For decades, my friend, BenS, has been telling me that most bagels we get in SW Ontario are "not authentic" in that they are steamed, not boiled, and are puffy, non-chewy, round-shaped white bread that is being passed off as bagels.
So in BenS's presence while attending a conference last spring, knowing that I would be going to England soon, I asked Lord (Parry) Mitchell where to get authentic bagels in London, England. He immediately recommended that I go to Golder's Green, a residential community NW of Hampstead Heath.
At the same time, I wrote to EclectEcon reader, MA, and asked for his recommendations. MA sent me reviews recommending Carmelli's in Golder's Green, and the Brick Lane Beigel Bake.
So early in May, as MA suggested, I took the tube to Hampstead Heath and walked on up through some parks to get to Golder's Green, where I located Carmelli's. I started with a plain bagel, filled with cream cheese [aka "one cheese" when placing the order]. These are prepared in advance and are in a case, cello-wrapped. I took it outside and sat on a bench to eat it.
I was absolutely blown away.
After eating just half a bagel, I understood what BenS was talking about. It was a small bagel, compared with most supermarket bagels in North America, but it was dense and chewy. There was a hint of sweetness and softness to round things out, but it was unlike anything I had ever experienced previously.
I went back in and bought another "cheese" bagel, a half dozen plain bagels, and a half dozen onion bagels. I shared some of these bagels with colleagues back at the castle and carefully, slowly, allowed myself one or two per day over the next week or so.
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A couple of weeks later, I went to the Brick Lane Beigel Bake. I started the same way, buying "one cheese". It was okay, but the inside of the bagel was softer and less chewy. I also went next door and bought "one cheese" there as well. Same thing. They were good, but despite their reputations, they just didn't live up to the dense, chewy texture that I had enjoyed so much with the Carmelli bagels. I'm sure they were just as authentic as Carmelli's bagels, maybe even more so in some sense; but I didn't bother to buy a dozen. They were a bit of a let-down compared with the Carmelli bagels.
How much did I like Carmelli bagels? So much that before returning to Canada from London, I took an extra two hours to go out of my way, up to Golder's Green, where I bought two dozen more bagels to fit into our suitcases for the return trip. I also bought some cream bagels and some lox bagels for Ms. Eclectic and me to enjoy before leaving from Heathrow the next morning.
On the way home from the airport, we dropped off a half dozen with BenS and brought the rest home. We still have four in the freezer, but I fear they won't last much longer there.
After trying several different types of Carmelli bagels, I have concluded that the best ones are the smaller, plain ones. The onions in the onion bagels detract from the intensity and purity of the experience in eating the plain bagels; and the poppy seed and sesame seed bagels are less dense, less chewy.
Some additional notes:
- BenS agreed that these bagels are among the best he has ever tasted. He also says they are "authentic" --- chewy, boiled not steamed.
- Ms. Eclectic also thinks these are among the best bagels she has ever experienced.
- The cream cheese at all the places I tried bagels in London (including Upper Crust at Victoria Station) is a bit coarser and less plastic-like than typical Kraft Philly cream cheese. I absolutely prefer the plastic stuff, but at least the London cream cheese wasn't as dry and coarse as quark.
- BenS thinks the wikipaedia article on bagels has the descriptions backwards. He claims the NYC bagels are the chewier ones, and the Montreal bagels are softer inside.
- Service at these places is okay, despite what the reviews might say. You go in, you order, you pay. No frills and no place to sit to eat and relax. But the ten-star experience is strictly in enjoying the bagels, and there is little to detract from that.
- There are plenty of other options for buying prepared bagels: toasted with butter, prepackaged with lox or with tuna and sweet corn; I'm sure there are other options, too.
- If I return to England, the very first thing I will do right from the airport, suitcases and all, is go to Carmelli's for a coupla dozen plain bagels. In fact, I might consider going back to England just for those bagels, they were so good!
- The economic content of this posting should be clear: the expected incremental benefits of the bagel search outweighed the expected incremental costs of the search. And having made those searches, I acquired enough information about the benefits that I will gladly bear even higher costs to return for more bagels in the future.