what most of these companies do. They sacrificed quality in the name of automation and efficiency.

As for where they’re at now, Black Seed Bagels is just Bruegger’s Bagels or Einstein Bros. with better PR. I can’t imagine you’d even be able to tell the difference. It’s a shame. But such is the cost of success, I suppose.

Is It Good Enough For The Goys?

The fact that Black Seed had focused a lot of its expansion on tourist-heavy areas like Chelsea Market and Rockefeller Center kind of says it all. I’ll wager they’ll start expanding outside of NYC at some point and try to leverage that early hype into being the “more authentic” alternative to those other national bagel chains. And hey, it’ll probably work. I look forward to someone recommending that I check out the Black Seed Bagel in South Lake Union in 2026.

Is It Good Enough For Northeastern Jews?

In the Torah, God gives Jews free will and the ability to make their own choices. “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live,” reads Deuteronomy 30:19. Jews are free to do bad deeds if they choose. However, it’s impossible to hide those bad deeds from God.

So just know that, if you live in or visit New York City, and this is the bagel you choose, God knows. That’s all.

MY NEW YORK AREA BAGEL RANKINGS (10/3/23)

1. BO’s Bagels

2. Russ & Daughters

3. Black Seed Bagels

Thanks for actually reading this far. If you enjoyed my 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.