The Bagels...Not the Movie
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By Caitlin Hawke
When it comes to bagels, I was never an H&H fan. Too big. Too well done. Too expensive. Too hyped! Friends would arrive in NYC and leave packing a baker's dozen. But, when I go to see them, I get to choose. And I always choose Absolute. Or Lenny's. Today, a word about Absolute. Year in. Year out. Absolute has maintained its high standard at the workhorse of a bakery at 2788 Broadway. The line is often right out the door, moving swiftly right up to the stainless steel baskets of doughy goodness. |
AbFab: The Bagelry
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When I go there, I go all the way, which is to say: Everything bagels. Another person in my household is all about the Pumpernickel. It has its place, yes. But Absolute's Everything has no rival in this city. Crunchy seeds on the outside, always fresh, and fully enrobing. Like they couldn't put one more poppy on it. The cincher is its balance of salt to onion -- the main battle of flavors on the crust. Neither overpowers. Both adequately represented. And room for all the other bits.
Once you get past the seeds, you have that feather-light touch of sweetness to the dough. Yum.
And then there is the crux of the matter -- the whole bread part. Just past the crust's chew -- toothsome and snappy -- you have an interior with a hint of sticky. This is the holy grail of bagelmongers. No one who reads this will agree with me, I am sure, but my go-to is their mini-Everything. I just think the surface-area-to-volume ratio on it makes it all work. If anything, the regular-sized version is just a shade too big. But nothing approaching those tires that H&H used to peddle.
There's only one competitor nearby and an ode to one particular bagel there will follow shortly. But for now, let me bask in the absolute glory of everything I know to be right in the world of bagels. Hit it with a schmear of whitefish salad, probably from Acme, and you got yourself a perfect Sunday in the neighborhood. And that is what I love about this hyper local eat.
Once you get past the seeds, you have that feather-light touch of sweetness to the dough. Yum.
And then there is the crux of the matter -- the whole bread part. Just past the crust's chew -- toothsome and snappy -- you have an interior with a hint of sticky. This is the holy grail of bagelmongers. No one who reads this will agree with me, I am sure, but my go-to is their mini-Everything. I just think the surface-area-to-volume ratio on it makes it all work. If anything, the regular-sized version is just a shade too big. But nothing approaching those tires that H&H used to peddle.
There's only one competitor nearby and an ode to one particular bagel there will follow shortly. But for now, let me bask in the absolute glory of everything I know to be right in the world of bagels. Hit it with a schmear of whitefish salad, probably from Acme, and you got yourself a perfect Sunday in the neighborhood. And that is what I love about this hyper local eat.
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