Harry's Bagels Brings Classic 'Brooklyn Bagels' To East Islip

EAST ISLIP, NY —A new bagel shop has replaced a longtime East Islip staple. Harry's Bagels opened in December in the former East Islip Bagels at 286 E. Main St. in the Heckscher Shopping Center on Montauk Hwy.

Ralph Miele is a Deer Park resident who managed a West Islip bagel store for a decade, watching and learning the art of bagels, one many Long Islanders have high standards for. When he heard about the East Islip bagel store closing after 20 years, he and partner Sal Gervasi, owner of Babylon Bean, Bay Shore Bean and Patchogue Bean coffee shops, launched Harry's.

"The community has been very welcoming— I can't complain, especially during the pandemic," Miele told Patch.

Learning the art of bagel making isn't as simple as it might appear, he explained.

"I learned from watching and doing it: it's not an easy thing to learn." Miele describes the bagels at his shop as being "more like an old-time Brooklyn bagel. We use gluten flour and we don't use any kind of artificial binder," which give the bagels an aromatic quality and they stay soft longer, he said.

Miele plans to expand his options, adding cold and hot heroes for lunch, a beach and boat package of food to take with you for summer days, and adding French toast and pancakes to the bagel and egg sandwich morning options.

As for the recent assertion by the New York Times that the best bagels in the country are in California, sparking a New York bagel fan backlash, Miele laughs.

"I don't know about that. They used to say it's something in the water here but I think it's the recipe, how you make it. I believe what you put into is what you get out of it."