Mensch Madness 2025: The I'll-Eat 8

The people's choice for best bagel in Western Washington gets closer.

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UPDATE: Voting is now closed for the I’ll-Eat 8. Thanks to everyone who voted! Substack’s poll system will keep the polls open for a week, but the official results have been tallied. Voting for the next round begins Thursday.

Mensch Madness 2025, the quest to determine the very best bagel in Western Washington, moved into high gear last week. After a grueling Round of 32, the Schmear 16 was an all-out slugfest full of shocking twists and back-and-forth battles to determine bagel supremacy.

Over 1,100 votes later, we have our I’ll-Eat Eight, the sweatiest pun name so far (and by a mile).

Let’s not dilly, and let’s not dally. It’s time to see which Western Washington bagel shops move on to the Final Four. Remember, voting will be open through Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. PST. (Substack is a bit lacking in the poll end-time customization department, so I’m manually recording the winners even though the polls remain open).

1-seed Hey Bagel has cruised in the tournament so far, as the hype that keeps their lines so long seems to also carry them through voting. Bloom Bistro survived a hard-fought battle against The Bagelry, and the Georgetown bagel shop continues its recent run of success. But can it continue?

This was the one bracket where both winners cruised to victory in the Schmear 16. In fact, both Mt. Bagel and Old Salt have had an easy time of it so far. That changes now as these two Seattle bagel heavyweights go head-to-head for the chance to appear in the Final Four.

Our first No. 1 seed has fallen! Bagel Oasis had a solid lead most of the weekend, but Toasted’s faithful fans came out in droves for a definitive Schmear 16 upset win. Meanwhile, Howdy Bagel went back and forth with Loxsmith all weekend until they finally pulled ahead on the final day. Now we get a true Western Washington showdown as Toasted (which just opened a new shop in Bellevue) takes on Tacoma’s finest.

1-seed Backyard Bagel has had a dominant run, with easy wins in each of the previous two rounds. Now they get a battle-tested 6th Borough Bagels. The Olympia bagel shop trailed upstart Bakery Louise most of the weekend but rallied for the last-minute win. Now, a true showdown between Seattle and Olympia is here.

Remember, you’ve got until Tuesday, March 25, at 11:59 p.m. PST to cast your votes. The winners of this round will be announced next Thursday, and then we’ll start the Final Four (or whatever weird name I come up with for it).

And by all means, if you want to make a case about why certain bagel places should get someone’s vote, sound off in the comments!

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