This post was inspired by a Phoodie reader who, after reading this post, wrote us saying, “I have lived here all my life and have yet to find a bagel that I really like.. besides maybe Metropolitan Bakery, but that doesn’t really count.” This topic has been thrown around before, but it is time to stop accepting the mediocre bagels we slather our Philadelphia Cream Cheese on every morning. We want the best bagels Philadelphia has to offer and we want them now! Yelpers are saying South Street Philly Bagels, Citysearch mentioned Philadelphia Bagel Co., and Philadelphia Magazine crowned Maxx’s Produce as one of the best.
But enough with the Internet, we NEED to know where they keep the best bagels in Philly before we lose our carb-craving minds. Will you join the Philadelphia bagel hunt with us? Post your faves in the comments.
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Readers Write: “Why Does Philly Suck At Bagels?”
Aired February 23rd, 2009 on Uncategorized.28 Comments28 Responses to “Readers Write: “Why Does Philly Suck At Bagels?””
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I’ve lived here for more than 20 years, and I’ve yet to find a decent bagel. Even the usually-wonderful Metropolitan Bakery falls short.
More to the point: WHY is it seemingly impossible to MAKE a good bagel here? Lots of people claim that the water is the problem. So, what is it? A technical problem? Ennui?
Please enlighten us, Phoodie.
New York Bagels at Haverford and City Line. Best in the city, just don’t try going on Saturday AM, since they’re run by real deal Orthodox Jews.
Roling’s Bakery in Elkins Park…best bagels…hands down…even New Yorkers grudgingly agree.
I agree that there is a dearth of good bagels in the city.
I’ll second Rolling’s in EP. Probably the best. FillABagel in Jenkintown is also quite good.
Someone needs to open a good bagel shop in CC. We make great bread here, why can’t we make good bagels?!
yeah, I agree it’s tough to find a good bagel in the city. Max’s produce does have the best but they only get their bagels in on Fridays and so they are usually gone by the weekend. So the best plan is to buy on bunch on Friday and then freeze them. Why does it have to come to this though!
As a Jewish boy raised on really good bagels growing up in D.C. of all places (not exactly a deli/baglery hotbed), I’ve been shocked since moving here twenty years ago Philly doesn’t have good bagels. Just about the only exception I’ve found is the bagel maker on Delaware Ave. in the strip mall where American Applicances used to be. There bagels are definitely the real deal, hot out of the oven after being wonderfully boiled. Good committment to the basics with some allowance made for those weirdos who like things other than sesame or poppy seeds on their bagels. Don’t know the name, it might just go by “Bagels” But as Ben said, no location in CC.
I definitely have to agree with Dan (#2). New York Bagel is absolutely the best around here. And the make amazing cream cheese. And flats.
@Steve it’s the Philadelphia Bagel Co‎ and I agree they are good.
I really enjoy the bagels and cream cheese at Benna’s and B2. That’s about it.
seriously, why nothing in center city?? I shouldnt have to rent a car and go halfway across the city to get a decent bagel.
manhattan bagel is OK, at least better than the plastic wrapped, stale, sweaty warm bacteria cream cheese mess you get from food trucks or wawa or whatever.
one can only eat egg & cheese on a long roll so many days in a row..
Who the f@#k cares?! It’s a f*#king bagel. Get over your
selves.
my vote goes to Phila Bagel Co on Delaware Ave. Awesome olive and pimento cream cheese
In my youth it wasn’t necessarily so that good bagels were hard to find. After struggling the past couple years with declining quality, I’ve found Challahman:
http://www.fourworldsbakery.vpweb.com/AbouttheBakery.html
The bagels in Philadelphia sure do suck, but it ain’t a big deal because everyone eats pretzels instead.
The bagels at Benna’s and B2 come from South Street Philly Bagels, which definitely has the best bagel in the city.
Hate to say it, but the best bagels in the city are at the Center City outpost of the Bruegger’s chain… it’s on Market between 19th and 20th… I am loathe to suggest a chain but when a chain is the best, my hands are tied.
I generally like the bagels from Kaplan’s on 3rd & Poplar — though they’re not awesome, they’re the best I’ve had around here & they’re baked fresh.
I’ll put in another vote for Rolings. I’ve tried all the aforementioned, except for Bruegger’s, and it’s not an especially close call – all the other candidates are of the pillow-soft, tasteless but innocuous variety. Rolings’ has the sinew to stand up to the hardiest schmear.
And though they’re located in Elkins Park, their doughy little joy-packets are retailed at various spots in Center City: that little grocery store on 20th St between Locust and Spruce (iirc) comes to mind.
Another vote for South Street Philly Bagels, 3rd Street between South and bainbridge. I don’t know why more people don’t know about this place.
south street bagels are the best.. but only for the actual bagel – must take home the bagel and add any other ingredients, bought elsewhere (mmm: cream cheese, onion, cucumber, tomato, sweet munster, and pepper.. or, whole foods makes a delicious salmon salad if you’re feeling fancy)
but, south street bagels has the worst coffee. ever.
The Philly Bagels on Delaware Ave is great, their veggie cream cheese is delicious, AND they will give you as many little freezer bags as you want so you can stock up. The tomato/avocado/cream cheese on a bagel at Benna’s and B2 is also always great, and those girls make them with love.
the solution here is, somebody open a damn bagel shop in center city. there’s a dunkin donuts, H&M and CVS every 10 feet.
if South Street Bagels or Philly Bagels opened a branch in CC they would rake it in.
I reiterate. The best bagels in the city are at Bruegger’s. Market between 19th and 20th. The only problem is they can’t seem to toast their bagels properly. They’re either undertoasted or burnt. Phoodie, shall we do a blind taste test?
I haven’t been to the other ones mentioned above (though I’m planning a trip to Rollings tomorrow), the best bagel I’ve had in Philly was in Doylestown. It’s called The Bagel Barrel, and they’re dense and thick as heck. http://www.thebagelbarrel.com/.
Sorry it’s in the burbs, but Doylestown’s nice for a walk (especially the Mercer Tile Works or Museum. And no, I don’t work for their chamber of commerce. Just enjoy the area.
Mark’s Bagels in Dresher is okay (best I’ve found in Montgomery county, after living here 2 years): http://local.yahoo.com/info-12183050-mark-s-bagel-place-incorporated-dresher
One other comment to add to my previous one: not to start “The Great Bagel Riot of 2009″, but I lived in Manhattan for 4 years, and there were a lot of mediocre bagels to be found there, too. Of course, Ess-A-Bagel was good, and you could find stuff in Queens, but like everything, it took more searching than I had anticipated. So I hope to speak with authority in suggesting The Bagel Barrel in Doylestown.
And try finding good bagels (or pizza) in Los Angeles!
It’s a mysterious city thing. Like, for instance, Chicago has the worst bread on the planet and Des Moines is a synonym for bad sandwiches, but no one can tell you why.
It takes a certain critical mass of bagel lovers with strong teeth who demand great meaty bagels PLUS a deep pool of really talented bagel bakers who work with each other, train new generations, and refine their art (just like winemakers). Without those elements, you get round bread.
It would probably be easier to move.
This is the Neil from posts 24 25. Since posting those, I had a chance to try out Rollings in Elkins Park and FillAbagel in Jenkintown. Rollings makes the grade (though I think I still prefer the Bagel Barrel in Doylestown – but this is only an academic difference at this point: they’re both excellent). Fillabagel is good too, and I’d bring it in at third place in this lineup.
But I’m still looking for good bagels in every neighborhood! My wife says the two Jewish delis in Bala Cynwyd are well patronized (it’s one of the few Jewish enclaves in Philadelphia), but I don’t remember being wowed when we had breakfast there a few years ago. I was overwhelmed with the omelettes at the time.
And not to cause a scare, but I think Mark’s Bagels in Dresher may have just gone under. Their phone # is disconnected, and we drove by yesterday afternoon to find them closed. That was the closest, decent bagels to where we live.
Bagels might not be recession-proof, as it turns out. But they are no luxury to me!
Rolings/Elkins Park is our favorite bagel place too, with Fillabagel being a close second (see my reviews on Yelp).
There is one other place in the Delaware Valley I have pretty good bagels from and it’s called Country Bagel in West Chester – they order them for work meetings sometimes and I finally found out where they were from.