Second Schmears: Revisiting Rubinstein Bagels
The growing pains are starting to show.
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The Seattle bagel scene is a very different place from when Rubinstein Bagels debuted in 2019. Heck, it’s a very different place since I last reviewed them in November 2022.
Mt. Bagel returned and set up shop not very far away from their Capitol Hill outpost. Old Salt and Loxsmith expanded their footprints. Pop-ups and up-and-comers like Aaron’s Bagels, Salmonberry Goods, and Bean’s Bagels planted their flags (and have their eyes on even more expansion).
And then there’s the literal Rubinstein in Rubinstein Bagels, who left the company last year and has already staked his claim for (IMO) the best bagel in town, one that may also have its very own brick-and-mortar location soon as well.
The point is, this is not the time to be asleep at the wheel when you’re slinging bagels in Seattle (Just ask Ben & Esther’s). That’s especially true for Rubinstein Bagels, which opened its third location (Downtown Redmond) not too long ago and would presumably love to become the region’s premiere local bagel chain.
Given the way competition (and bagel quality) has kicked up in the region, that puts some pressure on price points. And that’s where Rubinstein might be in a bit of a dill pickle. While the bagel shop has historically offered one of the best values in town when it comes to single bagels (though not for sandwiches), those days appear to be over. Once $2.80 for a bagel, it’ll run you $3.25 for one now. And that’s before you factor in the mandatory 18% service fee that was recently added to all orders, as well as taxes and any extra tip.
I recently popped in there to get an egg and cheese on a bagel and by the time they rang it up for almost $14, I plotzed. And judging by the online comments, I’m not the only one.
(A lot of folks have taken the staff to task over the charge, which I don’t think is fair. Rubinstein should just suck it up and raise their prices or figure out how to compensate employees in a way as to not require the charge, but what do I know?)
Here’s the rub: People will pay more for a good thing. Mt. Bagel, Hey Bagel, and Little Market bagels ain’t cheap, but I don’t see people complaining about that because they’re pretty happy with the final product. So the question is… is Rubinstein keeping up with the Joneses in the bagel quality department? Let’s find out.
WHAT I ORDERED
Everything bagel with fried onion and chive 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.
You see it, right? Those don’t seem to be the same bagel. I described the old version as “robust” with a solid golden brown color and tight roll. The current version is shiny (in a bad way) with a light golden brown color. The newer bagel was also very clammy, reminding me of the kind of bagels you get out of a plastic bag at the store. The new version did have some ridges and unevenness in the roll, but the general softness didn’t portend much texture. Just like the old version, the bottom was firm but soft (and lacked a Cornmeal Ring of Doom).
Smelling the bagel, I was hit with the sense memory of a stale soft pretzel. The kind you used to get from a random guy selling stacks of pretzels in a shopping cart outside Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium (I know everyone can relate to this anecdote). Sure enough, the doughiness of the interior, coupled with that distinct smell, confirmed the pretzeliness of the bagel.
Pretzel memories aside, the bagel was very soft and rebounded somewhat after the bite, but didn’t offer much in the way of crunch or texture.
Again, you can see it, right? The prior version was bulbous and textural, featured a strong seed hand, and offered a strong schmear ratio. The current version is flatter, glossier, includes less schmear, and offers more of a medium seed hand. I did note a little bit of crispness on the top but the bagel was also warmed or possibly lightly toasted, which played a part. The bottom was firm and slightly knockable and I came away feeling like the bottoms were the best part of these bagels.
I wanted to cut the bagel in half to eat it easier but that made the gloopy cream cheese go everywhere, which is never fun. On the bite, I noted the interior was a little soggy, though there was some crunch thanks to that bottom. There was a medium rebound after each bite and the seasoning was very onion- and garlic-forward. The schmear, however, lacked much flavor, which was a departure from the first go-round.
WHAT I SAID LAST TIME
“There are some nits to pick and, having gone to Rubinstein a dozen times now, the experience does vary depending on the time of day and other factors. However, there’s a reason I keep coming back. It’s a solid bagel experience. It’s dependable. It’s good enough to get the job done. And given some of the other bagels I’ve tried around Seattle, I’ll take those odds.”
WHAT I THOUGHT THIS TIME
In the time since that review, the prices have risen but the quality has dropped. I can’t say for sure what’s going on at Rubinstein but it seems clear that they’re making some calculations behind the scenes over there.
As I look around at all the solid bagel places around Seattle, as well as the ones that are coming soon, I’m not sure how much longer those calculations will add up.
In the meantime, I’m dropping them two spots in the rankings. Even though I had problems with my recent visits to Old Salt in Ballard and Oxbow, I feel like the product itself was simply better.
MY SEATTLE BAGEL RANKINGS SO FAR (1/22/24)
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I honestly haven't been to Rubinstein's in prob 3 years but yeah, this certainly does not look like the Rubinstein I went to. That's a bummer but also shows why Mr. Rubinstein said, "I got to go..." They had such great potential.
It sure seems like the common link I'm seeing here (and in NYC) is increased expansion = decreased quality. Def a reoccurring theme.
Agree with your sentiments, Rubinstein sold me their version of the frozen Sara Lee restaurant supply store bagel for molta moolah - making Rubinstein’s just plainly, a Rube.