Can I get a good Bellingham bagel at... Otherside Bagel Co.
Is the "other" Bellingham bagel place actually the best in Bham?
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“There is only one bagel shop located in Downtown Bellingham and there is room for more.”
That was co-owner Nate Gray speaking with The Front as he prepared to open Otherside Bagel Co. in May 2022. While The Bagelry had long dominated the Bellingham bagel scene, he and Bayly Peterson saw an opportunity to bring some competition to town in the form of a modernized bagel deli and perhaps wake some people up to the possibilities.
“We want to be the catalyst that gets people to the other side of the morning,” Peterson told Cascadia Daily News that same month. “You come in a little bit sleepy or groggy or malnourished. We want to be the energizer push to get you stoked for the day.”
Located in the Stateside apartment complex on State Street, Otherside wanted to bring options to the Bellingham bagel scene and step things up a notch in terms of quality and types of offerings.
Along with scratch-made bagels (hand-rolled with flour sourced from Cairnspring Mills in Skagit County) and a sustainably sourced menu, Otherside tries to take advantage of just about every bagel-related food possibility there is.
“Something that sets us a bit apart from your typical bagel shop is we will have pizza bagels, bagel chips as well as bagel dogs,” Gray told The Front in 2022. “We are also doing loaded Bialy Bagels, using the wider hole in the center with a savory filling inside. Down the road, we are striving to make our own lox in the house to go along with our bagels.”
So far, it seems, so good. The shop recently celebrated its first anniversary and appears to have proven there’s room for at least two bagel businesses in town.
But which one offers the better bagel? Let’s find out…
And if you want to know how I define a good bagel, you can find that here.
WHAT I ORDERED
Plain bagel as-is
Everything bagel with garlic and herb cream cheese
THE EXPERIENCE
Otherside might still one-year-old already but it’s still got that new restaurant sheen. The interiors are bright and cheery, a contrast to The Bagelry’s old-school aesthetic.
One thing I definitely wanted to point out is that the staff was extremely friendly and went above and beyond. After there was some confusion with my order, they went out of their way to make sure I got what I wanted. Big customer service thumbs up.
Price-wise, I was pretty happy with their menu. Single bagels will run you $2.10 and a bagel with cream cheese comes to $4.20. Compared to Old Salt ($4.50), Rubinstein ($4.80), Oxbow ($5.00), and Zylberschtein’s ($5.50), that’s a good deal. Locally, they’re on par with The Bagelry ($3.90 for a bagel with plain cream cheese, $4.35 for flavored cream cheese).
UPON FIRST GLANCE
Upon getting the plain bagel, I immediately noticed this curious “tread” that seemed to run along the top. I wasn’t really sure what to make of it. I assume it has something to do with the way the dough was prepared or rolled.
TOP
As for the aforementioned tread, it would be one thing if it meant a textural impact to the bagel, but the top was pretty soft to the touch with a slight crispiness. The color was a light golden brown, which wasn’t bad but I’d probably ideally like to see it be a little darker. The sides of the bagels appeared to be very soft, which was interesting.
As for the everything bagel, there was a strong seed hand with a pretty even mix of seasoning. The top was also very soft to the touch and didn’t portend a very crunchy bite.
BOTTOM
We talk a lot about the cornmeal ring of doom and what it historically implies. What, then, does it mean when the bottom of the bagel is just one big wall of cornmeal? It’s not a kiss of death by any means but seeing that did not fill me with a lot of hope. Also didn’t help that both bottoms were extremely soft.
INSIDE/BITE
Softness was definitely the word of the day here. Ripping into the plain bagel, I found it to be doughy and dense on the inside. I didn’t detect any crispness on the tear and I didn’t get any on the bite either. The bagel had a sourdough smell and was not ultimately very memorable.
A lot of those criticisms are the same for the everything bagel. However, credit where credit is due. This was a bagel that offered a lot of flavor. The seeding included salt, AS GOD INTENDED, and therefore packed a good punch in terms of the flavors you want to get when biting into an everything bagel.
The cream cheese also had some actual flavor, which isn’t always a given when it comes to flavored cream cheeses. I found it to be very balanced and one of the better garlic-based schmears I’ve had in the region.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This is one of those reviews where I realize what a human garbage monster I am. I’m a big fan of everything Otherside is trying to do and I always want to encourage people to try out a new business. Maybe they’ve struck gold with their bagel dogs or deli sandwiches. Perhaps they serve some really good coffee drinks. I don’t know if the rest of their offerings might satisfy customers. But I do know that I wasn’t ultimately a big fan of the bagel. Everything bagel flavors aside, the softness of both bagels undercut the whole experience.
Is It Good Enough For The Goys?
Otherside was pretty busy on the day I was there and I got the sense they’re a big hit in the neighborhood. Bellingham needed a bit of a bagel shop boost and I’m glad they got one. My sense is that they might thrive with their sandwiches and other offerings, making it a decent local option for families and students.
Is It Good Enough For Northeastern Jews
Alas, if my family was visiting from back East and we took a day trip up to Bellingham, The Bagelry remains the bagel place I would take them.
MY SEATTLE BAGEL RANKINGS SO FAR (6/25/23)
OUTSIDE SEATTLE BAGEL RANKINGS
The Bagelry (Bellingham)
Howdy Bagel (Tacoma)
Otherside Bagel Co. (Bellingham)
Whidbey Island Bagel Factory (Mt. Vernon, Whidbey Island)
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