Can I find a good Seattle bagel at... Freshborn Bagels
I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy about some bagels in Ballard
Welcome to It’s A Shanda, one Northeastern Jew’s quest to find a decent bagel in Seattle (and beyond). Along with free bagel reviews every Monday-ish, we also offer weekly bonus posts. If you’re already subscribed, I hope you’ll consider upgrading to a paid subscription! Thank you for reading.
I find the idea of a modern “speakeasy” incredibly lame.
I occasionally see videos about them pop up on my social media feeds. A local influencer will ask, “Do you know there’s a speakeasy hiding in plain sight in Belltown?” to which I mentally respond, “I don’t care.”
“You just have to know the password,” they say. “No, I don’t,” I reply.
I won’t try to decipher which nondescript door I’m supposed to enter so you can sell me a $10 Modelo.
As I've aged, I’ve learned that I dislike artifice. I especially dislike artifice when it mimics something that once existed for legitimate reasons but is now there to attract tourists or create the illusion of an experience that is no longer necessary to make it seem more interesting. It's as if everyone is on a movie set but acting like it’s real life.
Like throwing a Great Gatsby Party and dressing up like a Roaring 20s flapper while being blissfully unaware of the context and meaning of the novel.
But you know what I do love? The search for the forbidden bagel.
I often find the long lines at today’s trendiest bagel shops overwhelming and unnecessary. I want to have to work for my bagel, and I want to feel like I’m doing something slightly illegal in search of what could be Seattle’s next great discovery.
Waiting in an agreed-upon nondescript parking garage in Issaquah to retrieve bagels from the back of Andrew Rubinstein’s SUV is still one of the most fun experiences I’ve had while writing this newsletter. The fact that the bagels were so good was almost beside the point.
As Tom Sizemore says in Heat, “The action is the juice.”
Replicating that experience is a tough ask. It’s rare to find a local bagel I haven’t already reviewed, and they usually are found in a storefront, farmers’ market, pop-up, or cottage bakery. There aren’t too many good bagels lurking out there in back alleys and off the beaten path.
But there are still opportunities if you know where to look for them.
Last year, I became aware of Freshborn Bagels, which appeared to be a bagel purveyor out of Ballard. Their bagels looked solid, but when I tried to find out where I could buy them, I hit a wall.
They seemingly disappeared at some point, and I chalked it up to being a short-lived project that had come to a close. I’ve seen a few small-batch bagel makers and pop-ups go that route, so it wasn’t a surprise.
However, Freshborn seemingly reemerged recently. A few weeks back, they offered up some insight into what was going on.
“After a fairly dormant year, I'll be making bagels a little more frequently,” read the post. “I've realized how much I miss doing this on the regular, and I'm energized after this past week of orders. I hope to continue at a higher frequency.”
So, I reached out and found that all I had to do was place an order via direct message, show up at a general location at an agreed-upon time, and keep a lookout for someone with a bag of bagels.
This is precisely what I’ve been looking for. The action is the juice.
And if you want to know how I define a good bagel, you can find that here.
WHAT I ORDERED
Plain bagel as-is ($2.75)
Everything bagel as-s ($2.75)
THE EXPERIENCE
I reached out via Instagram to place my order for several flavors, including my usual review ones. With a bake planned for that week, we agreed to meet for the exchange.
As I drove toward the Ballard meet-up spot, I realized I hadn’t asked the person running Freshborn their name, nor did I know anything about their process for making bagels. Like Icarus, I was flying too close to the sun. After parking, I texted that I’d arrived and waited on the street corner. I looked around and saw someone walking towards me with a brown bag in hand.
This was Brandon, a former baker for Rachel’s who started Freshborn as a fun way to make “bespoke bagels.”
“The inspiration for the name Freshborn comes from one of my favorite bands (Deerhoof) songs from the album Offend Maggie,” he says. “I’d often bake bagels to the album when I was working for Rachel’s Bagels. “Freshborn,” being the first track on that album, meant it was time to put down my coffee and bake. The name also speaks of how I’ve always liked to deliver my product: Freshborn.”
He told me that he’s working with someone to build a website and is exploring the possibility of pop-ups in the Ballard/Greenwood area this summer.
In the meantime, people can order his bagels via Instagram and pay via Venmo. His usual pickup days are Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday, but he’s “always willing to accommodate other hours.”
UPON FIRST GLANCE
I looked inside the bag while driving home and thought everything looked very much in order. The seasoning on the everything, sesame, and poppy bagels looked strong. And I liked the coloring I was seeing. I thought that the bagels looked good in the Instagram photos, and these lived up to that bar.
I’m going to level with you. I was extremely hungry and absolutely destroyed the sesame bagel on the drive home. It was a true sesame bomb, packed with flavor. The bagel was fluffy but dense, making for a great chew. I didn’t have any schmear with me, but I didn’t need it, which is always the sign of a good bagel. Things were looking very good heading into the official review.
TOP
The plain bagel was a good size, with a slightly oblong shape and a small center. The coloring on top was a light to golden brown, with some dark spots scattered throughout. There was slight blistering all around. The top was soft but firm and crinkly to the touch.
The everything bagel was also a good size and featured a small center. This roll was more cylindrical. The top featured a coloring that ranged from light to golden brown. There was an intensely strong seed hand at work and was very sesame- and poppy-forward. The top was soft but firm to the touch.
BOTTOM
The bottom of the plain bagel had a beige coloring with a golden brown ring on the interior. It was soft but firm to the touch. There was no Cornmeal Ring of Doom (CRoD) present.
The bottom of the everything bagel was similar in coloring and soft but firm. It was also seeded, which we always appreciate, though it was more onion-forward on this end. No CRoD was present.
INSIDE/BITE
The plain bagel had a crinkly, tough rip, and I was immediately hit with a classic bagel smell on the inside. The bite was tough in a good way, dense but fluffy, and made for a good chew. There was a strong rebound after the bite, including slight crinkles from the exterior. Eating it, I noted a nice plain bagel flavor that didn’t need a schmear to be edible.
Softer than the plain, the everything bagel was also a tough chew in a good way. It had a strong rebound on the bite. The Everything seasoning flavors were intense and pungent, thanks in part to the inclusion of salt (AS GOD INTENDED). The seeding was a little loose, so I ended up with a lot of it on my plate—and on my lap. It was very eatable, and schmear was not required.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Obtaining these bagels may require a few extra steps and a leap of faith, but they are worth the effort. They eat well, pack a lot of flavor, and make for a delightful chew. You may have questions about how these bagels are made, but being from New Jersey, my answer to all of those questions would be, “That’s none of my business.”
By the way, I also tried Freshborn’s jalapeño cheddar bagel, and we’ll revisit that shortly…
Is It Good Enough For The Goys?
As far as bagels ordered via DM on social media go, these are pretty darn good. The entire process, from ordering to picking up to eating, makes for a great TikTok video or Instagram Story. Just sayin’…
Is It Good Enough For Northeastern Jews?
Anytime I find a bagel that I can eat without needing cream cheese or butter, I’ll say it’s recommended. If you’re looking for a little thrill with your bagel-buying experience and Ballard isn’t too much of a schlep, give it a whirl so you can say you knew Freshborn before they blew up on the farmer’s market circuit.
MY SEATTLE BAGEL RANKINGS SO FAR (4/27/25)
Freshborn Bagels (Ballard)
Little Rachel’s (Lake City) - 1st visit
Toasted Bagels & Coffee (South Lake Union)
Toasted Bagels & Coffee (U District) - 1st visit
Loxsmith Bagels (West Seattle) - 1st visit
Golden Wheat Bakery (Central District) - 1st visit
Rubinstein Bagels (South Lake Union) - 1st visit
Rubinstein Bagels (Eastlake) - 1st visit
Rachel's Bagels & Burritos (Ballard) - 1st visit, 2nd visit, 3rd visit
Macrina Bakery (Capitol Hill) - 1st visit
Cafe Argento (Capitol Hill) - 1st visit
Eltana (Wallingford) - 1st visit
Westman’s (U District) - 1st visit
Einstein Bros. Bagels (U Village) - 1st visit
Dingfelder’s (Capitol Hill) - 1st visit
Cafe Solstice (U District) - 1st visit
Kelly’s Cannoli (Magnolia) - 1st visit
Bagelbop (Pike Place Market) - 1st visit
Thanks for actually reading this far. If you enjoyed my 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 this link their way.