Bagels
So my latest culinary complaint is levied at the bakery departments of my local Stop & Shop grocery market chain, purveyors of what I consider to be the world's most unsatisfactory bagels.
Bagels are, at least superficially, a fairly simple food. You take a strip of dough, join the two ends together to form a circle, and boil it in water in a big-ass kettle. Then you bake it in an oven. The net result is a bread that is chewy on the inside and crusty on the outside.
This is easier said than done, however. A really good, New York-style bagel is hard as hell to find outside New York et environs, much like a decent slice of thin-crust pizza. So as a New Englander who lives far outside what few limited urban areas and and around Boston serve up a passable bagel, I've learned to make do with second-rate product. But these limp, impotent things from Stop & Shop are horrid.
I am something of a bagel purist. I am not a fan of "dessert" bagels like blueberry, cinnamon raisin, strawberry, etc. I like my bagel to taste only of seeds -- sesame, poppy, caraway. I am not a fan of flavored cream cheese, either. If that is your deal, then more power to you, but I am not in your camp.
I am, however, a HUGE proponent of lox and onion. How I love a lox and onion bagel sandwich. Drop an egg on it and you have a LEO, a perfect meal. Good lox is equally hard to find out here in the sticks.
There's a certain balance to a well-made bagel that really makes it a culinary treat. It should be a bit chewy on the top, a bit crispy on the bottom and yielding and spongy inside. Though it should retain a circular shape, one should not be able to spin one's index finger through the center-hole, like a glazed donut. That hole should be largely vestigial. But do not steam-bake a bagel -- that'll turn the poor thing into a bulkie roll.
A really good, fresh bagel should not require toasting, in my opinion.
It is virtually impossible to get a good bagel from a plastic bag. Especially one that's been in a grocer's freezer. Lender's does not make good bagels, as far as I am concerned. Thomas' should stick to English Muffins.
So, while I largely detest grocery store-bought bagels, I don't think it's excusable for a grocery store with a bakery on premises to produce a crappy bagel. And nothing, nothing can be done to disguise the sheer mediocrity of the Stop & Shop bagel.
These beastly things are pale, doughy globs that are barely recognizable as bagels. They require someone with the maxillary strength of a great ape to chew effectively. And they have the same taste as craft glue. These things have holes in the center large enough to pass a small dog through.
To add insult to injury, Stop & Shop can't even competently apply seeds to bagels. Their sesame and poppy seed bagels are mangy. And by the time you get them home, inevitably the vast majority of the seeds have fallen off and collected in one corner of the plastic bag. What's left are bagels that look like they've been the victim of some sort of bizarre pox.
My kingdom for H&H.
Comments
you are so right! The bagels here are bad,pizza isn't even edible in central mass. I'm here from NY and I miss those two things terribly!! Have you tried Brueggers Bagels? They are around MA, not here though.
Posted by: carol | June 7, 2003 02:28 PM
There aren't any Bruegger's here. Dunkin' Donuts bagels are passable, but they are a little too fluffy and roll-like for my liking. They do not keep, either, so getting more than one or two is pointless.
Posted by: flargh | June 7, 2003 04:31 PM
The smoked salmon at Falmouth Fish Market on Route 28 is perfection.
Posted by: Capecoder | June 8, 2003 06:36 AM
The best bagels I have found are in the north end of New Rochelle at Bagel Power, in the Golden Horseshoe shopping center, just south of the Scarsdale border. If you are ever in the area, please stop in. A classic water bagel can be hard to find.
Posted by: tokey | June 18, 2003 10:34 PM
I'm from New York and now live in Providence, RI. Yes, the bagels and pizza are terrible. It's sad to say, but the best bagel I can get around here are at the grocery store, frozen Ray's New York Style Bagels. They're pretty good!
Posted by: Jerry | December 11, 2003 01:13 PM
I finally tried the "Ray's New York Bagels" and I have to say that they are the best I have ever had!
Posted by: LH | March 19, 2004 12:30 PM
I am from New York and live in Orlanos. I have never been able to find a bagle I enjoy until I tried Ray's. I was amazed how much they tasted like the bagel bakery we had.
Posted by: Barbara | March 20, 2004 09:47 AM
Where can I buy Ray's NY Bagels? They were selling them in GA at Publix but aren't anymore. I love these bagels too! I'm going into withdrawal!!
Posted by: Kathy | August 5, 2004 02:31 PM
is there any store or supermarket in the atlanta suburbs that sell caraway seeds?
Posted by: joel g steinhauer | November 18, 2004 09:31 AM