Dispatches from the Seattle-area bagel scene
Dispatches from the Seattle-area bagel scene
A new Seattle bagel spot and a new venture from a familiar name
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.
This week’s Wednesday post felt like a good time to check in on the state of the Seattle-area bagel scene. There are some new bagel ventures on the horizon that I wanted to make everyone aware of, and I have some thoughts on the way a couple of baked goods neighbors might be on the verge of an all-out bagel war.
Paid subscribers can read below for news about a new bagel place coming soon to the U District, an exciting Eastside bagel pop-up from a familiar name, and a sneak peek at the Seattle bagel places on my review to-do list.
Let’s Get Toasted
We here at It’s a Shanda Industries have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Toasted. Bagels & Coffee (period intentional) in University District. We first heard about them in May with an expected opening this summer. However, their opening remained TBD. It appears they’re still in the inspection phase, which tends to be unpredictable.
Here’s what we know for now. The “Middle Eastern-inspired cafe” is located at 4756 15th Ave NE. Based on some internet sleuthing, the cafe was founded by Jaafar Altameemi, a recent UW grad who has “charted a non-traditional path, reimagining and reinventing the modern café concept.” He writes that their approach “is deeply rooted in data-driven decision-making, with a strong emphasis on leveraging AI tools.”
How will artificial experience improve the bagel experience? Like most things around AI, I have no idea. Hopefully, we’ll find out soon.
Hey! Bagels!
The Seattle-area bagels that I’m most excited to try at some point are the ones that Andrew Rubinstein has cookin’ with his Hey Bagel venture.
Rubinstein is, of course, the founder of Rubinstein Bagels. However, he sold his half of the Seattle bagel chain to Ethan Stowell in May and set out to start from scratch with a new venture. The bagel maker told Eater Seattle earlier this year that he missed the days of tinkering with his recipe to make the best bagel possible, which was a large part of his desire to start over.
“There was a tension between me trying to chase this dragon in this dream of this bagel that I want versus, ‘Hey, this is great. Everybody loves it. Stick with it,’” he said. “I really just missed the small hands-on craft thing that I started out with.”
Whether due to a non-compete or just out of a desire to start fresh, Hey Bagel has so far strictly posted its pop-ups on the Eastside, selling out in Snoqualmie and looking to do the same this weekend in Kenmore. He said his plan is to eventually open a brick-and-mortar location, though he’s going to keep things small for the foreseeable future.
“I’m not going to look at scaling up to a second shop maybe ever, certainly not for the first two years,” he told Eater Seattle. “I would like a small staff. I’d like to learn how to be a better manager when that happens.”
Begun, The Old Salt/Oxbow Wars Have
I’ve often wondered about the détente between Old Salt/Manolin and Sea Wolf/Oxbow, considering how they effectively share the same space in Wallingford. If you visit the stretch of Stone Way that Old Salt and Sea Wolf call home anytime between Thursday and Sunday, you’re sure to see lines leading out of both shops. And while they each do something different, they’re also swimming in the same spaces.
How did Sea Wolf, a bakery, feel when Manolin, a seafood restaurant, started selling bagels next door? And in turn, how does Old Salt feel now that Sea Wolf is selling their Oxbow bagels? To be fair, the Oxbow bagels come in plastic sleeves, so it’s not as though they’re truly competing head-to-head with Old Salt’s hot and fresh offerings. But it sure does feel like there’s a cold war brewing here, and I’m curious to see what the next move might be. (H/T: subscriber Jeremiah for the head’s up).
Seattle Bagel To-Dos
I know I’ve been pretty focused on New York-area bagels from my recent trip, and (SPOILER) I’m about to introduce Portland into the mix, but there are still some Seattle-area bagels I’m hoping to sample very soon. They include:
Darling & Company - I didn’t get a chance to track down this pop-up from Christina Darling and I’m a little worried I missed my chance. They haven’t had any new pop-ups on the calendar in some time and their social media presence has slowed down significantly. But I’ll keep checking.
Bean’s Bagels - Another woman-owned bagel pop-up, this one appears to be back on the scene after a brief hiatus. They tend to show up at the South Park Saturday Market, amongst other spots, so I’ll keep my eyes peeled.
Fresh Born Bagels - This one confuses me. They have an Instagram account full of good-looking bagels. People say in the comments how much they enjoy them. But there’s no information about where to find them or how to eat them. It sounds like they’re on a hiatus as well so stay tuned.
6th Borough Bagels - I’ve had quite a few recommendations to check out this Olympia bagel. They don’t have their own location but they’re sold in a few businesses in town. Next time I’m down there, I’ll be sure to track them down.
Costco - Guys. Please stop recommending that I go to Costco to try their bagels. First of all, way too many of you have done this already. Second, I’m gonna do it one of these days. Third, they look terrible. Fourth, I’m not happy about it. Fifth, I also kinda am.
Some other spots that I’ve jotted down on my list include Big Apple Bagels (Bellevue), Grateful Bread (Duvall), Woodinville Bagel Bakery (Woodinville), Bob’s Bagels (Pt. Townsend), and North Star Lopez Island (Lopez Island).
If you know of any Seattle-area bagel places I haven’t reviewed or listed above, send’m on over and I’ll add them to the list.
Thanks for actually reading this far. Know someone in the Greater Seattle Area (or beyond) who would appreciate way-too-detailed reviews of bagels? Please forward the link their way.