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Lexington-3rd Aves-51st St (6, E, V)
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Being from New York I'm picky in general but DAMN picky when it comes to a few things and bagels are one of them.
This place has it all - countless varieties of bagels ( look at the display at the back of the store for all they have ), countless toppings for those bagels ( cream cheese, various fishes, etc. ) and amazing customer service both behind the counter and anywhere else you can find someone to ask a question.
If you're anywhere near midtown in the mornings/afternoons stop by for either breakfast or lunch.
THIS is what a bagel was meant to be!
Pro tip: Skip the sandwich line and go straight to the fresh bagel display at the back of the store. The bagels the sandwich makers are using are still fresh, but have cooled down. The bagels in the display are fresh from the oven and still hot. Absolutely nothing compares to a fresh steaming hot bagel. They're a $1 each and a great value as far as fresh baked goods go.
That said, the sandwich line is also a great great. The raisin walnut tofu spread on a 7 grain bagel is the ideal way to start your day. A little saltiness from the bagel and a little sweetness from the spread -- a match made in heaven. The sandwiches are a bit pricey, but if you're coming here regularly on your way to work, it's best to grab a 1/4 pound of spread (to stash at work) and a hot and fresh bagel each morning.
Coffee was decent -- nothing special here. Thankfully not as bitter as Starbucks, though.
This location is up the street from Grand Central Terminus -- very convenient if you're coming into the city from JFK (the shuttle drops off at Grand Central first and Penn Station second).
I'm on the hunt....that's right....a hunt. Not for a man, a job, or a big elk or deer. Nope. I'm on the hunt for a deliciously perfect bagel. How hard could it be? Well in this city, let me tell ya, it can be pretty dang hard.
The perfect bagel, similar to the perfect man, is hard on the outside and soft on the inside. And like men, bagels come in all colors, shapes and sizes. I like my man dark, and my bagel light on the outside. But just like a man....that softness wants me coming back for more. Slather on some cream cheese and oooooooooh baby, my mouth can't get enough.
I've found that perfect bagel. This bagel has a nice home that I love to visit frequently. And I don't feel guilty when I stop in unannounced at any ol' hour. In fact, I won't feel guilty if I get a dozen of these babies to share with my friends. Someone has to spread the love!
By the way, you can get a baker's dozen for $12 (that's 13 bagels cheap!!!)
essa very good bagel. They are fresh and steamy when you get them in the morning. I will cut it open and steam the wrinkles out of my shirt when I get to the office. Keeps me looking fresh and bagely.
This is why you live in New York.
PS: I don't want to hear about your low carb diet, I don't care.
Wow... I didn't know a bagel could taste this good!! I heard about the long lines, but luckily I didn't have to experience that!! I ordered a toasted Cinnamon Raisin with Strawberry cream cheese. The service was fast and friendly. The bagel came out well toasted and the strawberry cream cheese was DELICIOUS and very creamy. They didn't skimp on the cream cheese, which a lot of places do. Oh and they DELIVER across the US. Hmmmm... *thinking*... just maybe when I return back to the bay, I might need some delivered. Hahaha... yes I might just be crazy enough!!
Very quaint and cute little bagel shop. All the employees were very nice!! Definitely a place to go for fresh bagels!!
I never know in New York whether to rate restaurants by relative merit or by absolute merit. Absolutely (meaning - Plop it anywhere else in the world), this is a five star establishment, but I can also admit that I prefer bagels elsewhere in the city. This may be a matter of choice.
Ess-a-bagels, are hearty, dense, and chewy to the point that your jaw muscles may hurt. But they are delicious. And they can put pretty much anything you want in a sandwich. I had one plain bagel - a cinnamon raisin, and one bagel with eggs and (cooked) nova lox.
Friendly service and fresh food. What a great combination.
I sampled a variety of their flavors and combinations at a recent event. The light vegetable cream cheese was mainly yummy cream cheese with a hint of veggies, perfect to top a flavored bagel. The baked salmon salad was a mess of fresh salmon with just a touch of seasoning to complement the natural taste of salmon. VERY yum, Finally, I tired the raisin-walnut tofu. Now, normally, I will not jump for anything with raisin or tofu in the title, but the great guys behind the table slathered a chunk of bagel and said to trust him. I am so glad I did. I can't believe that anything this flavorful could possibly be nutritionally redeeming. Was better than any honey and walnut cream cheese ever to grace my tongue.
I am planning a trip to the store with the family when they visit soon. I will shock them by ordering tofu and then refusing to share.
It's a great NYC bagel!
Went with my usual, plain cream cheese on a salted bagel.
Fantastic!
Not much else to say, except I wish there was more locations across the five boroughs!
Ess-A-Bagel has schooled my California bagel-eating patootie. So much so I went twice on my 9-day trip. We missed the subway stop for H&H, but I'm not too bothered.
This is what a bagel should be. Chewy but still fluffy. Not so dense that it makes your jaw sore from chewing it. This is also a fat bagel. Lots of cream cheese squeezing out, but not the overly whipped kind. Definitely a messy meal, but so worth it. If you get the lox spread you'll start eating the pink parts and smooshing the cream cheese back on, even if you're already full.
The first time I came, I had a toasted onion bagel with lox spread. The onions on the bagel may get a little too toasty for my taste, but to each her own. Still a great bagel. Lots of pink bits in the cream cheese. Lox, glorious glorious lox! We didn't eat anything else until dinner at Babbo later that night. So you're looking at brunch/lunch for under 4 bucks.
On the last day of our trip, I had a plain bagel with nova scotia lox (gotta get this) and regular cream cheese (I wanted scallion, the guy didn't hear me, it was good so I don't care). Some tomatoes and red onions added on (you can get cucumber, too), and I was in bagel heaven. Heaven where onion breath is allowed. Damn good lox. Damn good.
Later on we also had a toasted onion bagel with herbed cream cheese. It survived fairly well for eating it a few hours later on the plane back home. Definitely would have been better fresh, but here's the thing: even after hours in a backpack it was still on par if not better than the non-NY bagels I've had.
Quality bagels I'm tempted to get shipped to me on the west coast. So many types of bagels, varieties of spreads (even tofu ones, for you health-conscious or vegans), smoked, dried, and pickled fish. Sandwiches, too. I only went on the weekends, when I hear it's much more laid back. The guys behind the counter are chatty with the locals and the tourists. I haven't been called "young lady" in the longest time. It made me feel kinda special.
Ess-A-Bagel, you make me smile. You make bagels all day long so they're always fresh. You have a separate line for people just ordering bagels and spreads to go, not sandwiches The options are endless. You can make your own pizza bagel. That's just awesome. There's seating but I can see how it might fill up fast. I miss Ess-A-Bagel already.
Ess-A-Bagel is struggling for mediocrity. Wait, that's being too generous. Let's step back...
I gave this place 3 chances. The first time I had my usual everything bagel with scallion cream cheese and ended up spending most of the day running to the bathroom. That should have ended it, but I decided to give it another chance because I really like bagels. The next week I went back and ordered the same thing and when I removed the paper that said $3.25, I became upset and let out a string of "are you kidding me?!"'s while looking around to see if anyone was paying any attention to me. The top side was a stale and very hard everything bagel, the bottom was an onion bagel that was quite larger than the everything on top. The next week I have it a third shot because I was really hungry and walk past on my way to work. Ordered the same thing and when I got it, it had cream cheese w/lox.
On a scale between blah and yea, Ess-A-Bagel gets a blah. This is also looking past the fact that the staff look like they sleep on the floor. Do yourself a favor and go one of the street carts nearby for your bagel.
If I lived in NYC, I would definitely frequent Ess-A-Bagel. We were only in NYC for 2 days and we made sure to stop by here for breakfast first thing in the morning. Luckily the line wasn't too crazy at 8:00 on a Tuesday morning...at the same time, I wish there was some sort of line because after looking at their huge selection, I didn't know what I wanted by the time it was my turn! The workers there are really friendly. The guy that was making our orders had a great sense of humor, joking around as he was helping me decide what to put on my bagel since I being so indecisive. I ended up with Smoked Tuna with Cream Cheese and a Tomato on a Poppy seed bagel - delicious! My boyfriend ordered his typical Lox and Cream Cheese.
Pros: Quick and friendly staff. Huge menu - they have everything! Cheap and very fulfilling.
Cons: There isn't one in the San Francisco Bay Area
Yes, there will be a long line. For bagels? I know. Especially if you already know exactly what you want. But if you're reading this, it probably means you need time to peruse their ginormous menu, so the line is your friend.
Tons of bagels and different shmears, baked goods, salads, and cinnamon coffee! My go-to is the Saturday morning toasted everything bagel with egg whites and American cheese. Totally shiksa of me, totally do not care. Amazing.
One little side note - some of the staff is . . . how do I put this nicely . . . creepy. Just know what you want, order it, and don't let them scare you.
PS - if it's really busy and you can't get a table, there's a nice public garden on 51st b/w 2nd & 1st at the synagogue.
I never understood the obsession NYers have with pizza and bagels. Most of them just seem the same to me. After all it's just bread or bread with cheese and sauce. I thought this way until I tried Ess-A-Bagel which was just a block from where I used to work. I figured to stop by one day and grab a bagel thinking it will be a light lunch. Well, the bagels are HUGE and it was far from a 'light' lunch. Not only are they large and filled with a ton of of anything (salmon, cream cheese, etc.) and everything but they are also incredibly delicious. I am not sure what they put in there but it's fresh, its delicious, it pretty much melts in your mouth and leaves you incredibly satisfied. I am now a fan!
I was in NYC an thought "I have to try a bagel while in NYC" so I Googled "Best Bagel in Manhattan" and Ess-A-Bagel came up. I'm happy I went. The store is cool. The vibe is NYC. The bagel was good it just wasn't all that different from any other bagel I've ever had. I ordered an Everything Bagel with scallions and a Bagel with Nova. I'd be dammed if I could tell all that much of a difference from any bagel I've had in SF or LA or anywhere else I've had a bagel except maybe in Asia where they are too soft.
So, can I recommend Ess-A-Bagel? Sure if you are in the area. Otherwise just go to your local bagel place, the difference is so small so to not exist.
Huge bagels! I've never had a bad NY bagel... The line was almost out the door when we came in. Customer service was so-so and I don't know if that's a NY thing being a California native. My Californian friends have had conversations about how NYers aren't as friendly or nice when it comes to customer service.. Anyways, bagels are huge and they for sure do not scrimp out on the spread!
I used to live in Midtown East, and I was a little too close to these pillow-y balls of dough-y goodness. So much, it started to show...
Now I live in the Lower East Side, and Ess-A-Bagel is the one place I really miss.
I have only tried one combination: the cinnamon raisin bagel with gobs of butter. It hit the spot every time! Ess-A-Bagel has perfected the art of bagels since 1976.
If you are in New York and in search of a bagel fix, look no further than this place. It never disappoints!
If you love surprises this is the place for you. 50% of the time they get my order wrong and I've been there 7 -8 times ( I live a block away, that's why I keep going). The line is ridiculously long and they don't move quickly. Almost all of the workers are over the age of 60, but there is one old guy who will make weird remarks at you while you order which is entertaining.
The bagel are good and their sandwiches are good. But I've had them char the cheese on my bacon egg and cheese to a black peice of carbon. My friend got a bagel with lox, and then had salmonella for 3 days. Other times they've just give me something completely different from what I ordered. But when they get it right, its pretty good.
Want fast, friendly service? This isn't the place for you. Want a delicious fresh chewy Brooklyn style bagel? You've come to the right place, now get in line. The first time I went here I probably waited twenty minutes for two bagels with creamcheese. The service is generally just plain rude but with bagels as good as theirs it just doesn't matter. If you are not eating your bagels there, then go to a grocery store and buy creamcheese. I'd suggest you do this beforehand so you don't have to stop on the way home and the bagels may still be warm when you eat them. If you are just getting bagels with nothing on them you can go straight to the back where there is generally no line and be in and out in 2 minutes. If you want creamcheese (or tofu creamcheese which I haven't tried but have heard is quite good) prepare to wait a while. Either way it's worth it, but I'm just not a patient person.
Back in the day, I would walk to work, and on my daily journey, I'd stop off at Ess-A-Bagel and pick up a softball sized bagel and a 'schmear' of cream cheese (chive or lox spread). Ah, those were the days....
Yes, the place would be busy; it happens to be one of the best bagel places in NYC. I don't remember the pricing structure, but I remember going here atleast once a week for a couple of years.
Looking back at my breakfast diet of my early 20's, what was I thinking? Cranberry muffin or a bagel and cream cheese every other day.... Sheesh....
Anyway, if you want an awesome, monster-sized bagel, and you're on the East Side, Ess-A-Bagel should be your number one choice....
http://www.youtube.com...
Simply put, this is my favorite bagel place by far. If it weren't for the low quality of their service and coffee, I will have no hesitation of rating this place 5-star. I ordered the Oat Bran bagel (toasted) with Strawberry Cream Cheese for $3.35 and it was amazing! They put lots of cream cheese on and Strawberry one was just excellent. Unfortunately, they messed up my coffee order; I wanted ICE cappuccino, and they gave me a hot cappuccino. I asked them to re-make my cappuccino and one of the guys told me, "I'm not making you another one." I was pretty fed up with the comment, so I insisted. Eventually, another guy made me an ice cap and that was the end of it. With that said, their coffee is not impressive at all. Anyways, I would definitely go back to this place again and again for their bagels, but will get my coffee somewhere else.
If I do not eat Ess-A-Bagel at least once a week I get cranky. When I get cranky I lose friends. My friends like to accompany me to Ess-A-Bagel.
Sorry H&H but Ess-A has the BEST bagels in town. They are always fluffy and warm. My favorite is the pumpernickel raisin. Heavenly! I know some NYC Bagel fanatics freak out if cream cheese contains anything except for scallions (or just plain) but I dont care. I LOVE all the different kinds there are to choose from. Strawberry is amazing, herb, jalapeno, chocolate chip, salmon...its all great. I won't lie my favorite is scallion but I can diversify every now and then.
I come here so often the staff knows my face and my bagel of choice. I was embarrassed at first but quickly recovered from that bout of insanity.
Surprisingly tasty! I really enjoyed my bagels here, and they were quite affordable. I got two bagels: a plain with cream cheese and a cinnamon raisin with butter. Both were good, but the cinnamon raisin was a bit better.
Good bagels at a good price. Can't go wrong with this place.
We waited an hour on a fairly short line (about 10 people long) to get our bagels here. I cant imagine what the hold up was. When we finally got to the counter, the dudes behind there were obviously eating while preparing the food, which seems a bit unsanitary. "Krotzariming around" would be the Yiddish expression I would use to describe what was happening back there. The bagels were good, but I definitely prefer Absolute Bagels on the Upper West Side. Not worth the wait.
After a sleepless red-eye to the city, I was cranky and starving for a quick and delicious breakfast. Thankfully, Ess-A-Bagel did not disappoint.
Despite the array of bagels and spreads offered, I got my usual wheat bagel with plain cream cheese. Nothing fancy, but it totally hit the spot. The bagel was warm and had excellent texture. Without being too dense or too bready, these bagels have a slightly crisp outside and a soft and chewy inside. The combination of my bagel and a thick layer of cream cheese turned my dreary morning into a great start to my first day in NYC!
My family and friends raved about the bagels in NYC. What's with bagels? Isn't it just shaped, boiled dough? Not fully understanding the bagel craze, I was blown away arriving to find a line of 20+ people in front of us... people love their bagels here it seems. And the test?
Everything bagel with sun dried tomato cream cheese - Tasty cream cheese, lots of flavors imparted from the various toppings, and excellent choice. The bagel was just soft enough inside with just enough stiffness on the outside.
Garlic bagel with lox and cream cheese - You know, I had planned to order onion for the the bagel, but somehow by the front of the line I got confused (I blame the 2.5 hour drive to NYC that morning) and I ordered garlic. Not to say that the garlic wasn't good, all toasted and stuck to the outside of the bagel, but I found myself attempting to get garlic out of my teeth for about an hour after I left the joint. Now the lox... that was some great lox. While pricey, the lox and cream cheese (separate mind you, not the lox mixed with cream cheese) was a definite reason to make it here for some breakfast.
Verdict: The bagels were well made, gigantic, the cream cheese flavors were distinct and enjoyable, the lox was perfect. I'm a fan.
Good bagel. Not the best I've had but they are clearly among the better end of the bagel spectrum. I myself prefer H&H. Although, I kept thinking of the bagels I would have on the east side of Providence years back. There was this place that could toast you bagel just right and apply the cream cheese lightly as per my request. The bagels were so fresh and the sesame seeds evenly distributed. Their bagels were so bagel-y; so many places serve bagels that are so bready. Oh yummmy bagels. Wake up. I'm in Ess-a-Bagel.
Here I was having Ess-a-Bagel and thinking of someone else's bagels. Not a good sign. Ess-a-Bagel was inadequate to satisfy my bagel needs. Oh snap. That alone knocks it down from 5 to 4 stars, which was my intended rating.
The sesame bagel was over toasted, the sesame seeds were not properly distributed, one side being almost entirely covered (too many seeds) and the other sparsely covered (too few).
The whole wheat bagel was a bit better. It was toasted just right and tasted better than the sesame. I ordered one with cream cheese and one without. Then I spread the cream cheese between them. That way, I got the cream cheese just right. Otherwise, it wouldn't been too cream cheesy for me.
Then the cup of coffee. No espresso machine anywhere in sight so I order a "coffee" which came as an americano. There were quite a number of small coffee pots strewn atop the huge coffee machine. The counter person who was serving me grabbed one pot and emptied it into my cup, but didn't fill it, so he grabbed another pot and filled the rest of the cup.
On a side note, my dad has been trying really hard the last few years to brew the weakest, most watered-down worst cup of coffee with the least amount of pick-me-up. Ess-a-Bagel has him beat, hands down. I can't remember the last time I had a worse cup of coffee in my life. I've had better coffee at corner delis for 50¢.
So they stand on their bagels. There's not much else. Even the bagels were just alright. Consistency is sorely lacking at this establishment. Come-on folks it's just bagels. Bagels are not easy to do right. But once you know how to do bagels well, you should do them well consistently. The coffee? How do you mess up an american coffee? Stop being cheap, Ess-a-Bagel. Time to work on your game. Maybe you'll you'll relearn how to handle your bagels and satisfy my needs better the next time.
The horrible coffee, and the inconsistency with their bagels knocked off another star, which leaves 3, all while I was sitting here writing this review and thinking about my not-fully-satisfying bagel experience.
I'll come back because they have so many great reviews to give them another chance, but I won't go out of my way. In fact, I'll go try their other location.
Great bagels.
Thought I dont reccomend getting an egg white and cheese bagel. Took forever. There is also always a line. But it is worth it.
This is heaven! Kick ass bagels and fully stocked deli. Bagels are incredible and softball size. Pastrami, egg and cheese bagel sandwich? I didn't know breakfast could be so tasty and seriously bad for my health at the same time. I love this place. They crank through the line that forms for the city's best bagels, they have the award on the front wall. They even added a touch of New York attitude with a gal behind me. How much is a bagel and cc. You mean for you or everyone else? You mean today or later in the week? It was a lot of fun. But I can't imagine trying that before coffee, ugh.
Best bagels I've ever had. Now can we get one in Chicago?
I love, love, love toasted bagels with cream cheese and lox. I heard about Ess-A-Bagel for the first time last night. That's the thrill of being a newb in Manhattan: finding new stuff and being genuinely thrilled!
Anyway, I set off early to get to church at St. Barts, which is a short walk from Ess-A-Bagel. However, don't you know I completely forgot about them and got a crap $8.00 falafel at the street fair and then went to SOHO.
However, I decided to double back for lunch. I took the 6 back uptown at got there around 3:15pm. They were out of onion, garlic and salt bagels by the time I arrived ... BOO!!! So, if you're like me and you have a favorite type, get there early. They did, however, have sesame bagels. I decided to change it up and go for a flavored cream cheese and skip the lox this time around. I ordered a sesame bagel with sun-dried tomato cream cheese. Simply because I'm not sure when I'll get back, I also had him pack up three of them to go with a 1/4 lb of sun-dried tomato cream cheese to take with me.
I didn't eat the bagel until I'd found a local Starbucks. Yes, I'm hooked on having wi-fi access, but then I ate my bagel.
OHMYGOD. It was so good! It was so much better than an average bagel. It's also huge and unruly in terms of how it looks. You can tell these are hand-rolled bagels. I'm sold. I'll be back.
There is also that Manhattan flava going on in there. I realized that I'm definitely in NYC now. While I was there, at least, two customers got yelled at for being a bit slow. There were spirited, but light-hearted, tête-à-têtes between the folks who worked there. The guy helping me was wonderfully surly and then became friendly at the end. I guess happy to be rid of me or impressed that surly rolls off of me and I still say "please" and "thank you".
The Yelp consensus seems to be that this place has the best bagels in the city, and if my experience is any indication, I would say that assertion seems pretty accurate. I elected to keep it simple and go with a wheat bagel toasted with cream cheese. Don't be fooled by this choice; Ess-A-Bagel has an astounding assortment of different cream cheeses, along with many bagel types beyond the typical plain, wheat, or cinnamon raisin.
As someone who typically buys his bagels from Au Bon Pain (close to work), it's always refreshing to taste bagels that aren't pumped out through some sort of bagel assembly line. This places belongs in the "exceptional" category, with their bagels being large, fresh, and flavorful. Not to be outdone, the cream cheese is just as amazing. It's like a battle in your mouth, with each element competing for your taste buds affection.
The bagel: 5 stars
The spreads: 4-5 stars
The servce: meh. slow as can be.
HANDS DOWN THE BEST BAGELS EVER!
I had the lox bagel sandwich. It was very pricey ($11) but the smoked salmon was the BEST!!!.. they carve it directly from a big ass salmon, not from little packages. The sandwich was HUGE, but I could've eaten 2 of them because they were kick ass!!
I can't express how wonderful this place is. It puts Noah's bagels in the crapper. I would just buy a plane ticket to new york for this bagel if my income was that dispensable.
IT'S A BAGEL....!!!
These bagels are ORGASMIC. No joke! I thought Noah's bagels in San Francisco was hands down the best bagel in the world but after having a bagel at Ess-A-Bagel, I was proven wrong. Ess-A-Bagel puts any other damn bagel to SHAME. Pure shame.
The line here can get somewhat long but the workers work fast. Soak in the smells of salty bagels and you'll be fine for the 5 minute wait. Bagels from salt to garlic to everything to plain to sesame to onion, etc. I love freshly baked bagels and for $1 a pop, I'm sold!
Bagel w/ plain cc: $2.35
Bagel w/ flavored cc: $3.35
The cream cheese can get somewhat pricey since it's roughly double the cost of the bagel itself, but they load on the cream cheese. Seriously. There's so much on there that I had to scrape a lot off. I definitely recommend the sun-dried tomato cc and the lox cc.
If there was an Ess-A-Bagel in San Francisco, my ass would be huge.
This is not a place for carb fearing people.
Ess-A-Bagel, why don't you do overnight shipping?? H&H does...sad face.
Boston bagels just aren't gonna cut it after coming here on my first ever visit the NYC. I ordered a cute cinnamon raisin number and accessorized it with some raisin walnut tofu cream cheese. Everything was amazing. The bagel was huge and chewy and crispy in all the right places. The cream cheese, something I've never seen anywhere before, was perfection.
I chowed down on this thing on the bus home next to a rando, and I bet he was super jealous. Or super grossed out by my enthusiasm for stuffing my face. Either way, I was pleased.
Excellent bagels! I had a toasted sesame bagel, with a little butter & Nova lox. Expensive, yes, but amazing.
I will not go back to this location though - I saw the cashier at the front register doing some gross personal grooming stuff, then still waiting on customers. So I am grossed out and am thinking this location might not be the cleanest one to go to. Will definitely check out the other one though, which is why I can only give this location 3 stars.
Staying in midtown hotels these days, this place is actually convenient to me now. I have heard a lot about the place, and I finally got to check it out. I opted for the poppyseed bagel with blueberry cream cheese. When asked if I wanted anything to drink, I looked forlornly at the soda fountain, and asked, with what was to be certain disappointment, if they had Oi Ocha?? He takes a minute, opens a secret compartment underneath the soda fountain, and hands me my special drink -- awesome! When checking out, you are asked if it is to stay or go. Apparently if you stay, your bagel will cost more -- it's a French pricing system I guess.
So the bagel: nicely toasted, very large, delicious, chewy, overall very good. The blueberry cream cheese was generously applied, but was too cloying from the natural sweetness of the berries.
Not as good as Murray's, but still a very nice bagel!
When in NY, gotta do what the New Yorkers do- get a bagel!
Lots of bagel choices and lots of spread choices.
I got the everything bagel with fat-free veggie spread, toasted of course. The bagel is pretty thick and they they cut it in half for you- easier to eat! The bagel is pretty chewy as other yelpers have reviewed. I finished about half of it before I was stuffed and my jaw was too sore to continue eating.
What I really liked about these bagels was that they were very, VERY generous on the flavoring/toppings. It was like a flavorful explosion every time I bit into my bagel. Also, the toppings is on the bottom part of the bagel (flatter surface) than the top (rounded). Oh, there wasn't rye on it either. Rye just ruins the taste of everything bagels ...
Service is partially questionable. I had to wait for my cashier lady to finish peeling her orange before she'd ring me up.
There are a bunch of little tables (seats about 2 each), mostly in the back. Some of the tables were usurped by the bagel workers who were filling up catering trays of food.
So Ess-A-Bagel vs Tal Bagel, I like Ess-A-Bagel better for size & flavoring. They also take Credit Cards ...
Mm, totally what I was looking for that morning. Lox, eggs, onion on a pumpernickel bagel. All warm and toasty, washed down with some green tea.
Excellent! On a beautiful Saturday morning, there is nothing better than lingering in a ten minute line for fantastic bagels. The line was almost out the door when I visited. I took it as a good sign! The menu was large and the yummy bagel choices were several, so the line was probably a good thing. I saw that a bagel and lox was over $9. Pass. Having already had a bagel with lox spread the day before, I thought I might try something different. The cinnamon walnut cream cheese sounded unbeatable.
When I was finally asked for my order by a small 50-something gentleman who called me "Sunshine," I knew this place was going to be awweeesome. I told him that I wanted a cinnamon raisin bagel toasted with cinnamon walnut cream cheese and an everything bagel toasted with plain cream cheese. He chided me for wanting "everything" on a bagel. The customer next to me told me that he couldn't tell me how many times he heard that comment (hah). While the man was preparing my order, he asked me who my second bagel was for. When I told him that it was for my brother, he made a flirty comment. He was incredibly friendly and seemed just happy to be alive. I was already smiling and hadn't even had coffee or breakfast yet!
I took the finished bagels over to a table and my brother and I set up shop. The amount of cream cheese on each of our bagels can be summed up as an exciting amount. I fell in love at first bite. The texture of these bagels are truly wonderful. Smooth, shiny, and crunchy exteriors encase a dense and spongy interior of yummy carby goodness. SO GOOD!! This ain't your supermarket bagel! One interesting thing I noticed about the everything bagel my brother had was that the "everything" mixture was both on top and on the bottom of the bagel. Cool! The one disappointing aspect of my bagel was actually the cream cheese - not enough walnuts for my taste. But it was still darn good.
This was actually my second time trying Ess-A-Bagel. The first time I visited was in 2004 at the First Ave location and I had the $9 lox on bagel. I remember not being able to finish it. So I saved it and I finished it while waiting in line at the TKTs booth later that afternoon.
What wonderful memories I have of these bagels... I hope I have many more.
Found it on Yelp! Finding it in reality turned out to be a challenge (because I've already forgotten my NY streets and confused 3rd and Lex Aves - bad Badri... that deserves a sharp rebuke and a slap on the wrist!)
OK then, when we did find it, this place is awesome! Few tables in the back, food counters on the left and two cashiers on either sie. You order your food, it gets delivered, you pay for it and you're done! They also serve meat and bread (without it having to be in a sandwich) so this doubles as a neighborhood grocery deli.
I had the Everything bagel (yes, I'm needy and want everything) with butter (toasted, pretty please!!!!). We packed up our bagels and hit the Metro to go to our next working destination - a bookstore in SoHo.
The bagel was absolutely delicious (though a bit chewy since we had let it cool - no stars deducted!!! A nice blend of toppings (though only one side is topped... wich is correct because you can't have two tops to a bagel... but I digress!!) LOL
$1.35 for a bagel - w00t! Awesome.
I'll have to beck to try the other selections, especially the cream cheeses and the different meats and salmon (lox) - mmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Well, 4 solid stars - definitely lived up to my expectations.
# 67
Yelper Special!
Neighborhood: Upper East Side
10% online discount for Yelp…
Neighborhood: Meatpacking District
Neighborhood: Stuyvesant Town
Category: Bakeries
Neighborhood: Manhattan Valley
Category: Bakeries
Neighborhood: Upper East Side
Category: Caterers
Neighborhood: Murray Hill
Category: Bagels
Neighborhood: Midtown East
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