When it comes to breakfast, New York City is the city of bagels. New York prides itself on the bagel – the perfect, filling breakfast for on-the-go New Yorkers. I personally stopped eating bagels once I read that calorie wise, one bagel is equal to five slices of bread (yikes!), but every once in a while I need to indulge. I recently had that urge during a quick trip to NYC so I made the journey to midtown to a classic little bagel place I’d heard about…
In the bagel world, Ess-a-Bagel is an institution. I mentioned before that I rarely eat bagels so I guess that’s my excuse as to why I waited until my last week in New York to finally go to this place, but my my my was it worth the wait! In bagel speak, I ordered a BEC with SP no K, that would be a bacon, egg and cheddar with salt and pepper, no ketchup. Because my conscience was bothering me about the five slices of bread thing, I ordered an oat bran bagel but had I thrown caution to the wind I would have gone with Poppyseed. Needless to say, I was in no way disappointed.
As if great bagels weren’t enough, the entire experience of Ess-a-bagel makes it worth a visit. Established in 1976 by an Austrian baking family, Ess-a-bagel has received national accolades for not only their bagels but their wide variety of salads, cream cheese, pastries and meats. On the morning I stopped by, the majority of the employees were sweet, yet no-nonsense older gentleman who clearly had a love of classic New York deli food. The line flew by as the men took orders with ease but lucky for me, my guy probably noticed the panicked look of a first time visitor on my face and was super patient with me while I asked questions and eventually ordered. After feeling confident with my order, I took in the scene and aroma of fresh bagels, spreads and specialty salads. If I had more time I would have stayed for lunch!
By the way, if you’re watching your figure like I occasionally pretend to do, you can order your bagel scooped out! It will save you dozens of calories while giving providing a carb fix. If you want to say “screw it” like I did, by all means! The plus side? After this bagel I wasn’t hungry again until dinner!
That bagel is HUGE! My personal favorite in the city is Murray Bagels (I once did a self-guided “bagel tour”), but they really are all fantastic.