Can I get a good New York bagel at... BO's Bagels
Is Harlem home to the best bagel in the city?
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.
We’re reviewing bagels in New York City now?
We’re reviewing bagels in New York City now.
I’m very glad to be back in Seattle where I’m sitting in a coffee shop surrounded by trees watching harried cyclists and Subarus zoom by, but I just spent a bunch of time in New York City doing two things:
Schvitzing like crazy. It was 90 degrees or more all week long.
Eating bagels. So many bagels.
As I noted in last week’s paid subscriber post, I couldn’t just mash all of these reviews into one post and move on. I’m still focused on trying to figure out where you can get a good bagel in Seattle. But I’m also interested in trying to figure out where you can get a good bagel, period.
So let’s get into it.
Andrew Martinez’s journey to the bagel business actually came from an unfortunate time in 2014 when he found himself in the hospital for two months eating through a feeding tube. The longtime restaurant professional decided that the one thing he wanted to eat when he got out was a bagel. However, living in Harlem with his wife Ashley Dikos, he was disheartened by the lack of good bagels within walking distance.
“People eat with their memories,” he told The Times of Israel. “I was dreaming about the bagels I ate when I was a kid in Queens, and that’s the flavor I was looking for.”
And so, like so many other bagel entrepreneurs, he started making bagels at home and giving them out to friends and family, many of whom urged him and Dikos to consider selling them.
“[Andrew began] making bagel boards and buying large kettles to boil barley malt in,” reads their website. “It was at this point that Ashley started to really take notice. She began bringing bagels to her office to test out on her co-workers, she began pawning day-old bagels off on her family, and finally, she began eating bagels herself!”
After a stint at the farmer’s market, the couple opened BO’s Bagels on 116th Street in 2017. The name comes from Andrew’s kids’ initials (Brody and Olivia) as well as the couple’s dog, Bowser.
Success came quickly. They’re now rated among the best bagels in the city by Eater NY, Timeout, The Infatuation, and many others. They’re also in the Top 20 of the exhaustive “Everything is Everything” bagel rankings.
Per The Times of Israel, BO’s churns out about 3,000 bagels a day at the Harlem shop, and that’s likely to be double now that they’ve got a second shop in Washington Heights. While not traditional bagel hotspots, it’s pretty cool to see how they’re using their success to fill in some of the “bagel deserts” of Manhattan.
Perhaps my favorite anecdote about BO’s is that they shun “gimmicks,” so if you want a green bagel for St. Patrick’s Day (for some reason), you’ll have to look elsewhere.
That’s a great story but are the bagels truly great as well? 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
I’ve often talked about how I miss the “annoyed efficiency” of the Northeast. Well boy did I get a full dose of it here. Walking up to the counter, the cashier was focused on completing some kind of task and I was not about to interrupt that. But instead of ignoring me, she gave me a passing “be with you in a second.” Once her task was completed, she returned to the counter and reflexively asked “Whatcha want, sweetheart?”
I loved it, obviously.
It was just one piece of a larger aesthetic that really made me feel like I was in good hands. While it’s a newer bagel shop, it had an extremely classic vibe. The subway tile walls and wraparound deli case really did the trick, too.
Also, as an aside, do you know what was really nice about ordering bagels in New York? I never had to check to make sure they sell scallion cream cheese. It was just a given. Of course, they sell scallion cream cheese. Why wouldn’t you?
UPON FIRST GLANCE
Before I even sat down I knew I was probably going to like these bagels. I definitely noticed that they were a little bit flatter than usual, but they also boasted some very inviting crinkles and cracks in the golden exterior that implied something delicious this way comes.
TOP
The plain bagel featured a light golden brown, though the coloring changed throughout. Touching the top, it was a mixture of crunchy spots and soft spots. Interestingly, the bagel was really firm on the sides. Most bagels are soft on the sides even if the top is firm, but this seemed to imply that there were some very crispy and crunchy bites in my future.
As for the everything bagel, there was a strong seed hand at work here. The featured seed here was black sesame, though it was easy to see a bit of everything (including salt, AS GOD INTENDED). There was also a good amount of seeds on the sides of the bagel as well. There was clearly a lot of care put into making sure every bite was as “everything” as possible.
The bagel was firm to touch on top, which was impressive given the intense seeding. You tend to get underbaked bagels when they have such hearty toppings, presumably out of a fear of burning them.
BOTTOM
The bottom of the plain bagel had a slight cornmeal ring of doom but also boasted some very interesting crevices and potential crunch points. It was very firm to touch and even featured a few “knock spots,” though there were also some soft spots mixed in there.
The bottom of the everything bagel was a little less crisp than the other one, though the seeding continued to be really strong all the way around.
INSIDE/BITE
The rip on the plain bagel was “glorious” according to my notes. It just felt right in all the ways it should. It somehow got better on the bite, with each one offering all of the textural balance that I want out of a bagel. There was crunch but no toughness. The interior was fluffy but not too soft.
Everything came together well on the chew, too. The bagel has a great taste, really flat and non-tangy, and I mean that in a good way. It also had a very bagel-y smell.
As for the everything bagel with scallion cream cheese, there was so much flavor on the bite. The seeding really popped thanks to the salt, especially the onion. There was a slight crunch on the bite and it made for a tough chew in a good way.
The cream cheese itself was fantastic. Very firm and scallion-y, it provided a very enjoyable flavor that complimented the everything seeding.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The plain bagel was inarguably the best bagel I’ve eaten since I started this newsletter and it’s arguably one of the best bagels I’ve had in my life. The everything bagel was definitely a big hit as well and the rare one that was able to provide not just a good bagel flavor but also a really good cream cheese taste.
Is It Good Enough For The Goys?
I’m thrilled that BO’s is filling the space in these Manhattan bagel deserts because most of the time it’s junk like Einstein’s or Bruegger’s that ends up being the default choice and then kids grow up not understanding what a good bagel actually is. It’s also great news for the future of NYC bagels as people have already figured out this is one worth waiting in line for.
Is It Good Enough For Northeastern Jews?
I was staying in the Bowery during my visit to NYC, so the trip to BO’s Bagels was quite the schlep. But it’s a schlep I would gladly do again if it meant this was the bagel waiting for me at the end. That’ll be especially clear when I get to my reviews of some of the bagel places that were an easy walk from my hotel.
But seriously, do yourself a favor and head to Harlem the next time you’re in Manhattan. There’s no reason to settle.
I’m going to wait a little bit before I start ranking out all the NYC bagels I’ve eaten. But in the meantime, my Seattle reviews remain below.
MY SEATTLE BAGEL RANKINGS SO FAR (9/3/23)
OUTSIDE SEATTLE BAGEL RANKINGS
The Bagelry (Bellingham)
Howdy Bagel (Tacoma)
Coquette Bake Shop (Bainbridge Island)
Otherside Bagel Co. (Bellingham)
Whidbey Island Bagel Factory (Mt. Vernon, Whidbey Island)
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.
Oh man, I am so jealous of you. A bagel centric vacation in NYC?!? Sign me up. And "it’s arguably one of the best bagels I’ve had in my life" YOU'RE KILLING ME!!!!
Thanks for this. We love a bit denser, more chewy bagel so this sounds worth visiting on the way back from the Bronx in a couple weeks