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A bagel battle is underway in LA as two newcomers ride into town
Bagels by H&H, a New York City staple.
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Courtesy H&H bagels
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Just as Los Angeles had finally answered that age-old question — “Where can you get good bagels in this city?” — two outsiders are coming to town, (bread) knives out, ready for battle.
A whole host of artisanal bagel makers have cropped up in Los Angeles in recent years, including Belle’s Bagels in Highland Park, Courage Bagels in Virgil Village and Layla Bagels in Santa Monica.
They’re enormously popular, and gorgeously instagrammable, with lines forming around the block every weekend.
But with these bagel newcomers encroaching, will Angelenos stay loyal or flock to the newbies?
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The new bagel stores are not only from different coasts, but from two very different ends of the bagel-making spectrum.
There’s Boichik bagels, from the Bay Area. (Boichik is a Yiddish term of endearment for a young boy, usually accompanied with a pinch on the cheek.) The outpost was founded by Emily Winston, who wanted to bring New York-style bagels to the West Coast, and succeeded so well that the New York Times claimed they were among the best in the nation in 2021.
This week, Boichik opened on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Feliz, raising the stakes, if not the dough: Expect new twists on the classics with creations such as “pumperthingel” and “eggything.” And yes, they do gluten-free.
Meanwhile the OG of actual New York bagels is also bringing heavy fire to the battle: H & H bagels, opened in 1972, originally on the Upper West Side, now spread over New York City. For years it was the go-to place for Manhattanites to pick up bagels for Sunday brunch. No made-for-IG-backdrop here, just a classic brusque transaction — “How many bagels ya want?” — in and out as fast as that brown bag could be spun, twisted and handed over.
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H&H is slated to open in Santa Monica, on Montana Avenue, next Wednesday, offering bagels that have been kettle-boiled in legendary New York water.
The location is a franchise (the second to one is in Boca Raton) run by L.A.-born Philip Gross. Expect their famed bacon, egg and cheese breakfast bagels, and the nova salmon with “the works,” plus jalapeño, walnut raisin and strawberry cream cheese spreads among others.
Good luck to all. May the battle of the bagels begin. The more the better, in our opinion.
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