Real New Yorkers Don't Toast Bagels

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Feb 16th 2011 @ 12:00PM

untoasted bagel Photo: Mark H. Anbinder, Flickr

Maybe you don't give bagels much thought -- grab one from the freezer, give it a quick toast and a smear of cream cheese and you're set. But for New Yorkers, bagels are a source of local pride, and they take them very, very seriously. 'To toast or not to toast' is one of the city's great debates. Over at The Daily Meal, native New Yorker Arthur Bovino has come out swinging, arguing that toasting a perfect bagel -- one fresh from the oven -- is a travesty.

Find out why he says "Toasting a good bagel is bastardizing a beautiful thing" at TheDailyMeal.com

We want to know: Do you toast your bagels?

Filed Under: On the Blogs, Local Delicacies
Tags: bagels, Featured, new york bagels, toasted bagels

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

2-16-2011 @12:56PM gobo said... So to be a "real New Yorker", I should eat cold cream cheese on a cold, soft bagel? Good thing I live in Boston.
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2-16-2011 @1:51PM Ken said... Uh, no. You should eat cold or room temperature cream cheese on a warm bagel fresh from the deli. Where in the article did you read that New Yorkers like their bagels cold?

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2-16-2011 @1:54PM gobo said... I'm being facetious, Ken. The reality is that most delis toss their bagels in big bins by flavor, and the possibility of getting a fresh-from-the-oven bagel, warm and ready to eat, is slim-to-none much of the time. They're usually room temp. A room temperature bagel with cold cream cheese doesn't sound like a treat to me.

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2-16-2011 @2:32PM Ken said... I agree. I read the article as saying that "the perfect bagel" should not be toasted. While this is true, it is also an impossibility for most of us to get a bagel fresh from the oven. Cold, binned bagels need to be toasted, or at least warmed.

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2-18-2011 @2:26AM mtoma2az said... Gobo - if you want a decent bagel, get yourself on the Green Line and go to Coolidge Corner.
Go to KUPEL's! Besides, I thought Finagle a Bagel closed.
And yes, of COURSE I don't toast a FRESH bagel - that's what you do with DAY-OLD's!
Dunkies bagels? eewwuuu....although I dearly miss their banana-nut & cranberry-orange muffins. Sigh.

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2-16-2011 @3:56PM nithya at hungrydesi said... Agreed! BUT only if the bagel is hot from the oven. This is why at Essa Bagel doesn't toast hot from the oven bagels.

Also, real New Yorkers don't eat frozen bagels...

@gobo - I found it impossible to get a good bagel in Boston when I lived there...Dunkin Donuts was the best available.
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2-16-2011 @1:56PM gobo said... This is very true, and it's pretty sad. Finagle a Bagel isn't very good. The best in town are by Iggy's, and they're excellent.

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2-16-2011 @1:49PM Catherine said... If I have the privilege of eating a freshly baked bagel, there is no toaster involved. However, most of my bagels have been frozen or are at least a day old in which case toasting is mandated (so say my parents who are from just outside NYC in northern Jersey.

Whatever you do, don't put it in the microwave!
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2-16-2011 @4:08PM nancy schwerner said... I agree with Catherine's folks: only toast less-than-fresh bagels.
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2-16-2011 @3:00PM Melissa said... Here in northern New Jersey we have very good bagels, and in my town, one place in particular sells the greatest volume and therefore has the freshest bagels. Toasting one of those is completely unnecessary. But if you're lucky, there will be leftovers, and even a great once-fresh bagel benefits from toasting after it's a few hours old. With good cream cheese, it will still be delicious.
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2-16-2011 @6:11PM Dann said... A warm bag of fresh bagels from the shop need no toasting. Day old bagels on the other hand are another story.
I'm in LA now. I miss fresh hot bagels. And Junior's Cheesecake. And a great slice of pizza.
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2-17-2011 @1:16AM Vegas Restaurateur said... New Yorkers are in general an arrogant, reviled population that should stay put in their little universe they so dearly love. Luckily, many do just that. It's an F'ing bagel. Who gives a flip?
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2-18-2011 @2:26AM mtoma2az said... @Vegas Restaurant: now I know why the food in Vegas is so crappy, with an attitude like "it's an effin' bagel". I have to count my carbs, and I won't EAT a bagel, or any OTHER carb, unless it's an effin' good one. If you don't have the pride to make good food, go into some other business.

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2-18-2011 @3:36AM Edge998 said... Lmao @mtoma2az, That's the attitude my local pizza parlor Empire Pizza has, The name says it all... Just another F*ing pizza.. They only come in thin slices.. and let me tell ya.. it makes a sheet of paper look like a phone book. I could get more fuller off the crust, But back on topic, nothing beats a fresh bagel.. and i agree the "Day-Olds" need's toasting

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2-19-2011 @9:24PM jolim2 said... The reason New Yorkers stay in New York is because we starve when we travel far from our home state. We have the best quality and variety of foods, available almost 24/7, and with few exceptions, (like Vegas, for example) cannot find any decent ethnic-based cuisine out of our tri-state area. I can recall visiting my sister in Delaware, and the Chinese food was ridiculously sweet. (Shudder.) A few years ago, when staying, at a hotel near LAX, my husband and I couldn't find more than a couple of restaurants open past ten PM. How do people live like that?

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2-17-2011 @1:20PM C. Fisher said... Boston's Finagle a Bagel makes great bagels! Not only are they all-natural but they are kettle-boiled and hand baked every day right there at their stores! With 18 flavors to choice from and a whole wheat that is 100% whole wheat- you cannot beat it.
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2-18-2011 @2:29AM mtoma2az said... Re: Iggy's - I will agree with you on that, ANYTHING from Iggy's is GREAT. Darn, wish I could go there right now...anyway....GO SOX!
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2-18-2011 @5:13PM 1stLady said... Yes! I thought it was just me. I'm originally from NY and moved out to LA 4 years ago, and not only are the bagels not the same but they always either automatically toast my bagel or ask me if I want it toasted. NO I don't want it toasted silly. Maybe they think toasting it will somehow make it taste better hahaha. I get people saying that it's nice to have a bagel that's warm, but I don't want it over toasted like a Panini.
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2-19-2011 @9:16PM Jolim2 said... I used to be a New Yorker, but now I live in New Jersey, in an area that is sadly lacking in good bagels. Regardless, I have always toasted my bagels simply because I have dental problems that make chewing an UNtoasted bagel an invitation to spend money at the dentist. Besides, a toasted bagel provides a better platform for the Nova, Baked Salmon, and Sable that I top my cream cheese with.
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2-20-2011 @11:25AM Scott said... Head to Rosenfeld's Bagels in Newton Center, MA. Closest to a NY bagel I've found. Don't need to be toasted, crispy outside and soft inside, and on the weekends you can often get them fresh and warm.
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