The Seattle jalapeño cheddar bagel jamboree: Westman's & Backyard Bagel

The jalapeño spiciness can't stop, won't stop

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Backyard Bagel’s JCB

Last week I kicked off the Seattle Jalapeño Cheddar Bagel Jamboree, in which I track down every jalapeño cheddar bagel in town to determine which one is top cheese. We return this week with two more entrants.

Before we get into the particulars, I was asked in the comments to “describe your ideal jalapeño cheddar bagel experience (I.e. fillings, time of day)” and wanted to provide an answer.

To me, the jalapeño cheddar bagel is not a breakfast item. That’s too much spice and too much flavor while I’m still waking up. However, lunch or midday is prime peño time. You need an energy boost or something to give you a little kick to keep things moving. The jalapeño cheddar bagel is here for that.

As for fillings, I’m sure others can speak to schmears they might add but I don’t think I’d ever use the jalapeño cheddar bagel as a cream cheese delivery system. The flavors are already so potent and bold that adding a schmear or something else muddies the waters and puts a hat on a hat. It’s ungapatchka.

That’s what makes this ranking so intriguing to me. You can fancy up a so-so poppy seed bagel with some lox or elevate a mediocre sesame bagel with some sun-dried tomato schmear, but the jalapeño cheddar bagel has to stand on its own. There’s nowhere to hide.

So let’s see where this week’s entrants stand.

As a reminder, while my general bagel rankings are based on whims and vibes, I’m handing out actual scores in the jalapeño cheddar rankings. Each bagel will get a score from 1-5 on Bagel Quality, Jalapeño Factor, Cheesiness, Middle, and Overall Experience, as well as an Intangibles bonus (which can add or remove points to the overall score). I’ll add all those scores up for a Total Score out of 25.

So let’s see how the jalapeño cheddar bagels from Westman’s and Backyard Bagel score.

Westman's (L) and Backyard (R)

Initial Thoughts

When I got the Westman’s JCB on a Tuesday morning at 10 a.m., it was ice cold. I know their bagel stand is outside but that’s just never not going to diminish my expectations. I noted some bold colors coming off the bagel with some wonky jalapeño and cheese placement.

The most obvious thing I noticed with the Backyard Bagel JCB is that the cheese seemed to be baked in at a level that I couldn’t see except for bubbles on the peppers. Intriguing.

Backyard Bagel JCB

Bagel Quality

The Westman’s bagel was a good size with a tight center. It had nice coloring with a dark brown exterior. There was some crispiness and firmness on top while the bottom was blackened but soft. The interior of the bagel was a bit dry and offered a tough chew. You get a lot of bagel in the bite compared to the other ingredients, which means you’re mostly tasting that.

Score: 2.5 out of 5

The Backyard Bagel was also a good size, though perhaps a smidge bigger than the norm with a tight center. It was a little oily, very soft, and airy to the touch. It crinkled all over as I held it. The bottom was crisp was soft. On the bite, it was really soft and fresh. Very easy to bite and chew. It’s a really good bagel type for a JCB.

Score: 4.5 out of 5

Westman’s JCB

Jalapeño Factor

For Westman’s, there was decent jalapeño coverage as I counted five slices. It probably could have used two or three more. Most of the slices were covered in cheese and a few had burned edges to give them some crispiness. There wasn’t very much flavor or spice from the peppers. They were more ornamental than flavorful.

Score: 1 out of 5

Backyard’s bagel had seven jalapeño slices, which made for a good ratio. Most of the slices were located towards the center. A couple of peppers got stuck to the sides, which is nice for the bite factor. The jalapeños seemed fresh and juicy in a way you usually don’t see. Because the pepper slices were so centralized, I had to take a couple of bites to get to many of them. But when I did, they offered some delightful spice. It was a smooth heat that lingered but didn’t overpower my taste buds.

Score: 5 out of 5

Westman’s JCB

Cheesiness

It looked like Westman’s went with the cheese slice placement, though it was a little askew. A quarter of the bagel was missing cheese, though that did help create a nice cheese nub on the other end. Life is a series of trade-offs. Unfortunately, the cheese didn’t offer much flavor of its own and the bagel overwhelmed it on the chew.

Score: 1 out of 5

Visually, the cheese application on the Backyard Bagel seemed slight, though I could see it crusted atop the jalapeño and as crinkly bits on the side. Flavorwise, it was subtle, and almost imperceptible on some bites. To be honest, because of the quality of the bagel and peppers, I didn’t mind that much.

Score: 2 out of 5

Backyard’s JCB

Middle

The middle of the Westman’s bagel had a thin layer of cheese running across the top. Since that cheese wasn’t very flavorful, there wasn’t much to speak of.

Score: 1 out of 5

The middle of the Backyard bagel was stuffed with jalapeño across the top. Instead of a mid-bagel treat, it was a flavor bomb epicenter. Not a bad thing.

Score: 4 out of 5

Bottom of the Backyard JCB

Overall Experience

Each bite of the Westman’s JCB was 80% bagel and 20% a mix of cheese and jalapeños. The bagel itself didn’t wow me and there wasn’t much flavor coming from the peppers or cheese, so…

Score: 1 out of 5

While the cheese flavor was subtle to the point where it was often missing, Backyard’s version was really enjoyable. The juicy, slightly hot jalapeños coupled with a soft and crispy bagel worked well together. There was a pizza-like quality to the bite thanks to the layer of oil that coated the bagel. I didn't miss the punch of the cheese as much as I thought I might.

Score: 4 out of 5

Intangibles

Westman’s: N/A

Bonus points: 0

Backyard: This might be the ideal bagel for a JCB. Crispy and crackly exterior, soft and airy interior, easy to bite into, nice flavor, and lets the jalapeños lead.

Bonus points: 1

Final Scores

Tallying up the scores, Westman’s had a rough outing, garnering just 6.5 out of 25. Meanwhile, Backyard Bagel set the new bar with a score of 20.5 out of 25.

We have a new clubhouse leader and I’ll be very curious to see if any other Seattle bagel shops can measure up. The spicy gauntlet has been thrown down…

Seattle Jalapeño Cheddar Bagel Jamboree Rankings (10/11)

1. Backyard Bagel (20.5)

2. Cafe Argento/Safeway (15.5)

3. Rubinstein Bagels (14)

4. Westman’s (6.5)

You can find my normal bagel rankings here.

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