Second Schmears: Revisiting Old Salt Fish & Bagels
Second Schmears: Revisiting Old Salt Fish & Bagels
Did we sell this Stone Way bagel shop short the first time around?
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 ensure I review any specific bagels (or want to let me know why I’m wrong), you can email me at seanmatthewkeeley@gmail.com.
As I’ve worked my way through the Seattle bagel scene and revisited a few of the places near the top of my rankings, I’ve always had my eye on Old Salt. Sitting at No. 5 in the rankings, I’ve often wondered if I’ve done them dirty.
I’ve been back to Old Salt several times in a non-review capacity and each successive visit convinced me that I was under-hyping them and selling them short. One of the best bagel-buying experiences in Seattle, they consistently impressed me with their wares. Every time I walked up, I would roll my eyes at the long line outside Sea Wolf next door, knowing that there was easy access to an impressive bagel just steps away. “You fools,” I would think. “You have no idea.”
All of which is to say that it was long overdue for me to do a Second Schmears review of Manolin’s morning munchies.
And if you want to know how I define a good bagel, you can find that here.
WHAT I ORDERED
Everything bagel with herb cream cheese.
Plain bagel as-is.
Just like with the previous Second Schmears reviews, I’m going to break from the usual setup and instead provide a comparative study between visits.
While I love a classic bagel deli with a dozen flavors and tons of schmears to choose from, I admire Old Salt’s simplicity. Five bagel flavors. Five schmears. Four sandwiches. That’s it. They know what they’re good at and they stick to that.
There was a lot of consistency in the look of the plain bagel from my October visit to this time. The top was a golden brown, though slightly on the lighter side. I think these bagels offer more bubbles and blisters than anyone except Little Market. There was lots of “give” on the touch with plenty of crinkles. However, there was a little bit of a rubbery feel to the top.
The bottom of the bagel had a cornmeal ring of doom but, like last time, it was used judiciously and doesn’t seem to impact the feel or taste of the bagel.
Ripping the bagel, I got some good crispiness, but the fluffy interior collapsed as I grabbed it. I also noticed how it also collapsed pretty thoroughly on the bite. This came up in the initial review as well.
As for the taste, it was pretty bready. Definitely sourdough-esque. I noticed that last time but I feel like it was a little more pronounced this time around.
Unlike the top, the bottom of the bagel was very crunchy. I did note some crunch last time as well, but it feels like I might have gotten a bit more this time.
As for the everything bagel, I saw a lot of the same features. Golden brown but slightly on the lighter side. Nice bubbles and blisters on the top. The bottom had a cornmeal ring and was firm to the touch. There were also a lot of imperfections in the bottom that helped give it some crunch on the bite.
I would describe the seed hand as medium, with those black sesame seeds that really pop. I got a very strong “everything bagel” smell, which was different from last time.
I did note that the bagel was flatter than I’d prefer. The cut on the bagel was also a little off, which isn’t disqualifying, but, you know, is definitely a rookie move.
The bite was solid and the bagel had good “give” as well as a little bit of crispiness. Once I started chewing, I didn’t detect too much texture between the bagel and the cream cheese. There was a good interior smell, thanks to the herbs in the schmear, which helped give the bite some flavor. Overall, however, I would say the bagel didn’t give me as much crunch or crispiness as I wanted. The “tough chew” of the initial visit was present, too.
WHAT I SAID LAST TIME
“…in terms of the ordering experience, the ambiance inside, and the quality of the bagels and schmears, I wouldn’t have a problem serving these to family and friends from back East, especially if the lox measures up to the expectations.”
WHAT I THOUGHT THIS TIME
Based on the really good experiences I had at Old Salt between the first and second reviews, I expected to bump them up multiple spaces after this. However, I have to admit that this particular visit wasn’t up to the level of some prior ones, and I have to go with what’s in front of me. That said, it was still a solid-enough bagel experience to keep them ahead of Loxsmith and I’m going to inch them ahead of Sea Wolf’s Oxbow following the results of its showing in the blind taste test.
That said, I feel like there’s a sourdough bagel showdown looming between Oxbow and Old Salt in the very near future.
MY SEATTLE BAGEL RANKINGS SO FAR (6/18/23)
OUTSIDE SEATTLE BAGEL RANKINGS
The Bagelry (Bellingham)
Howdy Bagel (Tacoma)
Whidbey Island Bagel Factory (Mt. Vernon, Whidbey Island)
Thanks for actually reading this far. If you enjoyed my Seattle 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.