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"Why the Montreal bagel is the superior bagel"

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Viewt

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AVClub - Supper Club

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Bagels originated in Jewish communities in Poland and began cropping up in New York and Montreal around the turn of the 20th century. At the time, there was a uniformity to the baking process: Bagels were rolled by hand and boiled in water before being cooked in wood-burning ovens. At some point, however, New York bakers succumbed to the allures of technology (some, not all) and began baking their bagels with gas and electric ovens.

Today New York and Montreal bagels are so different that they barely qualify as the same species. New York bagels are bigger, more pliable (New York City tap water has very low levels of calcium carbonate and magnesium, which produces softer gluten), and salty. Montreal bagels are sweeter (bakers add sugar to the dough, which, once rolled, is poached in honey-infused water), smaller, and crispier, with a chewy interior. Many Montreal bakers still hand-roll their bagels and cook them in the same wood-burning ovens they used when they first built their shops. You could knock the Montreal bagel for having a larger center hole, which means less surface area for toppings, but that would be an acknowledgment that you need cream cheese or other accoutrements to accompany the bagel. A Montreal bagel stands on its own.

But as divisive as the bagel rivalry is between these two cities, it’s nothing compared to the long-standing bagel feud between Montreal’s two bagel titans: St-Viateur Bagel and Fairmount Bagel. Both shops are located in the Mile End, a neighborhood known for its high concentration of hipsters, thrift stores, and Jewish people—it’s basically Brooklyn with Quebecois French.
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Look, I fucking love bagels. I grew up eating facsimiles of New York bagels in Miami delis, and occasionally getting the real thing when we'd visit my mom's family in Brooklyn. They're fantastic bagels. So I'm not putting NYC down in the least when I say... I agree. Montreal bagels are better.

I went to Montreal for the first time in 2015, and I made a point to check out the bagels at Fairmount Bagel, and they were divine. The satisfying crunch, the sweet-but-not-too-sweet flavor, the quality of the dough itself - it's all just a tad better than its New York cousin.

Again, I love both, but I've gotta hand it to Montreal. They have the best bagels. I'm very jealous.
 
Oppo

Oppo

Member
ITS THE WATAH

I had always been led to believe it was the brick ovens, which were straight illegal in Ontario up until a few years ago I believe.
 
C

Crazymoogle

Member
Not the biggest bagel fan, but they are pretty good. When I first moved to Montreal I was mainly just surprised that Fairmont/St.Viateur Bagel were so close together though.
 
P

Poppy

Member
i think bagel bites are the superior bagel. i mean they are already pizza, so they are by default better than any non pizza based bagel
 
R

RS4-

Member
Haven't had a Montreal one in a while, but if you're in Toronto, Gryfe's is the only place to buy.

Bagels anywhere else are trash.
 
D

distantmantra

Member
My wife and I stayed in Montreal's Plateau neighborhood last summer for a week. So many bagels were consumed every morning.

HStallion said:
So when do Montreal bagels show up in New York City?
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They're probably already there. We've got a Montreal-style bagel chain in Seattle called Eltana that's pretty damn good.
 
V

Viewt

Member
Pai Pai Master said:
It really is the best bagel I've ever eaten.


St-Viateur Bagel is supreme.
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I need to go there. I'm probably a couple years away from another trip to Montreal, but when I'm there, I'm there.

Stinkles said:
Aren't bagels just old donuts?
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This just makes me sad.

HStallion said:
So when do Montreal bagels show up in New York City?
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Apparently they've been there for a while. You can find a handful in Brooklyn.

Jeff-DSA said:
...and what if I don't want my bagel to be sweeter?
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I mean, at the end of the day, it's sweeter, so if that's a dealkiller, then it's probably just not for you. But I'd say that, while there's sugar, it doesn't feel saturated in that too-sweet flavor. It's just a little extra that gives it a slight sweetness. Kinda like West Coast vs. East Coast oysters. West Coast has sweeter oysters, but it's not like they're drowning in sugar.
 
E

Eidan

Member
Hm, wish I knew that the bagels were a big deal when I was last there. I just went to this meat place was supposed to be incredible. I only thought the line was.
 
Pazu

Pazu

Member
lol. let me set the record straight. I am NY born and raised. I live in Montreal now. I am Jewish. Thus: I AM BAGEL.

NY >>> Montreal.

Fairmount hits the spot, but come on, its not even a debate.
 
S

soco

Member
We've got a place in Seattle that does bagels in the 'Montreal' style. I definitely enjoy that place when I'm having bagels.


Curious though, did they originate in Montreal or was it just popularized there?
 
B

B-Dubs

No Scrubs
Malvolio said:
Poor NY. Second best pizza and now second best bagels. At least you still have the Knicks.
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Nah, we got the best of both. People just don't like feeling second best. They trying to start some shit because our supremacy doesn't need to be argued. The facts speak for themselves, NY pizza and bagels don't need articles proclaiming them the best because they just are.
 
P

phanphare

Banned
You could knock the Montreal bagel for having a larger center hole, which means less surface area for toppings, but that would be an acknowledgment that you need cream cheese or other accoutrements to accompany the bagel.
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I resent this implication

a bagel without butter or cream cheese is just a piece of bread. I mean, it's still a bagel but who really eats that shit dry?

Cagey said:
Absolute Bagels, run by a Thai family on Broadway at 107th >>> any other bagel anywhere.
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nah. I've still never had a better bagel than ess-a-bagel's sesame seed bagel buttered and toasted.
 
P

Pai Pai Master

Banned
phanphare said:
I resent this implication

a bagel without butter or cream cheese is just a piece of bread. I mean, it's still a bagel but who really eats that shit dry?
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But it's a fucking delicious piece of bread. When you buy a fresh bag out of the oven no need to cut that baby up just eat the whole damn thing like a fucking animal.
 
V

Viewt

Member
Pai Pai Master said:
But it's a fucking delicious piece of bread. When you buy a fresh bag out of the oven no need to cut that baby up just eat the whole damn thing like a fucking animal.
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No lie... I did this. When we went to Fairmount, we got our bagels, and then walked to a nearby bench to eat outside. I clumsily cut one and applied schmear, and it was delicious. But I had another one, and not wanting to have to prepare it again, I just ate that shit dry. And you know what? It was still really, really good.

I'll always take and prefer schmear. But these bagels are good.
 
A

AbortedWalrusFetus

Member
I like NY bagels and Montreal bagels, but they are different enough to not need to compete.

I also like philly style bagels. They are like an in between of NY bagels and Montreal. They mix beer with the water when boiling so it takes on a maltiness that is milder than the sweetness of montreal style but gives it a little more crust flavor than ny bagels.

Really I just like bagels.
 
B

bggrthnjsus

Member
anybody in nyc who wants montreal bagels, black seed bagels is good shit but kinda overpriced, they have spots in nolita and east village (possibly others? i dunno)
 
M

megalowho

Member
They taste good but not what I'm looking for when it comes to spreads and sandwiches. I mean cmon, that hole is rediculous
 
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