May 29, 2007
Who has the best bagels in Seattle?

This question is not about politics. It transcends politics. It is arguably more important than politics.

What prompts this post is that I bought the worst bagel I've ever eaten in my entire life this morning (at the Safeway on 7300 Roosevelt). It was flaccid and flavorless, more or less a ring-shaped piece of Wonderbread.

I like the bagels at Bagel Oasis on 2112 NE 65th St. Nice and firm and flavorful. The ones behind the counter at Zoka Coffee are also quite good. I'm happy to stick with these, but suggestions for the best bagel in Seattle are welcome.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at May 29, 2007 02:03 PM | Email This
Comments
1.
Go East Young Man:

Eastside Wholesale Bagel Inc
6975 176th Ave NE # 365
Redmond, WA 98052
(425) 883-1550

I used to scarf bagels and cream cheese back in the day before heading to work at MS Campus...

Posted by: John Bailo on May 29, 2007 02:00 PM
2. Zatz bagels in west seattle. MMMMMMMmmmm mm. nothing starts the day off right like a fresh garlic bagel with peanut butter.

Posted by: Morisseau on May 29, 2007 02:16 PM
3. Nothing good could ever possibly come out of Seattle.

Head north for true fresh tasty delights:
Sultan Bakery in Sultan
Sky Valley Bakery in Monroe
Wicked Baking Company in Monroe.

Posted by: Monroe Parent on May 29, 2007 02:27 PM
4. Noah's on Broadway gets my vote. Their Everything bagel with cream cheese does the trick.

Posted by: Palouse on May 29, 2007 02:27 PM
5. Stefan, the same water that makes good bagels makes people liberal. This is why you can't find a decent bagel outside the Northeast (and Montreal).

The best bagels I've had in the Northwest (at, yes, Bagel Oasis) approximate the worst street-cart bagels in midtown Manhattan. The best bagels in NYC are from another planet.

Just like with BBQ, the bagels of the PNW are a pale imitation of the real thing at best.

Posted by: bagoo on May 29, 2007 02:29 PM
6. Never buy baked goods at Safeway. You will ALWAYS be disappointed. I hope you didn't finish it and that you took it back. They very likely would have refunded your money. If I buy something at a supermarket and it just plain tastes bad, I take it back. They always refund.

Posted by: Michele on May 29, 2007 02:40 PM
7. Bagels? Pfffth.
Real Northwesterners don't eat bagels. And if we do, we like 'em tough and chewy.

Posted by: Don Ward on May 29, 2007 02:49 PM
8. Blazing Bagles on the Eastside. mmmmmm

Jalapeno bagel with jalapeno cream cheese.

Posted by: Bryan on May 29, 2007 02:54 PM
9. Noah's Bagels at University Village. Excellent!!!

Posted by: Mirobeh on May 29, 2007 03:12 PM
10. How about in Tacoma? I live down here and don't know where to get a good bagel. Good post Stefan. I agree, the Safeway bagels are not good at all.

Posted by: Jeff B. on May 29, 2007 03:14 PM
11. Shh, don't tell anyone. Bagel Deli, on 15th E., Capitol Hill. Started 25 years ago by 2 guys from Detroit.

Posted by: Yiddeshe Connoisseur on May 29, 2007 03:18 PM
12. The best bagles are ones brought in by visitors. Why not take a trip to NYC and satisfy your need for a bagel fix?

Posted by: H Moul on May 29, 2007 03:21 PM
13. Bagel Oasis, hands down.

Posted by: JDH on May 29, 2007 03:22 PM
14. Bagel Oasis. Every sunday someone from my family would schlep out there - and I grew up on the Eastside closer to I-90. The bagels were worth it, they're the closest we have to the old school NYC bagels.

Noah's bagels are way too cake'y to be real bagels, but to their credit in many stores they're kosher.

Posted by: Josh on May 29, 2007 03:39 PM
15. Speaking of kosher - where's the good kosher deli's? I mean ones where you can get a corned beef wedge like at Carnegies in NY or a sandwich like at Koch's in Philly? I haven't found anything close around here....

Posted by: Palouse on May 29, 2007 04:06 PM
16. @2 - I totally agree. Zatz on California in West Seattle is an experience!

Posted by: Matthew Lundh on May 29, 2007 04:07 PM
17. There is a kosher deli, really, more of a restaurant, in the area - Goldberg's at Factoria Mall. They carry pretty decent bagels, as well.

But Bagel Deli on Cap Hill and the Bagel Oasis really are the two best nearby options.

I have heard good things about the place in West Seattle that was mentioned, but have not tried them myself.

Posted by: Kosher Lovin' Gentile Lady on May 29, 2007 04:16 PM
18. Bagel Oasis is properly named. Since you live nearby, look no further.

Noah's bagels are decent if you think of them as bread. I take them on long airplane flights because they stay soft, but their bagelness is limited to their holiness.

Buying a bagel at Safeway is like buying prime rib at McDonald's. You expected better?

Posted by: Bruce on May 29, 2007 04:39 PM
19. I don't know about best, so here's another candidate for worst: Noah's.

Despite all those Noo Yawk photomurals, the bagels taste like they were made of Wonder Bread ("Builds strong bodies 12 ways"). World's softest bagels -- ech!

(Note that I haven't had a Noah in eight or so years, so perhaps they improved the product in the meanwhile.)

Posted by: Donald Pittenger on May 29, 2007 04:44 PM
20. Palouse, re corned beef in Seattle -- fuggetaboutit. Goldberg's, Roxy's, etc. serve painfully poor imitations of the real thing. I'm not sure why it's so hard to get right.

Posted by: Bruce on May 29, 2007 04:46 PM
21. You know, I'm pretty partial to the ones you get at that place in Issaquah...You know the place, don't you? They come to you hot with icing still dripping down, and you can eat a half-dozen at a time. I think the place is called Krispy Kreme...

Enhanced computer technology has brought us many benefits not the least of which is a more accurate translation of scripture. You'll be reading more about this soon, and you heard it here first, but a more accurate translation of the ancient Hebrew word we call "manna" (that God-given miracle substance that kept the children of Israel alive during their 40-years wandering in the desert during the time of Exodus) is...doughnut.

The Piper

Posted by: Piper Scott on May 29, 2007 04:50 PM
22. Stefan--
Frankly, I think you ought to lay off the Bagels.
The carbs in them will hang around your gut like Michelin Man!
You are getting to the age Stefan where your metabolism is waning....so lay off the carbs!
We don't want you getting soft on us.

Better yet, jam down about 4 eggs & a steak for breakfast. Get the protein, forget the carbs.

Posted by: Mr. Cynical on May 29, 2007 05:05 PM
23. It's too bad Bruegger's disappeared so quickly after they moved in. For being a chain, they were actually pretty decent. My recollections might be a tad faulty since this was so long ago, but if you're looking for a decent bagel in downtown Seattle, I seem to recall that Mel's Market had some pretty good ones.

Posted by: Vexorg on May 29, 2007 05:59 PM
24. www.handhbagel.com

order now, eat later

Posted by: Bagel Lover on May 29, 2007 06:09 PM
25. Another vote for Zatz across from the Admiral Theater

Posted by: Jim Clark on May 29, 2007 06:39 PM
26. Another vote for Zatz across from the Admiral Theater

Posted by: Jim Clark on May 29, 2007 06:39 PM
27. I don't know about the best place for Bagels but from experience, I find it hard to believe that there is actually someone else from Tacoma that frequents this site. Maybe there is hope!

Posted by: sherry on May 29, 2007 07:30 PM
28. The best bagels in Seattle were clearly the ones that I brought with me on the plane from NYC!

Posted by: Fed Up on May 29, 2007 07:42 PM
29. let's ask Greg Nickels.

Posted by: jimmie-howya-doin on May 30, 2007 04:48 AM
30. ...or hire a consulting firm to study the question to death...

Posted by: jimmie-howya-doin on May 30, 2007 04:50 AM
31. Yeah jimmie--
We can hire Young "Mr. Big" Nickels to study this from his prison cell using the prison computer & prison Telephone & prison library.

Posted by: dude on May 30, 2007 05:50 AM
32. H&H Bagels, both upper east and west sides. Seattle has great salmon. Bagels not so much.

Posted by: george jungle on May 30, 2007 07:09 AM
33. Have had some good bagels from Top Foods in Tacoma in the past

Posted by: Bill on May 30, 2007 07:36 AM
34. Mr. Cynical,

Have you met Stefan? Whatever problems he has, weight isn't one of them.

Posted by: Don on May 30, 2007 09:19 AM
35. I pick up a dozen bagels from Einstein Bros. in suburban Detroit every time I go back East to visit relatives.

(Yes, bagels are carb-bombs. It's just as well that Seattle doesn't have decent bagels.)

Posted by: EmmaPeel on May 30, 2007 12:25 PM
36. I pick up a dozen bagels from Einstein Bros. in suburban Detroit every time I go back East to visit relatives.

Einstein and Noah's are one in the same.

http://www.einsteinnoah.com/

Posted by: Palouse on May 30, 2007 01:11 PM
37. > Einstein and Noah's are one in the same.
>
> http://www.einsteinnoah.com/

Ah, interesting. Well, if they're "bad", then we'll definitely check out Bagel Oasis. Because Einstein Bros. at least tasted authentic & were springy. All the other bagels I've had in Seattle were more like bagel-shaped bread rolls. Bleah!

Posted by: EmmaPeel on May 30, 2007 04:06 PM
38. I'm from Jersey originally and I'm picky about my bagels. Einstein and Noah's taste good but the texture is all wrong. My vote is for the Grateful Bread on NE 35th.

Posted by: Eric on May 30, 2007 04:49 PM
39. I never understood the fascination with bagels, but then again, I'm from Texas and bagels aren't a big thing in the South.

Any of you know where I could get a decent meat-filled kolache around here?

Posted by: Smoley on May 31, 2007 08:55 AM
40. Yes, you can find kolache here.

I've got no issue with Einstein's/Noah's, but I'm not that picky about bagels. BBQ is a different story. Anyone who think Dixie's is actually good BBQ (and I have heard several people say so) has absolutely no idea what good BBQ is. Jones is a bit better, but still not close to what's down south.

Posted by: Palouse on May 31, 2007 09:40 AM
41. Hello all,


I havent had a great bagel since my youth. Born raised in Seattle and a child of the mid 50's early sixties. Does anyone remember Brenner Brothers Bakery?

Thanks, Louis
louis_2002_2004@yahoo.com

Posted by: Louis on May 31, 2007 02:28 PM
42. There are no bagels in or around Seattle. You may, with a bit of luck, find semi-palatable donut-shaped dinner rolls that are labeled "bagels". But don't get your hopes up.

Posted by: zappini on May 31, 2007 03:42 PM