In case you missed the hullabaloo last week, there was a hearty discussion afoot re: the best Park Slope Bagel. Quite a few of you had some *very* strong opinions on this matter, and let's just say we were intrigued. Based on the number of emails, comments, twitters and one drive by vote (screamed out of my next door neighbor Karen's car on her way to Costco), we decided to take on the challenge of scientifically uncovering the BEST PARK SLOPE BAGEL.
Joined by our fellow Park Sloper and blogger bud Jewssip, we set out on Saturday morn to figure this shit out, once and fer all.
Now, duh, this is obvs a very subjective exercise, but we did try to take measures to ensure that judging was as fair and balanced as possible. Here's what went down:
*We chose the 5 most talked about/discussed Bagel locales in the Slope: La Bagel Delight, Bagel Hole, 5th Avenue Bageltique, Bagel World and Brownstone Bagel & Bread.
*We ordered the same thing from each place: an everything bagel (not toasted) with scallion cream cheese.
*Each bag was marked with the location and bagel price.
*We came home, measured and ate each bagel (in order of cheapest to most expensive).
*A clear winner emerged.
To be fair, here is my full disclosure, existing bias: I have been a tried and true La Bagel Delight devotee since January '06, and would have fought anyone who challenged me on "the best bagel in the Slope" question to an immediate full contact duel. Also, my great, grandpa was one of the original partners at Katz's Deli, so I come from a long line of big eatin', Jewish, know-it-alls (i.e. I am totally qualified to conduct this experiment).
Ok, so here are the results:
6. WORST BAGEL IN THE SLOPE: Brownstone Bagel & Bread
671 Union Street
(btwn 4th and 5th aves)
718-622-6030
This bagel sucked...and I kinda hated it. There were seeds on both sides of the bagel, however, it was way too garlic-y. Everything's typically have a carefully balanced mix of...well...everything, but this one could have been served with a Caesar salad and an order of baked clams with all that garlic goin' on. It was slightly dry and had some definite crunch but what REALLY got my haterade flowing was the cream cheese. Remember, we ordered an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese at every locale. Well take a look at this!:
Now there *were* some scallions in here too, but there was also red pepper, and maybe even some carrot (it was hard to tell). UN-FUCKING-ACCEPTABLE.
I get that there is a bizarre underclass of people out in the world who like and appreciate vegetable cream cheese, but I am decidedly not one of them. When I order scallion cream cheese, I want scallions and scallions only in my whip. EPIC FAIL.
*I took one bite of this one.
5. ALMOST THE WORST BAGEL IN THE SLOPE: Bagel World
339 5th Avenue
(btwn 4th and 5th streets)
718-499-1143
Now, there were some specific shoutouts in the comments for Bagel World, so I was hoping this might be our silent underdog. Also, it was the most crowded of all of the bagel haunts, and that *has* to count for something, right? Unfortch, very much no.
As Jewssip astutely pointed out, this bagel looks like it was covered in bird feed. Each half of the bagel is coated (top and bottom) with every type of seed you can imagine, creating a mish mosh of a bagel that is supposed to taste like "everything" and kinda tastes like nothing. This was also the softest (read: gummiest) of all the bagels (if your kid is teething, this should be your go to spot). And as for the cream cheese, it was so whipped, it was Leprechaun green. I don't know, I do love me some scallions, but also I don't want to feel like I'm eating a St. Patrick's Day parade bagel.
Also, this was the only "double bagged" bagel--it was wrapped in both paper AND tin foil. Thorough or an affront to planet Earth...you decide.
I will, however, give Bagel World some extra points for the "best overall" bagel experience. It *felt* most like a bagel place out of all of our stops: great long glass counter with lots of homemade salads, cream cheeses, etc. Baskets of bagel chips, day old bagels and more. They also had the best selection of yummy looking baked goods (none of which I tried) including this insane looking chocolate muffin that had a hole in the middle and seemed to be filled with some of cheese-cakey type situation.
*I took two or three bites of this bagel
4. THE "JUST OK FOR ME, DAWG" BAGEL IN THE SLOPE: 5th Avenue Bageltique
242 Fifth Avenue
(btwn Carroll & Garfield Streets)
718-638-1866
There's not really much to say about Bageltique (WTF is Bageltique, by the way? Is that supposed to be like boutique, but for baygs?). This is a pretty decent bagel. It's def on the chewier side, and the cream cheese was surprisingly good. The bagel itself was kinda low on seeds, but that didn't bother me so much. There was nothing offensive about this bagel...and also nothing that would cause me to ever seek it out. If you live in the area, I would def hit up Bageltique over Bagel World, but if you aren't lazy, I would probs skip em both and walk up to La Bagel.
*I took two bites of this bagel
3. & 2. THE SECOND BEST BAGEL IN THE SLOPE: La Bagel Delight
122 Seventh Avenue
(btwn Carrol & President)
718-398-9529
AND
252 Seventh Avenue
(@5th Street)
718-768-6107
Ok, so when I say "scientific," I fucking mean s-c-i-e-n-t-i-f-i-c. We decided to visit BOTH Park Slope locations of La Bagel Delight in an effort to best and most fairly represent the experience of N. Slopers and S. Slopers.
Personally I could barely detect any difference between the two La Bagel baygs. The bagel we purchased from the S. Slope locale was slightly bigger, but that obvs happens a lot when you are dealing with homemade bagels. I think there is a v. nice crunch to softness ratio with this bagel, and I also think this is prob the best all around bagel IF you are more of a "meat-n-potatoes" typical, no desire to mix it up bagel consumer. Also, I think their scallion cream cheese was, by far, the best of the bunch (and they are extremely generous with their cream cheese application).
However, this bagel was also the most expensive.
If forced to choose, I suppose I would crown my N. Slope bagel the winner amongst the two locations, but that's probably mostly because I live closer to that one.
My love for La Bagel runs far and deep, however, for their purposes of our experiment, there can only be one clear winner. Sadly, La Bagel Delight fell slightly short and was not victorious.
*I ate a whole half and a quarter of this bagel
1. THE *****BEST***** BAGEL IN THE SLOPE: Bagel Hole, bitches
400 Seventh Avenue
(btwn 12th & 13th Streets)
718-788-4014
Let's get real for a min. We hauled our asses all over town for Bagel Off '08, but in the end, this was really a La Bagel Delight vs. Bagel Hole competition.
With my established prejudices steering me firmly toward the La Bagel camp pre-game, I was very skeptical about all of this Bagel Hole internet chatter (esp. Arthur Schwart'z seemingly outdated "best bagel in NYC" proclamation). I was totally prepared (and looking forward) to publicly hating on "the Hole" and running back to La Bagel like nothing ever happened.
But, goddammit, all you Bagel Holers were totally fucking right. *This* is the best bagel in Park Slope.
The seeds are just on one side of the Hole bagel, which is perfect for me because my main ish with everything bagels is that they are sometimes usually over-seeded. Bagel Hole (with their one seeded side technique) produces a well thought out, and perfectly balanced bagel.
But my fav-oh-rite thing about baygs from da Hole is that they are wonderfully crunchy. The softness to crunch balance was perfect for me, but I'm def a "crunch" girl. I get that there are those out there who don't necessarily go for the crunch, but then you bitches need to get your own blog and do your own Bagel Off '08.
Bagel Hole bagels are also much smaller than the giant flying discs many of us are used to, but even that I kinda liked. Thinking on her feet, Jewssip had the foresight to get TWO bagels from Bagel Hole and, as it turned out, it was a very smart decision.
While the scallion cream cheese was good, I def don't think it was as strong as La Bagel Delight's. They don't glob it on, and were not quite as generous as La Bagel with their shmear, however, the kick-assedness of their bagels, certainly makes up for any shortfalls in the whip. Also, when there is *too* much cream cheese, you end up getting it all over the place, and that's very fucking annoying.
Best of all, this was the cheapest bagel!
*I ate this entire bagel (and was pissed at Jewssip for not buying a third).
And so my fellow Slopesters, Bagel Off '08 sadly must come to an end. With Bagel Hole firmly in place as our new Prom Queen, and my trunk unable to handle one more ounce of junk, I'm starting Weight Watchers today (so not kidding).
Erica | 
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