The secrets of Seattle’s most viral bagel

Andrew Rubinstein want his bagels to be "objects of themselves."

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 Sunday-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.

Credit: Suzi Pratt

Up top, apologies for my output being a little sporadic the last few weeks. I’ve needed to reset my schedule a little bit, and, quite frankly, I think I needed a mini-break from writing about bagels.

But we’re getting back on track this week with a new review, the first of many. I’m also scheduling some returns to Seattle-area bagel shops and a visit to Toasted’s new Bellevue location. 

Also, amidst it all, Mt. Bagel goes and casually drops a pizza bagel kit? This bagel scene, man…

In the meantime, my piece on Hey Bagel’s Andrew Rubinstein and his quest to make the perfect bagel is now up on Eater Seattle.

I had the pleasure of shadowing Andrew for several months as he prepared to open the Hey Bagel shop in University Village. I learned a lot about what it takes to open a bagel business and its pitfalls that attempt to derail it. More importantly, I learned how the same passions and fears that drove his work as an artist pushed him toward bagel perfection. I hope you enjoy the piece.

See you back here in a few days with a new review!

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.