Here’s a headline that’ll start an internet flame war: The Best Bagels Are in California (Sorry, New York). The headline is from The New York Times, which back in 2021 declared, “West Coast bakers are driving a great bagel boom.”
You're right, although it would be awkward if they hand fed me a bagel. I wanna say I'd pass, but let's be honest I'd do it once so i could write about it
He is lucky an asshole Giants fan didn't shank him. Although to be fair to the Giants, something I'm loathe to do, LA fans have proved far more prone to violence in recent years. The Dodger stadium parking lot is kinda like The Purge
Michael, I admire your journalism and I'd never question your bagel bonafides, but I have to share my (shocking, even to me) disagreement about Courage Bagels. I'm a born and raised New Yorker. I love bagels. I love living in LA. I had resigned myself to great bagels only being experienced on trips home to visit my family. In fact, every time I take a flight back from NYC to LA, I buy a dozen everything bagels immediately before heading to the airport, pack them in my backpack, and then slice and freeze them upon arriving home in LA. I also hate spending too much money on things and waiting in line. So I was PRIMED to hate Courage Bagels, but then I got up at 6 a.m. one morning due to the baby and decided to try it out. I bought a dozen bagels (skipped the toppings) and I am shocked and saddened to report that they were some of the best bagels I have ever eaten anywhere!!! WHY!? HOW!? PLEASE NO
I believe that they make excellent bagels but also the secret (and the reason for their very long lines) is that they are baking the bagels fresh upon ordering. There was once a citywide bagel review done by NYC food critics and they kept coming up with different best bagels until they realized it was always the bagel that had traveled the least distance. Fresher bagels almost always win. So I think Courage is combining a very solid recipe with the fresh baked bonus and winning. The toppings and schmears are a ripoff, I can buy them and add them myself. But sadly, I do think I will return to Courage again....
Chris, I think you found the secret here: buy a dozen bagels and GTFO. As others have pointed out in the comments, the lox on the bagel I bought were paper-thin. Also, the internet reviews of Courage have a recurring theme: their cream cheese needs work. I'm not sure how you mess up cream cheese, but I can confirm that their cream cheese was meh. But the bagel itself was good and the price was in line with what I'd expect. So yeah, beating the rush and grabbing a dozen bagels is the move here.
1) I think the future of journalism is you doing a man-on-the-street series called Michael Estrin Waits In Line. You could even do a special New York edition called Michael Estrin Waits On Line
2) $31 for a bagel??? Thanks, Obama
3) If she moves to LA, I think I can get her some work
4) His face is what fists were designed for
5) My friend who grew up in “The City” refers to any bagel made outside the five boroughs as a “bagel shaped object” and I love that for him, but he’s wrong
I love your friend's bagel shaped object for him too and I don't even know him. And yes, he's wrong. Thanks for the hot tip on the future of journalism. With your ideas and my willingness to stand in line, democracy is in good hands.
2!!! 2 deserved an exclamation point because of the price you paid. Was that lox or a slap of pinkish watered down paint. How did they slice the lox so thin?
Back to 1. Journalism is whatever you want it to be. There are so many nooks and crannies in LA. you can be the Anne Kadet of the west coast.
Thank you for calling out the thin lox! I've never seen lox sliced so thin. The quality was good, but sliced that thin I'd say you get a fraction of what's typical elsewhere.
This whole essay is one big fighting word, Mr. Estrin. So let me be clear. NYC has the world's BEST bagels!!! I say this being a Californian. SF Bay no less.
boichik! They are the lead for that NYT article (had to check the website so i didn’t misspell boichik). East Bay ✊ Now we can get into NorCal v SoCal
Jerry’s at 2am was where we ended up after a night of dancing at Moms to recover the night I met my wife. She fell in love with me and how I fell on my face in front of Jerry’s trying to kick a piece of gum
Well, the Statue of Liberty did suck goat balls in Ghostbusters 2, but she's given a lifetime pass on cinematic propriety, 'cause of her cameo in '68's Planet of the Apes. :)
Bagel broker on the corner of Fairfax/Beverly. Strip mall. They have whitefish salad too (little salty). When I went to Fairfax High I’d go over to Schwartz and get big box of danish for all my friends during lunch. Schwartz closed a long time ago replaced by a hipsters sneaker store where beautiful people wait in much longer lines than 8 minutes with security guards and all that. Diamond was the last bakery standing on Fairfax and when i was there a few weeks ago it’s just closed. Man they had a good corn rye and the best rugelach. Now all that’s left is Canters which has ok rainbow cake but meh everything else. LA moves fast, what do you call hip clothes stores replacing bakeries and the like. It’s like gentrification but bagels.
btw, I watched Poolman and I really wanted to like it but I did not.
I've been to Bagel Broker. Very good. As for LA delis, I'm with you on Canters. It was always about hanging out at the Kibitz then getting something to eat after, maybe. Langers is still around, but the neighborhood has gotten so bad the owner is worried that he'll have to close. I don't blame him. I was there two months ago and the area is in very badge shape. Two other delis remain. Art's in Studio City is as good (and overpriced as ever). Brent's in Northridge is my go-to. There's also the Country Deli in Chatsworth. Food is meh, but the walls are painted with scenes from westerns, so that's fun.
Sorry you didn't like Poolman, but thank you for trying!
Any idea what a bagel with just cream cheese costs at Courage? The lox is throwing me, because I’m sure it’s expensive everywhere. I need a bagels to bagels comparison here.
The NYT is a rag. For NY bagel lore, I’d only trust that rag-that-knows-it’s-a-rag, the NY Post. Its brashness matches that of a NY bagel.
Here’s some irony: I live in Westchester County, about 45 minutes north of the northernmost part of NYC (the Bronx). The best bagels in the world are fairly well concentrated to the five boroughs, Long Island, northern Jersey, and southern Westchester County. The line between good and shit bagels is divided by I-287. Most people say NY bagels are great because of the water that’s used to make them. Where does that water come from?
A reservoir that’s five minutes from my house. And yet, I can’t get a good bagel. MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.
The straight up bagel and cream cheese would check in at $4.50 plus tax & tip. That puts it a little higher than the standard bagel & cream cheese at Western Bagel (the most common chain in LA). But when I compare what I got at Courage to my usual at a nearby breakfast place called Pascals, it's not even close. Pascal charges me $18 for a bagel with lox and cream cheese, plus I get a side of fruit, salad, or potatoes (my choice). So it's more like an entree, but it's cheaper. Also, the lox are cut thick, not that paper-thin BS I got at Courage. Add in a drink, tax, and tip, and I'm still getting out of there for around $25. Also, that's a restaurant with tables and AC. Courage is a bagel shop with a handful of tables outside in a neighborhood that's, well, pretty fucked up.
Anne Kadet thinks it's a hipster tax. Basically, you're paying so you can say you went. As I told Anne, my unsolicited advice is to lie about going, get a reasonably priced bagel, and invest the difference in an index fund.
I still can’t believe they take the badge if the line dips. That’s a worm move.
1) That, or the future of journalism is newsletter platforms breathlessly describing themselves.
2) $31.51 forces me to abandon my standards and enter the hack zone: that’s pure late stage capitalism.
3) I’m taking 25% and doing jack all, don’t ruin this deal for me.
4) He’s training. Each street fight he wins brings him closer to mastery.
5) I dig that line. Though for me, sunk cost has infinite power. So my favorite bagel is any I went hideously out of my way for. I’m hooked on Tompkins Square Bagels, and live in a different borough.
$31.51 is really bonkers and I think what you are paying for here is the right to go around telling everyone about the outrageous price you paid for a bagel!
I agree on all counts. I'm not in the habit of giving personal finance advice, but to those hipsters I say, "have the courage to lie about eating those bagels, get a reasonably priced bagel, and invest the difference in an index fund."
Now I want a bagel. The best bagel I've had is when I made the King Arthur Flour recipe in my own kitchen. Montreal bagels were weird to me. Too sweet.
I’m glad it was in the realm of ordinary as bagels go. I’ve had bagels from Palm Beach, New York, and Montreal.Your writing spares me from having to make the journey to the west coast.
Much respect for the bagels of NYC but Montreal’s got the best.
For what it's worth, coming to the west coast is a good idea. Not for the bagels. But for other things, like the pacific ocean, tacos, and the mojave desert.
2. Initially I thought I read $13.51 and thought bagel 🥯 AND lox that’s not a lot of money.
I realized you wrote $31.51 and thought at that price they should be hand feeding it to you.
You're right, although it would be awkward if they hand fed me a bagel. I wanna say I'd pass, but let's be honest I'd do it once so i could write about it
Haha! THAT is exactly what I thought. Good material for a post!
You can tell a bad bagel first by feel, then by first bite. It’s like being stuck in a boring conversation.
1. Journalism died peacefully in bed during the 2010s.
2. The NYT is responsible.
3. I know just how to reposition her for the 21st century. We'll get into specifics after you sign here.
4. He's lucky an asshole Giants fan didn't shank him.
5. Correct.
He is lucky an asshole Giants fan didn't shank him. Although to be fair to the Giants, something I'm loathe to do, LA fans have proved far more prone to violence in recent years. The Dodger stadium parking lot is kinda like The Purge
Michael, I admire your journalism and I'd never question your bagel bonafides, but I have to share my (shocking, even to me) disagreement about Courage Bagels. I'm a born and raised New Yorker. I love bagels. I love living in LA. I had resigned myself to great bagels only being experienced on trips home to visit my family. In fact, every time I take a flight back from NYC to LA, I buy a dozen everything bagels immediately before heading to the airport, pack them in my backpack, and then slice and freeze them upon arriving home in LA. I also hate spending too much money on things and waiting in line. So I was PRIMED to hate Courage Bagels, but then I got up at 6 a.m. one morning due to the baby and decided to try it out. I bought a dozen bagels (skipped the toppings) and I am shocked and saddened to report that they were some of the best bagels I have ever eaten anywhere!!! WHY!? HOW!? PLEASE NO
I believe that they make excellent bagels but also the secret (and the reason for their very long lines) is that they are baking the bagels fresh upon ordering. There was once a citywide bagel review done by NYC food critics and they kept coming up with different best bagels until they realized it was always the bagel that had traveled the least distance. Fresher bagels almost always win. So I think Courage is combining a very solid recipe with the fresh baked bonus and winning. The toppings and schmears are a ripoff, I can buy them and add them myself. But sadly, I do think I will return to Courage again....
Chris, I think you found the secret here: buy a dozen bagels and GTFO. As others have pointed out in the comments, the lox on the bagel I bought were paper-thin. Also, the internet reviews of Courage have a recurring theme: their cream cheese needs work. I'm not sure how you mess up cream cheese, but I can confirm that their cream cheese was meh. But the bagel itself was good and the price was in line with what I'd expect. So yeah, beating the rush and grabbing a dozen bagels is the move here.
Now that’s real courage!
1) I think the future of journalism is you doing a man-on-the-street series called Michael Estrin Waits In Line. You could even do a special New York edition called Michael Estrin Waits On Line
2) $31 for a bagel??? Thanks, Obama
3) If she moves to LA, I think I can get her some work
4) His face is what fists were designed for
5) My friend who grew up in “The City” refers to any bagel made outside the five boroughs as a “bagel shaped object” and I love that for him, but he’s wrong
I love your friend's bagel shaped object for him too and I don't even know him. And yes, he's wrong. Thanks for the hot tip on the future of journalism. With your ideas and my willingness to stand in line, democracy is in good hands.
Great idea for a web or essay series. Or both.
It's like when you stay in a chain hotel and get "coffee-style beverage" in the breakfast room.
2!!! 2 deserved an exclamation point because of the price you paid. Was that lox or a slap of pinkish watered down paint. How did they slice the lox so thin?
Back to 1. Journalism is whatever you want it to be. There are so many nooks and crannies in LA. you can be the Anne Kadet of the west coast.
Also, west coast Anne Kadet is something to aspire to.
Thank you for calling out the thin lox! I've never seen lox sliced so thin. The quality was good, but sliced that thin I'd say you get a fraction of what's typical elsewhere.
Love this piece because it suggests I don't have to bother with Courage Bagels! It's expose journalism! Yes, $31 is too much to pay for ANY bagel.
Thank you, Dan!
This whole essay is one big fighting word, Mr. Estrin. So let me be clear. NYC has the world's BEST bagels!!! I say this being a Californian. SF Bay no less.
I think you need to take it up with the NY Times.
boichik! They are the lead for that NYT article (had to check the website so i didn’t misspell boichik). East Bay ✊ Now we can get into NorCal v SoCal
Jerry’s at 2am was where we ended up after a night of dancing at Moms to recover the night I met my wife. She fell in love with me and how I fell on my face in front of Jerry’s trying to kick a piece of gum
You win just bc of the love story
Well, the Statue of Liberty did suck goat balls in Ghostbusters 2, but she's given a lifetime pass on cinematic propriety, 'cause of her cameo in '68's Planet of the Apes. :)
Fair point.
Bagel broker on the corner of Fairfax/Beverly. Strip mall. They have whitefish salad too (little salty). When I went to Fairfax High I’d go over to Schwartz and get big box of danish for all my friends during lunch. Schwartz closed a long time ago replaced by a hipsters sneaker store where beautiful people wait in much longer lines than 8 minutes with security guards and all that. Diamond was the last bakery standing on Fairfax and when i was there a few weeks ago it’s just closed. Man they had a good corn rye and the best rugelach. Now all that’s left is Canters which has ok rainbow cake but meh everything else. LA moves fast, what do you call hip clothes stores replacing bakeries and the like. It’s like gentrification but bagels.
btw, I watched Poolman and I really wanted to like it but I did not.
Canters. Blech. I’m still upset that Jerry’s closed and I don’t even live in LA anymore.
I get a little sad whenever I pass an old Jerry's location.
Langer’s is an acceptable deli (but it ain’t Katz’s).
I've been to Bagel Broker. Very good. As for LA delis, I'm with you on Canters. It was always about hanging out at the Kibitz then getting something to eat after, maybe. Langers is still around, but the neighborhood has gotten so bad the owner is worried that he'll have to close. I don't blame him. I was there two months ago and the area is in very badge shape. Two other delis remain. Art's in Studio City is as good (and overpriced as ever). Brent's in Northridge is my go-to. There's also the Country Deli in Chatsworth. Food is meh, but the walls are painted with scenes from westerns, so that's fun.
Sorry you didn't like Poolman, but thank you for trying!
Any idea what a bagel with just cream cheese costs at Courage? The lox is throwing me, because I’m sure it’s expensive everywhere. I need a bagels to bagels comparison here.
The NYT is a rag. For NY bagel lore, I’d only trust that rag-that-knows-it’s-a-rag, the NY Post. Its brashness matches that of a NY bagel.
Here’s some irony: I live in Westchester County, about 45 minutes north of the northernmost part of NYC (the Bronx). The best bagels in the world are fairly well concentrated to the five boroughs, Long Island, northern Jersey, and southern Westchester County. The line between good and shit bagels is divided by I-287. Most people say NY bagels are great because of the water that’s used to make them. Where does that water come from?
A reservoir that’s five minutes from my house. And yet, I can’t get a good bagel. MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.
The straight up bagel and cream cheese would check in at $4.50 plus tax & tip. That puts it a little higher than the standard bagel & cream cheese at Western Bagel (the most common chain in LA). But when I compare what I got at Courage to my usual at a nearby breakfast place called Pascals, it's not even close. Pascal charges me $18 for a bagel with lox and cream cheese, plus I get a side of fruit, salad, or potatoes (my choice). So it's more like an entree, but it's cheaper. Also, the lox are cut thick, not that paper-thin BS I got at Courage. Add in a drink, tax, and tip, and I'm still getting out of there for around $25. Also, that's a restaurant with tables and AC. Courage is a bagel shop with a handful of tables outside in a neighborhood that's, well, pretty fucked up.
Yeah, that math doesn’t work for me. Courage has a lot of balls.
Anne Kadet thinks it's a hipster tax. Basically, you're paying so you can say you went. As I told Anne, my unsolicited advice is to lie about going, get a reasonably priced bagel, and invest the difference in an index fund.
😂🤑
$31.51 for a bagel, lox and a pink lemonade? It’s the man trying to keep us down, man!
Totally!
I still can’t believe they take the badge if the line dips. That’s a worm move.
1) That, or the future of journalism is newsletter platforms breathlessly describing themselves.
2) $31.51 forces me to abandon my standards and enter the hack zone: that’s pure late stage capitalism.
3) I’m taking 25% and doing jack all, don’t ruin this deal for me.
4) He’s training. Each street fight he wins brings him closer to mastery.
5) I dig that line. Though for me, sunk cost has infinite power. So my favorite bagel is any I went hideously out of my way for. I’m hooked on Tompkins Square Bagels, and live in a different borough.
It is a worm move & perhaps another sign of late-stage capitalism at work.
$31.51 is really bonkers and I think what you are paying for here is the right to go around telling everyone about the outrageous price you paid for a bagel!
I agree on all counts. I'm not in the habit of giving personal finance advice, but to those hipsters I say, "have the courage to lie about eating those bagels, get a reasonably priced bagel, and invest the difference in an index fund."
Now I want a bagel. The best bagel I've had is when I made the King Arthur Flour recipe in my own kitchen. Montreal bagels were weird to me. Too sweet.
I’m glad it was in the realm of ordinary as bagels go. I’ve had bagels from Palm Beach, New York, and Montreal.Your writing spares me from having to make the journey to the west coast.
Much respect for the bagels of NYC but Montreal’s got the best.
For what it's worth, coming to the west coast is a good idea. Not for the bagels. But for other things, like the pacific ocean, tacos, and the mojave desert.
Now Tacos are tempting.