Bagel Paradise: An Upper West Sider’s Guide to the City’s Most Beloved Bread
With two new bagel emporiums recently opening, Straus News surveys the neighborhood’s changing bagelscape.
| 24 May 2024 | 04:38
Six types of Everything Bagel. From the top, clockwise: PopUp, H&H; Kossar’s; Zabar’s, Absolute and Wu and Nussbaum. . (
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Kossar’s (
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Zabar’s (
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Zabar’s Menu (
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Bagels and Company menu
PopUp Bagels (
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With the opening of two new bagel bakeries, Kossar’s on West 72nd Street, and Pop-Up Bagels on Columbus, it’s an opportune time to survey the state of the Upper West bagel. Though today it’s one of New York signature foods, there was a time, as recently as the 1950s, when the bagel was much more obscure. When a curious outsider would ask what’s a bagel, one answer began it’s a “type of Jewish bun...”
This isn’t untrue but, of course, as time has borne out, bagels are for everyone and one’s passion for that old “Jewish bun” of yore unites New Yorkers like few other breads.
About our methodology: In respect to everyone’s unique tastes, we have not ranked the bagels. To do so would be a fool’s errand in our zip codes. For comparison, we are using plain cream cheese as the spread of choice. On the coffee front, some places offer three sizes of hot coffee, others just two; iced coffees will run a bit more.
The May arrivals:
Kossar’s—the internationally renowned bialy purveyor—is a block away from Broadway stores, and the newest in its collection of four retail establishments. May 1 saw the doors open at 270 West End Avenue at the southeast corner of West 72nd Street and West End. The new branch provides a wide space to order, and a comfortable area to sit down and eat. A bright white interior and excellent lighting complements the diverse menu. There are 11 different bagel choices, including...blueberry. It’s definitely worth a stop. Here, a cream cheese bagel will run $4.75, a 12-ounce coffee $3.00.
PopUp Bagels launched its newest location at 338 Columbus Avenue 4 days after Kossar’s. There are other locations in the City and New England; this one has a small footprint, and only offers takeout. Breaking away from NYC tradition, PopUp has 5 traditional bagel styles, with a three-bagel minimum of $12–this includes either a sizable amount of different cheese toppings, or another bagel if you forgo the toppings. Cold beverages are offered in containers, but there is no hot coffee available here. Whitefish salad and smoked salmon are also available, that is the breadth of the menu.
One note; these are soft-crust bagels, not a New York staple—a couple of days stored will yield a harder crust.
The old standbys Bagel that will bring pride to any Westsider in a discussion:
Zabar’s. For 80 years, this Upper West Side fixture at Broadway and 80th Street has filled cood needs for many generations of New Yorkers. If you need to buy bagels, you can do so at the store bakery counter, traditional varieties are $1.39 each. Should you want the whole Zabar experience, their cafe next door on the corner offers a cream cheese bagel at $3.99, and a 16-ounce coffee from their blends adding another $3.49. Zabar’s doesn’t make their own bagels, which are smaller than the average NY bagel, a little less doughy, again subject to your specific tastes.
Barney Greengrass Hard to imagine a UWS business that started 116 years ago, still going strong. The landmark appetizing store and restaurant has been a fixture on Amsterdam Avenue since 1929. It’s the go-to place for great brunches and a huge diversity of foods. Come into the entrance at certain times, and you will encounter hundreds of boxes to be shipped all over the world. It’s that good. If you want to sit in the dining areas, a cream cheese bagel and coffee will cost a bit over $10. Want your cream cheese bagel for take out? $4.95. A large coffee is $2.45. Bagels are not their own but should please any bagel aficionado.
Absolute Bagels Opened by a Thai immigrant in the 1990’s, this store is located at 2788 Broadway. It might be a schlep to West 108th Street, but it’s entirely worth it. Immerse yourselves in what bagel stores looked like in the 20th Century. It’s Industrial chic all the way with wire bins for holding cooked bagels, machinery, diverse signage and an old-style cash register. Cream cheese on a bagel is $3.65, a large coffee $1.75. The usual traditional bagels are offered. An everything with a schmear? Heaven to most. Be prepared for long lines and crowds, however, and there are no tables here.
More for your consideration? Here are other places to try on the UWS:
Wu and Nussbaum at 2897 Broadway at Weat 113th Street is a favorite of the Columbia community. Want a different bagel? Here, there are 15 to choose from. Once you pick the style, they will add the cream cheese and charge $4.50. A large coffee, well worth it and delicious, is $3.25. Lots of indoor and outdoor seating for reading and thinking.
https://www.wunussbaum.com
H&H Bagels at 526 Columbus Ave provides a sit-down oasis near West 86th Street. The well-lit location, a venerable UWS name to older residents, is the prototype for the company’s ongoing national expansion, including locations in Florida; California; Dallas, Texas, and even Knoxville, Tennessee. Among the 14 varieties of bagels here, blueberry makes an appearance. A cream cheese bagel here is $4.25, a large coffee is $3.50.
Bagels and Company at 391 Amsterdam at West 79th Street (they have another location on the UES) is the only bagelry on this list that is kosher. Yielding 16 different varieties—rainbow, anyone?— it’s lively, with a small indoor and outdoor seating area. Your cream cheese bagel will run $4.25, a medium coffee, $3.00.
Broadway Bagel Cafe offers take out only. Located at 2658 Broadway at West 101st Street, the 35-year-old business offers their cream cheese bagel, nine different styles on offer for $2.99, with a medium French Roast coffee $2.75. It’s somewhat dark inside, but the staff is friendly, the prices reasonable.
Broad Nosh Bagels offers a bright tiny indoor and outdoor space for noshing. One of two locations, this store at 2350 Broadway, south of West 86th Street, has a vast menu, with over 15 bagel varieties. Your cream cheese on a bagel is $4.25, a large coffee, $3.50. One of the more unusual of their nine offerings is a French Toast bagel.
Please note that bagel stores tend to close earlier than most dining establishments. Do call or look at the websites to make sure that the CLOSED sign doesn’t greet you. The ten places mentioned are by no means exhaustive of where you can buy a bagel on the Upper West Side, just a guide to some of them.