Bagels have a long history of making people happy by enjoying the freshness of bread. They’ve been around long enough for people to come up with a variety of bagel creations.
Personally I like my bagel either toasted with butter and/or cream cheese. But one of my friends like his with lox. And another friend likes hers with jam. So many sweet or savory options to choose from.
No matter how you take your bagels, it’s always nice to have a bagel shop near your house or workplace. Let’s look at the best bagels in the United States and find out which cities have the best bagels.
Best Bagels in the United States
13. Yeastie Boys Bagels – Los Angeles, CA
Yeastie Boys Bagels sounds like a punk-rock band turned bakery owner, and the menu promises to bring some wild fun to your table. They serve bagels to the LA crowd from six food trucks. The best thing about these bagels is that you can pre-order them online and pick them up directly from one of the trucks.
They have a variety of sandwiches, and one of their favorites is the Reubenstein. Yeastie Boys Bagels have many bagels, including cheddar, poppy, everything, sesame, plain, blueberry, and egg.
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12. Eltana Wood-Fired Bagel Café – Seattle, WA
Eltana Wood-Fired Bagel Café sells wood-fired bagels. Unlike many of their competitors, they create handmade artisan bagels for locals and tourists. The atmosphere perfectly complements the name of this place. It’s a cozy and homey environment where you can sit back, relax, and read a book.
Besides bagels, you can also have other breakfast or lunch menu items. Their egg sandwiches for breakfast are delicious, by the way. The lunch menu is available throughout the day, and their best offerings are smoked steelhead trout salad, Yemenite egg salad, and saffron chicken shawarma.
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Also be sure to read about the Top Jewish Delis in Seattle – after many years of neglect, some great places have emerged!
11. Rise Bagel Co. – Minneapolis, MN
Rise Bagel Co. is a Minneapolis establishment that started in 2014. Its motto is straightforward–make delicious bread with organic products. The bakery was founded after much research and speculation, and it wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision.
The founder of Rise went to every major bagel city to learn the craft of perfecting his bagel recipes. With a simple menu, the place serves some of the best bagels in the industry, including poppy, onion, sesame, salt, rosemary, and plain bagels.
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10. Kaufman’s Bagel & Delicatessen – Skokie, IL
Kaufman’s Bagel & Delicatessen is a traditional Jewish deli that has won millions of hearts with its simple and straightforward approach to food. It specializes in Eastern European recipes and artisan bread. Their deli sandwiches are some of the best in America.
As for the bagels, Kaufman’s bakes their bagels fresh. Anyone can easily compare them with the best of New York and still find these bagels worth eating once more.
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9. Kupel’s Bakery – Brookline, MA
The origin story of Kupel’s is interesting. The couple, Diane and Allan Kupelnick, founded the bakery in 1978 in hopes of selling donuts, but they couldn’t prevent themselves from making bagels and sharing that goodness with the world. The shop was eventually sold, but the quality of Kupel’s is still maintained.
Kupel’s serves kosher food, and the menu is not limited to bagels. There are cakes and bread too. You can customize your bagels at this bakery and choose toasted or not toasted with your favorite toppings.
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8. Rosenberg’s Bagels – Denver, CO
Rosenberg’s proudly serves New York-style bagels that Joshua Pollack learned in New Jersey. He was a native of NJ who learned a few bagel tricks that came in handy when he opened his bagel shop in Denver. The shop serves bagels, sandwiches, coffee, and other items.
It’s not just a bagel shop anymore. Rosenberg’s has a vast menu with options that make it seem more like a full-scale restaurant than just a bagel shop. The bagels are still their best offerings for breakfast sandwiches.
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7. Wholy Bagel – Austin, TX
Austin has one of the greatest food scenes in Texas, and Wholy Bagel contributes to it dearly. The shop is committed to making the best bagels in the city.
They offer fresh products to their customers and sell a wide variety of bagels, including egg, plain, whole wheat, sesame seed, rye, cinnamon raisin, and poppy seed, among others. Their breakfast and lunch sandwiches are also worth trying. They use a wide range of meats, cheeses, and condiments.
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6. New York Bagel & Bialy – Lincolnwood, IL
New York Bagel & Bialy is not in New York, in case you were wondering. It has served New York-style bagels in Lincolnwood, Illinois, since 1965. Despite the name and its actual location, the bagels they serve are divine!
They have a complete breakfast and lunch menu for customers. Their bagels are freshly-baked, and the most sought-after products, but the sandwiches are also great for a quick lunch. New York Bagel & Bialy has a range of flavors for bagels, including garlic, egg, poppy, pumpernickel rye, salt & poppy, and cinnamon raisin.
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5. The Bagel Factory – St. Louis, MO
Not all the best establishments need to be big and showy. Some small neighborhood places serve the best bagels in the country, and The Bagel Factory is one of them. It’s a small shop that focuses on baking the best bagels in town and maintaining the quality of its baked goods.
The Bagel Factory is busy from 6 am to 1:30 pm and closes the shop after that. On weekends, it’s 7 am to 1 pm, but the timing does not matter if they run out of bagels. The shop closes as soon as the freshly baked goods are gone.
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4. Bagel Oasis – Queens, NY
Bagel Oasis has been around since 1961, serving New Yorkers their best baked bread. The shop continues to make bagels 24 hours a day and seven days a week, so don’t worry; you’ll get there before they run out of bagels!
The bagel shop makes its own cream cheese that you can pair with a wide array of bagels, such as plain, poppy, garlic, everything, sesame, etc.
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3. Myer’s Bagels – Burlington, VT
Myer’s Bagels is among the few stores that make wood-fired bagels. They prepare Montreal-style bagels that Lloyd Squires learned from Myer Lefkowitz in 1981. Squires was a young teenager, and Lefkowitz was a refugee. Despite that, the odd pair created one of the best bagel shops in Vermont.
Myer’s has a range of bagel sandwiches available throughout the day. One of their best sandwiches is Cowboy Dan, which contains pork sausage, scrambled egg, grilled peppers, onions, and cheddar.
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2. BB’s Bagels – Alpharetta, GA
BB’s Bagels was founded in 1996 in New Jersey, but it moved to Atlanta in 2007. Today, they have two successful stores in Georgia.
Eddie, the store owner, poured his life into making BB’s the best bagels place in the state. He used his experience to create perfect freshly baked bagels, salads, soups, and sandwiches. The bagel options at BB’s include cinnamon raisin, chocolate chip, cranberry, cheddar, french toast, and marble rye.
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1. Absolute Bagels – Manhattan, NY
Absolute Bagels is exactly what you expect from a bagel shop in New York. The store has a no frills appearance from the outside. But inside the story – it has the best bagels in the entire country! The bagel store is well-known worldwide, and people from all over come to visit this shop and eat the freshly made bagels.
Not only the bagels but the spreads are also the stars of Absolute Bagels. Their plain cream cheese is worth trying, and the vegan options are also delicious. The menu has other items like sandwiches and lunch meat, but most of it focuses on bagels
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The Secrets of New York’s Best Bagel — Handmade
Utopia Bagels co-owner Scott Spellman has been making fresh, New York-style bagels for over 40 years. Here, he takes us through his bagel-making process and talks us through his philosophy on what makes an NYC bagel the one to beat.
Summary
You can find classic flavors like sesame or cinnamon raisin anywhere, but it takes some searching before you find the most uniquely tasteful bagels in America. Thankfully, the best bagels are not limited to New York anymore, and you can locate a tasty bagel shop in a nearby neighborhood. So, find the shop that’s near your location and go grab their best bagel for breakfast!
Best Bagels in the United States – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Where Are the Best Bagels in America?
New York has the best bagels in the United States. There are a number of bagel shops serving fresh bagels every day. It’s also a favorite breakfast of New Yorkers.
What Is the Most Popular Bagel in the US?
The most popular bagel flavor in the US is blueberry. After that, people love the cinnamon-raisin bagel.
What Are the Best Bagels in the World?
Absolute Bagels is a shop in Manhattan, New York, and it serves the best bagels in the World.
Which States Have the Best Bagels?
Some of the states that serve the best bagels include New York, Illinois, Georgia, Vermont, and Massachusetts.
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My name is Jay and I started this website to share my love of Deli Food. I am Jewish with Italian ancestry and grandparents who emigrated to the US from Poland, Russia and Turkey. This website is my celebration of the delicious flavors of international deli culture. Please feel free to send me your suggestions and feedback through the contact form.
