Greenwich Village Bagel Shop Ranked One Of The Best In Nation

GREENWICH VILLAGE, NY — New York City needs very little introduction in its quality of bagel, and a Greenwich Village outpost just got named one of the best bagel makers in the entire country.

Without further ado, Murray's Bagels at 506 6th Avenue was named one of the 50 best bagels in the United States, according to a recent list from Food and Wine Magazine.

Here's what Food and Wine had to say about the revered Greenwich Village bagel maker, surprisingly — not all of which was positive.

"There was a time when you could separate the best shops in New York from the rest by the presence of a commercial-grade toaster behind the counter. Used to be, according to conventional wisdom, that only a second-rate operation would allow such a travesty; the best bagel bakers took too much pride in their work for such foolishness to go unchecked. Give this Greenwich Village institution some credit—for the longest time, they fought back. But as anyone who has spent more than five minutes in a New York bagel shop can tell you, the customer is always right, and possibly will also fight you, and everyone in the store for good measure. A few years back, Murray's relented, and now you get to ruin your bagel, just the way you like it. Based on recent visits, the argument could be made that a Murray's bagel—too big, and typically a bit sweet—just isn't what it used to be, so what's the difference? Still, recognition where due—this is one of the better operations on the entire West Side, south of 59th Street."

Murray's Bagels was one of 10 New York City shops to make the list.

The author of the rankings, New York native David Landsel, had some unexpectedly critical comments about the current state of bagels in the five boroughs.

"Then things took a turn somehow, and your average New York bagel started to look more like a pale, over-inflated tire," Landsel wrote about the New York City bagel scene losing its excellence.

His comments come despite a fifth of his own nationwide best bagels list hailing from NYC.

In terms of Murray's Bagels, a simple listing of the different types of bagels the Greenwich Village shop offers is enough to make your mouth water.

• Bialy
• Cinnamon Raisin
• Everything
• Garlic
• Multi-Grain
• Onion
• Plain
• Poppy Seed
• Pumpernickle
• Salt
• Sesame
• Whole Wheat
• Whole Wheat Everything

You can find out more about Murray's Bagels on its website.