Can I find a good Edmonds bagel at... The Cottage Bakery
Can something be both a pretzel and a bagel?
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.
“EAT REAL BREAD.”
That’s been the mantra for Conor O’Neill since he started giving away loaves of bread from the driveway of his Lynnwood home in 2019.
“I am fascinated by the concept of bread making, a process that, at its core, utilizes such few ingredients (flour, water, and salt), yet provides such a vast variety of flavor and texture,” says O’Neill.
Around that same time, he launched The Cottage at Blue Ridge, a pop-up food stand featuring locally sourced and handmade bread and pastries. Word spread quickly as it wasn’t long before the Seattle Times referred to the upstart baker as “a rising star.” (Get it?).
In 2021, he opened The Cottage, Community Bakery in the Perrinville neighborhood, which lies on the Edmonds/Lynnwood border. The accolades continued to roll in far and wide.
O’Neill’s bread-making business has since boomed. Now, The Cottage sells all kinds of breads, pretzels, cookies, pastries, buns, and muffins.
They also sell bagels, of a sort. And when I found out about that (H/T:
), I knew it was time to pay a visit.
And so, I headed north on a recent Sunday morning to see what all the hubbub was about.
And if you want to know how I define a good bagel, you can find that here.
WHAT I ORDERED
Salted pretzel bagel ($4)
Everything pretzel bagel ($4)
THE EXPERIENCE
When I heard that The Cottage was in Edmonds, I imagined a shop in the downtown corridor close to the ferry terminal. But as I kept driving deeper and deeper into the woods, I realized that wouldn’t be the case. I arrived to find it nestled inside a tiny retail center hugged by trees in an almost rural setting. It reminded me of the off-the-beaten-path orchards and farmstands I used to run into driving around rural New Jersey (A thing, I promise!).
The space itself was rustic and incredibly charming. The quarters were tight but the staff was exuberantly friendly. I spotted the two bagels they had on hand and placed my order. I wished I’d stopped to look around a bit more at all of the bread and pastries as what I saw looked inviting. I asked if they offered cream cheese with the bagels but they didn’t, so this review would have to be solely based on the bagels as-is.
As I left, I couldn’t help but notice how busy the parking lot was. It was a constant stream of people coming and going to pick up their morning bread or get a special pastry for their kids. I feel like that said it all.
UPON FIRST GLANCE
So, I think it’s probably pretty obvious that while the shape might say bagel these bread items are more pretzel in nature. I don’t think The Cottage is hiding from that at all, but I tempered my expectations for this to be a traditional bagel experience fairly quickly, and I feel like that was the right thing to do.
TOP
The salted pretzel bagel was a good size, though slightly oblong. The flakes of salt were prominent but not overwhelming. The top itself was very soft and pretzel-y, breaking easily on the touch when pressed down. There was some nice blistering of the top and sides. It certainly smelled like a pretzel from the outside.
The everything pretzel bagel featured an incredibly strong seed hand, which we love to see. The bagel itself was a good size with a tight center, though it was slightly oblong with a strong nub on one end. The top itself was very soft but the seasoning created a hard crust.
BOTTOM
The bottoms of both bagels were very flat, the way that the bottom of a soft pretzel might be if baked. The salted bagel bottom was firm but not hard while the everything bagel bottom was soft but firm. I noted some potential texture points that could come through in the bite.
INSIDE/BITE
The salted bagel ripped softly just like a pretzel. Like on the exterior, the interior offered a classic pretzel smell. The inside was very soft and extremely fluffy. On the bite, I got an airy texture with hints of crinkles. The well-placed bits of salt really elevated the experience. I certainly felt like I was eating a soft pretzel, not a bagel. But I sure enjoyed it.
The everything bagel had a similar soft rip and strong interior bagel smell. The difference here is that the intense everything seasoning helped overpower that pretzel flavor (in a good way). Since this was a pretzel bagel, the everything mix included salt (AS GOD INTENDED), which made the flavors really pop. The bite itself was very soft. Even given the pretzel-ish nature of the dough, I would be interested to know what this tastes like with some schmear. But it stands on its own.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Are these pretzel bagels actually bagels as I would define them? No, they’re not.
Are these pretzel bagels really good and I would eat them again? Absolutely.
While some purists might scoff at the idea that these are called bagels, I was reminded of My Way Bikery in Victoria, B.C. I had been told that their bagels, with a focus on traditional, kosher baking methods, were among the best in Canada. I remember eating them and thinking those bagels were the best soft pretzels I’d ever eaten. Food for thought as we consider the “true” idea of a bagel.
There are certainly many places making more traditional bagels in the Seattle area. However, I think The Cottage has most of them beat when it comes to their seasoning. At the end of the day, I’d go out of my way to eat these again before I traveled to eat many of the region’s more traditional bagels.
Is It Good Enough For The Goys?
Who doesn’t want to eat a circular soft pretzel? It sounds great! Also, I think that as part of a larger offering, there are plenty of reasons for people to take a visit and sample their bread.
Is It Good Enough For Northeastern Jews?
As I said, you’re certainly not going to come away from this feeling like you’re back in Bed-Stuy. However, I’d highly encourage a trip to The Cottage if you’ve never been. Come for the pretzel bagels but stay for the sweet treats. Also, they do challah on Fridays and Saturdays, FYI.
MY SEATTLE BAGEL RANKINGS SO FAR (5/6/24)
Old Salt (Fremont]
Old Salt (Ballard)
Loxsmith (West Seattle)
Loxsmith (Beacon Hill)
Westman’s (Capitol Hill)
Westman’s (U District)
OUTSIDE SEATTLE BAGEL RANKINGS (5/6/24)
The Bagelry (Bellingham)
Howdy Bagel (Tacoma)
The Cottage Bakery (Edmonds)
Coquette Bake Shop (Bainbridge Island)
Rubinstein Bagels (Redmond)
Good Bagels Cafe (Anacortes)
Mustard Seed Baking Co. (Stanwood)
Blazing Bagels (Redmond)
Otherside Bagel Co. (Bellingham)
Whidbey Island Bagel Factory (Mt. Vernon)
Woodinville Bagel Bakery (Woodinville)
Big Apple Bagels (Bellevue)
MY NEW YORK AREA BAGEL RANKINGS (12/11/23)
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nice review Sean. It was a damned good soft pretzel … I almost wanted to put mustard on it. I’ll say, their pastries are awfully good too.