Can I get a good New York bagel at... PopUp Bagels
Is it worth waiting in line or is this simply a venture capitalist's dream 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 ensure I review any specific bagels (or want to let me know why I’m wrong), you can email me at itsashanda@substack.com.
Of all the bagel places I’ve had on my list to try, there were none I anticipated more than PopUp Bagels.
Not because I was convinced it was the best bagel out there, but rather because of the incredibly long lines that had propelled them to bagel stardom so quickly. I needed to know if reality justified the hype or if they were simply a product of modern social media marketing.
Admittedly, I may have already missed my chance to eat those original bagels that made PopUp go viral. They already have five locations across New York, five in Connecticut, and one in Massachusetts. Chances are, corporate expansion has diluted the product. But I tried to go in with as open a mind as I possibly could.
I was going to make a joke about how PopUp has as many Connecticut locations as New York ones, but then I realized that they actually started in the Constitution State.
Adam Goldberg (not the actor) and cousin Jeff Lewis started making bagels during the pandemic (where have we heard that before). They figured out their ideal recipe and gave them away to friends and relatives who would pick them up through a window in his home. As tends to happen, word got around about the quality of the bagels and Goldberg decided to turn this into a full-fledged business. He began by launching pop-ups (natch) and they were instant hits.
“We were selling out our bagels in a matter of seconds online in advance and we had people who were subscribing every week,” he told Nation’s Restaurant News. “They would guarantee they’d get a dozen bagels because they didn’t want to get sold out in the preorder system.”
After launching his first storefront in Westport, Connecticut, Goldberg turned his sights toward New York City, opening the first Manhattan shop at Thompson Street in Greenwich Village. The business continued to expand and they continued doing pop-ups all over the region. In October 2021, PopUp won the people’s choice award at the Brooklyn BagelFest, cementing its spot among the most-talked-about and most-desired bagels in town. The coveted New York Times profile piece followed soon after.
“I think the same thing no matter where we go: There are millions of people who love to eat bagels,” says Goldberg. “And there are millions of people who like to eat pizza. And there are lots of neighborhoods that have more than one pizzeria. And there’s no reason why some neighborhoods shouldn’t have more than one bagel place.”
By the end of 2023, PopUp had four locations across the two states. Thanks to an influx of investments from notable people such as Paul Rudd, Michael Phelps, Michael Strahan, and JJ Watt, they’ve since expanded to 11 locations with more on the way.
As for the bagels themselves, Goldberg says they’re not what one would consider “New York-style.”
“Our bagels are not as dense as a standard New York bagel; they’re a little smaller, with a nice, crispy exterior and a fluffy interior,” he told The Forward, which referred to him as a “bagel disruptor,” a phrase that makes me irrationally angry.
In true New York fashion, not all their competitors are convinced that PopUp has what it takes to make it long-term.
“Once you start to change it too much, it is not a bagel anymore, it is a bread,” Melanie Frost, an owner of Ess-a-Bagel, told the NY Times. “That is great for bread, but bagels? I don’t know… Good for them. People love fads.”
So, is PopUp Bagels just an Instagram-worthy fad or a serious bagel contender? It’s time to find out.
And if you want to know how I define a good bagel, you can find that here.
WHAT I ORDERED
Plain bagel
Everything bagel
Sesame bagel
Scallion cream cheese
THE EXPERIENCE
Knowing all about the wild lines that PopUp gets, even now, I made sure to arrive at the Thompson Street location bright and early. The store opened at 7:00 a.m. and I was there by 7:05 a.m. While there were only two people in front of me when I got in line, there were about a dozen people behind me by the time I left.
In his interview with The Forward, Goldberg opined about the good old days when a bagel shop was just a bagel shop, not bogged down by the demands of a deli.
“The minute you start slicing and making sandwiches, it slows everything down and eliminates the beauty of a hot, fresh bagel,” he said. “Over the years, bagel stores have become more like delis. We wanted to bring back the old-school bag of hot bagels.”
It’s funny then, that my experience at PopUp was all about waiting in line for the sake of it, rather than the “get in, get out” one he says he wants to emulate. The business is certainly set up to be breezy, with two bakers in the back and two people manning the counter. But the two guys working the counter were all about schmoozing and taking their time. I could have been in and out of there in a matter of one minute. Instead, it took about ten minutes from the time I got in line to when I walked out. All for three bagels and a tub of cream cheese. There are plenty of “full-service” bagel places that move quicker than that.
It was early in the morning and the cashiers were multitasking to set up for the day, which I get. But I had to wonder if those long lines were really because of the demand or because PopUp just takes their sweet time (and really just wants the lines)?
The way PopUp does it, you have to order either a 3-pack with 1 schmear, a 6-pack with 1 schmear, or a dozen bagels with 2 schmears. They keep the flavors simple with plain, sesame, poppy, salt, and everything. I went with the required plain and everything and threw in a sesame. The schmear flavors often change, but they include scallion cream cheese in the mix and that was a no-brainer for me.
UPON FIRST GLANCE
Credit due, the bagels were hot and fresh out of the oven. I never used to think that was something I’d have to give a bagel place credit for but here we are. From what I could tell the exteriors all looked good. The shapes were a little different, implying this wasn’t just a factory bagel.
The scallion cream cheese also looked decent with some big chunks of scallion. It was on the softer side so I wondered how it was going to be when I spread it on the bagel.
TOP
The plain bagel was a pretty wonky shape, resembling a spaceship out of Star Wars. It was slightly smaller than average and featured a medium center. The coloring was a dark golden brown. The top was firm and crackly to the touch. So far so good.
The everything bagel was also a little smaller than average and had a very tight center. It featured a decent seed hand and one that was very poppy and sesame-forward. Again, the top was firm and crispy on the touch.
BOTTOM
The bottom of the plain bagel was very firm with slight crinkles on the touch. No Cornmeal Ring of Doom (CRoD) was present. The coloring was a nice dark brown ring running along the center.
The bottom of the everything bagel was also well-seeded. It was firm and crackly to the touch. No CRoD this time either.
INSIDE/BITE
The plain bagel offered a soft and crispy rip and I got a very bagely smell from the interior. The bite was very crispy thanks to the exterior. I noted that while the interior was pillowy and fluffy, it was perhaps too much so. The bagel had zero rebound after the bite, flattening it out. As I ate, I came to like the interior even less as a mush factor seemed to appear. While the exterior of the bagel was enjoyable, the interior made me stop eating.
The everything bagel gave me a similar crispiness and crackliness on the bite. I got some decent flavor from the seasoning thanks to the inclusion of a little salt (AS GOD INTENDED). The cream cheese was very oozy and started to spread out with each successive bite. I got a little bit of scallion flavor from the schmear as well as a little tang. Again, the bagel collapsed on the bite and did not rebound. Despite the decent flavor, the combination of a too-soft interior and oozy cream cheese made for an inedible mess.
Since the requisite 3-pack meant I’d also gotten a sesame bagel, I bit into that as well. I’m glad I did because it was actually the best of the three. Not only did it have a little more heft and roundness to it, but the interior was light without being mushy. I think the sesame seeds would have benefitted from being toasted. I have a feeling this one was baked a little longer than the plain and everything.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I think I understand why PopUp Bagels is so popular, especially allowing for the possibility that I got some underbaked bagels. The exteriors are really solid. They look good and you get some crispiness and crunch (both of which go a long way). I do wonder if, even when baked well, the interiors are still a little too fluffy for purists. While eating these bagels, especially the plain, I sometimes thought of pound cake.
I think they have a real problem on their hands with the cream cheese. It’s not good enough to be worth the hassle while the alternative (a bagel place that puts a cold block of schmear on for me) is more appealing.
Back in Seattle, I’ve heard a few defenses of the long lines that appear daily outside Mt. Bagel, Howdy Bagel, and others. Often it’s about the high quality, the local ingredients, and the handcrafted care put into the preparation. That people should be okay waiting in line because the product is worth your time.
I can’t help but feel like the long lines for PopUp Bagels are the real product (This investor even gives away the game, saying that the lines are part of the “product.”).
Is It Good Enough For The Goys?
This is the goyim dream bagel. I also see why so many goyim have invested in the business. It’s bagels understood through the eyes of venture capital. Perusing their Instagram, it’s more about the “show” that comes with the PopUp experience than the bagels themselves. That’s not to say that this is a bad bagel. It’s not. But there are plenty of great NY bagel places where you can get more and get out faster. And when you think of it like that…what’s the appeal?
Is It Good Enough For Northeastern Jews?
I’m not gonna go as far as to agree with that Ess-a-Bagel owner and imply that PopUp Bagels’ bagels aren’t actually bagels, but I think I know what she’s getting at. There’s a bagel-adjacent quality to them. You wouldn’t look at them and think they’re anything but. However, after biting into one, you can’t help but feel like something is a little off. You can’t quite put your finger on it. Is it the flavor of the bagel? Is it the too-soft interior? Is it the way they’re baked? Whatever it is, maybe you can’t prove it… but you just know.
MY NEW YORK AREA BAGEL RANKINGS (6/30/24)
O’Bagel (Hoboken)
PopUp Bagels
You can find my full rankings here.
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The entire reason they give you a tub of cream cheese, is that you're supposed to break off pieces of the bagel with your hand and dip it into the cream cheese. It's amazing if you eat it that way. I can understand why you weren't quite a fan if you actually took the time to cut the bagels and spread cream cheese on them like a regular bagel. In that case you might as well go to a regular bagel place. Popup bagels are made for dipping, it's the entire point.
You’re way too kind. They lost me at a soft interior. No self-respecting bagel is mushy that way. These are rolls with holes and a side of drama to go. Phooey