On NY Bagels in LA--and an Ode to the Bialy

(Please note that this post was originally published on June 6, 2006 and comments to this entry made before July 2006 can be seen at guidetola.wordpress.com)






Photo couresy of nybagelbox.com (link don't work, so afraid ye curious ones will have to copy/paste.) Note the hole is filled with oniony goodness. Whether this disqualifies it from being an actual bagel is debatable, but bialies are always found among bagels–perhaps like the tomato, which is technically not a vegetable but always found in the vegetable section, so…











I was going to leave this as a response to Martin's comment (see comments for "What's with the title of this post?"at guidetola.wordpress.com). However, it became relevant enough to this blog's overall mission–and long enough–to qualify as bonafide guidance to living in LA, as well as a tip about bringing New York to L.A. (which used to horrify me as a kid growing up barefoot and tanned in Malibu. New Yorkers in L.A. looked like cinder blocks amidst rainbow colored blown glass, mashed potatoes on a plate of fresh berries…who were those weirdos in black who wore shoes on the beach, had glo-white chub, and said ridiculous things like, "Oooh Haarold, this woahtuh's soow coowld!" Little did I know that someday they would take over much of Malibu, and more stunningly, that I would have more in common with them than anyone I knew.)

When I was last at Hudson Bagels (if link used,scroll down to "On the radar",bottom of page) in April, I was wondering whether I could take some to my family in Los Angeles where I was going in a few days. Just then, a woman next to me said she needed a dozen because she was about to get on a plane to Los Angeles and wanted to take them to her family. This kind of synchronicity is more common for me in New York than anywhere else, I think because New Yorkers talk so much. I, of course, told her I had the very thought, but didn't know if they would survive the flight. She, like Martin, buys them just before she leaves and says they last to the next morning's breakfast just fine. How exciting! Sadly, we had to spend the night before traveling on 86th and CPW and had to wake up too damn early to get our bagels. Next time!

As for bialies, I have the great fortune to have had an au pair from Queens (is that a little like saying a homie from Paris?) from age 6-9 who instilled in me that bialies are the superior of all bagels (or bagel family items, for those who are iffy about whether they are tecnically bagels). Had I never tried one, I may well have believed it by virtue of the fact that said au pair had long hair, charm and great persuasion over my tastes. Trying one sealed my belief for life. I still look at them with reverence whenever I see them in the shop, like the crown jewels of the selection, in equal proportion to the suspicion with which I regard chocolate chip bagels, wheat-free bagels, and everything on it bagels.

There was one place when I was a kid that had great bagels–or I thought they did–I hadn't lived outside LA yet. My mom used to take us there in the wee hours of the night after a show at the Music Center or when she just had a hankering. It is still there? It's called the Brooklyn Bagel Bakery. Anyone know if the bagels are still good? They did have bialies. And I loved them. Added 11/14/06 It is still there. Find out how we like the bagels on our upcoming video coming soon to this site!