3 Brooklyn Bagel Spots Named Among Best In America: Ranking

BROOKLYN, NY — In likely no surprise to Brooklynites, three of the boroughs bagel joints serve up the best bagels in the country, according to a new ranking.

Food and Wine Magazine's David Landsel released his list of the "Best Bagels In America" this week, naming nearly 50 shops as the nation's best.

Only 11 of those are found in New York City, given what Landsel deemed a decline in authentic bagel quality in the city in the five boroughs.

The purported decline left a hole in the bagel ranks for bakers outside of the Big Apple, according to the food critic. An encounter with a bagel in Northern California prompted Landsel's cross-country search for the best of the best, he said.

"A funny thing happened, while New York began settling for mediocrity: a new generation of American bakers figured out just how easy it was to get into the game," he wrote.

"...I'm a native New Yorker, but if it isn't already clear, I don't believe the city deserves any kind of preferred status. Being blindly pro-New York does nobody any favors. I didn't consider geography, water sources, or any other hocus-pocus—good bagels are happening everywhere these days."

Still, New York City favorites didn't escape the ranking.

In Brooklyn, Bagel Hole in Park Slope, Bergen Bagels in Prospect Heights and newcomer Gertie's in Williamsburg all made the list.

Here's what Landsel had to say about the bagel shops:

Bagel Hole

"Frustrating Park Slope size queens since the 1980s, this stubborn traditionalist not only stands against the dreaded New York bagel bloat, but it does so rather confrontationally. If you think their bagels are too small—and they're not, they're really not—well, you're in Brooklyn: there are any number of great options within a fifteen minute walk from this aptly named shop, goodbye, have a nice life. Hand-rolled and all, emerging from the oven with that unmistakable blistered crust, the product here is typically terrific, high on the chew factor. For years, this was the house bagel at Russ & Daughters. What, you know better?"

Bergen Bagels

"The point of this everyday hero atop the Bergen Street subway, considered one of the best bagel shops on the planet by practically everyone within a few-block radius, is how unremarkable it appears at first. Great, you're thinking, another bagel shop, big deal. Which is exactly what makes Brooklyn so special: Of the five boroughs, this is the one absolutely spoiled for properly-sized, well-structured, nicely-executed classic New York bagels. No fuss, no days off, no celebrity guest bakers—just doing the job, the right way, year after year. Multiple locations."

Gertie

"Master baker Melissa Weller isn't much for letting the grass grow under her feet. During the last decade, she's had her hands in the dough at some of New York's most high-profile operations, from Per Se to Sadelle's to High Street on Hudson. These days, the newly-minted cookbook author can be found heading up the pastry situation at this smart, all-day café perched just above the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in Williamsburg. On weekends, you'll need to wake up very early to get your hands on some of Weller's bagels; made famous at Sadelle's in SoHo, they're some of the most expensive in the city, but they sell out fast. These are happy little bagels: buoyant, almost like they've got a spring in their step, textbook perfect outside and inside."

Find the full ranking here.