July is a big month for Seattle bagels
Sometimes I write a headline and realize I'm not entirely sure how life brought me to this place but I am here nonetheless.
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 (like this one) each week. If you’re already subscribed, I hope you’ll consider upgrading to a paid subscription! Thank you for reading.
There’s so much going on around the Seattle bagel scene that it felt like a good time to round it all up. Let’s go!
A few weeks back I reported on the troubling situation surrounding Toasted. Bagels & Coffee. Thanks to various issues involving the city, the county, crime, and their landlord, it was unclear if the long-gestating cafe would ever open its doors in U District.
I don’t know exactly what happened but the situation has been resolved and Toasted. is now on track to open in the coming weeks. Co-owner Jaafar Altameemi reached out to say a soft opening is planned for July and “we’re not stopping there.” Several job listings recently went up, including for a barista and bagel baker.
More to come but hopefully all’s well that ends well for Toasted. Or I suppose I should say all’s well that’s just getting started.
Speaking of Seattle bagel shops opening, Backyard Bagel (previously Aaron’s Bagels) is holding its soft opening this weekend (July 13-14) and officially opening on July 17.
Some images from their friends & family night have trickled out and the space looks really great. I’m hoping to get a looksie for myself in the coming days.
Reminder, the new space is at 4310 Fremont Ave. N in Fremont.
Last week I wrote an ode to simit, Turkey’s answer to the bagel (or is it the other way around?). In that post, I sampled a few different simit, some better than others.
I wanted to add that, if you ever happen to find yourself in Bodrum, Turkey, you are required to stop by Bodrum Simitçisi, which has the best simit in town. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, with a malty bite and tons of sesame seed flavor. It was exactly what I wanted out of the experience. Five stars.
While bagel places have popped up all over the city (and beyond), there has been a hole at the center of Seattle (pun intended). That hole is starting to get filled. Rubinstein recently opened its Eastlake location and now it sounds like Loxsmith has its sights set on the Downtown/South Lake Union area.
According to their spring newsletter, the company is “seeking a capital investment for partnership in hopes of opening a 3rd location in downtown Seattle,” adding that they’re considering a “long-term lease available near the South Lake Union business corridor.”
The newsletter also notes that owner Matthew Segal was recently interviewed for an episode of PBS’ America The Bountiful that will follow the “chain of custody” that begins with a freshly caught wild king salmon and ends with lox served on one of their bagels. No word on when the episode will premiere but you can check out the show locally on Cascade PBS (KCTS) Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m.
Things have been a resounding success for 6th Borough Bagels in Olympia so far. They’ve been working their way through a steady string of pre-noon sell-outs. However, it sounds like they’ve fine-tuned the daily bake amounts to make it to the end of the day with a few bagels to spare.
I’m still planning on making it down there to check them out, but I’d be curious to hear from anyone who has tried their bagels. They look pretty good!
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? Please forward the link their way.