Second Schmears: Revisiting Mt. 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.
Quick plug before we get started, I recently did a Capitol Hill bagel tour (Eltana, Westman’s, and Ben & Esther’s) with Emily Alhadeff and she wrote about it in her newsletter, The Cholent. You can check it out here…
In a recent post for paid subscribers, I wrote about how waiting in line for a bagel has become commonplace. Nowhere in Seattle is that more apparent than at Mt. Bagel. The once-and-future-king of the Seattle bagel scene picked up where it left off. It has inspired news articles and podcast episodes. It’s an Instagram favorite. And the long lines have not abated.
When I visited on the opening day of their Madison Valley location, I made sure to get there an hour before opening. As the line snaked behind me, they started taking orders at 8:30 a.m. in order to get the bagels rolling.
It’s only been two months but it felt like I should revisit now to see just how much the hype had died down (not much) and whether or not the bagels have changed as Roan Hartzog and his team settled in (let’s find out).
For the record, I got there at 8:30 a.m. and there were about seven people and one dog ahead of me. They ended up opening doors around 8:50 a.m. and I would say that by the time I grabbed my order at 9:00 a.m., there were about 20 people in line behind me.
By all accounts, they had plenty of bagels on hand to make sure all those people got served, but my advice would be to get there around 8:30 a.m. because they tend to open early anyway. Better to wait in line for a little bit than get there late and miss out.
But enough about lines, let’s dig into these bagels…
And if you want to know how I define a good bagel, you can find that here.
WHAT I ORDERED
Everything bagel with scallion cream cheese.
Plain bagel as-is.
As with all previous Second Schmear reviews, we keep things relatively simple this time around. I’ll review this version of the visit and compare it to the first trip to find out what might have changed.
We begin with the plain bagel, which continues to be a real standout in the Seattle bagel world. The lovely golden brown bagel had a snug center and was oblong in a way that promised plenty of structural integrity for schmears and sandwiches. The top was soft to the touch with a whisp of crispness. The bottom of the bagel was a little firmer, had just a vague smattering of cornmeal, and offered some interesting crevices. I said a lot of similar things about the initial visit, so it seems like they’ve solidly settled into their bagel’s look and feel.
It was a hard rip as I tore a piece off the bagel, revealing a lovely sourdough-y smell from the pillowy and fluffy interior. There were only the slightest of crunches in the bite but it was a tough chew in a good way. Overall, a very pleasant-tasting bagel thanks to a flaky, doughy interior. Like last time, I was left wanting a little more crispness from the exterior.
Onto the everything bagel with scallion cream cheese, I once again saw a golden brown bagel that appeared to be cooked very well. I’ve been seeing a lot of undercooked everything bagels recently so I’m really appreciating the care taken when done well. There’s a very strong seed hand and I can very clearly see the chunks of salt in there (AS GOD INTENDED). Again, this is very much in line with my previous visit. The bagel itself was pretty soft to the touch on both sides, with the requisite whisps of crispness.
The bagel offered a soft, fluffy bite. The scallion cream cheese was delicious and actually scallion-y, which, again, isn’t a given. Super doughy and substantial, I enjoyed the bite but once again found myself wishing for just a little bit more crunch or crispness. Also, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think the salt might be a little too much in the topping. I think they’d get better balance if they went with less coarse salt in the mix. I said something similar in the first review as well.
WHAT I SAID LAST TIME
“Maybe I’m being overly nitpicky. Maybe my expectations were so sky-high that it was inevitable that I would be somewhat disappointed. Maybe I just picked the wrong bagel. I don’t know… I did enjoy the everything bagel and I loved the cream cheese. It’s still among the best bagels in the city without a doubt, but…and I can’t believe I’m about to write this…I don’t think it has reclaimed its crown.”
WHAT I THOUGHT THIS TIME
I come away from this Second Schmear knowing a few things for sure. One, Mt. Bagel continues to be a fantastic bagel. I completely understand why people get up early and wait in line and why they sell out by 11:00 a.m. every day. Two, it’s pretty clear they’ve settled into a baking style and bagel style that emphasize size, fluffiness, and flavor. Three, and perhaps this is simply my personal preference, these bagels don’t have the crispy texture that I ultimately want them to have.
So while I came into this review thinking they might move up to at least No. 2, I’m going to keep Mt. Bagel at No. 3 in my rankings for now. It still feels a bit weird to say, but when I think about the total package experience that I want from a bagel, I’m still giving the edge to Bagel Oasis and Little Market due to the way they balance textures.
MY SEATTLE BAGEL RANKINGS SO FAR (8/21/23)
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)
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Besides Mt. Bagel's bagels having gotten all poofy and soft, they now add an automatic 25% surcharge (not counting one's voluntary tip) on all online orders. Apparently they aren't paying Seattle's minimum wage that they have to charge for making the product, and handing a bag across the counter? Guess I'll be driving the extra miles to Bagel Oasis again.