The food revivalists--you can spot them by their timed espresso shots and custom cocktail tinctures--have embraced a score of lost culinary arts, from pickling to butchering. Now they've (thankfully) turned their attention to the long-mistreated bagel. These new specimens are chewy, lightly crisp, and refreshingly small--not puffy things the size of your face. Taking their inspiration from old New York and the shops of Montreal (where bagels are boiled in honey-sweetened water and baked in a wood-fired oven), dedicated bakers are bringing bagels-as-they-used-to-be to the rest of the country, from Nashville to Oakland. Now all we need is some artisanal cream cheese.
At Kristen Skruber's New York-style bagel shop, the dough enjoys a long fermenting period, which builds intricate flavor into the finished round.
Baked in a wood-burning oven, these misshapen, big-holed bagels are, well, beauties. The "everything" version even includes sea salt and fennel seeds.
Yes, there are great bagels out West. This Montreal-leaning spot offers all the classic toppings, as well as za'atar, a Middle Eastern spice blend.