Two NYC bagel shops side-by-side

December 16, 2022 9:10 AM

The Bagel Shop Next to the Bagel Shop! Only in NYC would you find two bagel shops right next to each other. Are they rivals? Friends? What's the story there? A reporter actually did the legwork to investigate.
posted by SituationNormal (26 comments total)

thank you, that was delightful
posted by taquito sunrise at 9:22 AM on December 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

It's the fact that they are both open 24 hours a day that is particularly New York, I think. Need a bagel at 3am? NYC has you covered, twice.
posted by tavella at 9:28 AM on December 16, 2022 [7 favorites]

Not quite next to each other, there's a pub in between, but these two in London's East End have a longstanding rivalry
posted by Mellon Udrigle at 9:29 AM on December 16, 2022 [5 favorites]

Before reading the article, I questioned how much "legwork" there could be since they are next to each other! A fun read.
posted by pangolin party at 9:54 AM on December 16, 2022

As a point of clarification for people who don't live near the NYC area, these two stores are in Staten Island.

So if you don't already live in Staten and you ever wanted to go there you'd have to drive 40+ minutes from Brooklyn, or if you don't own a car (as many NYers who don't live in Staten are carless) you have to do what the reporter did and:

I had to take the 5 train from Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan to the Staten Island Ferry, followed by a trip on the Staten Island Railway to Oakwood Heights —a 90-minute journey each way.

...and if you follow that route you'll pass 10000 bagel shops before you get to these two.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 9:55 AM on December 16, 2022 [5 favorites]

You'd also have to set foot on Staten Island.
posted by star gentle uterus at 9:57 AM on December 16, 2022 [9 favorites]

I like that learning the details confounded my a priori assumptions about their ethnicities.
posted by hypnogogue at 10:01 AM on December 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

They uncovered the secret: one place makes bagels (boiled), the other place makes rolls with holes.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:07 AM on December 16, 2022 [5 favorites]

Smith Street Bagels (formerly Mocha Bagels) was 24/7 for decades. They didn't even close during Sandy. I had so many 2AM bagels there. What the hurricane couldn't do, the pandemic did, and now they close around eight or so. I miss wee hour bagels.

Anyway, the best bagel shop is always the one you can walk to. Thanks for the article.
posted by phooky at 10:26 AM on December 16, 2022 [6 favorites]

They missed a chance with the opening...

Two emporia, both alike in industry, In fair Oakwood, where we lay our scene...
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 10:29 AM on December 16, 2022 [17 favorites]

This is a great article.
posted by latkes at 11:39 AM on December 16, 2022 [2 favorites]

In Vancouver, there used to be two Starbucks kitty (quatre) corner to each other on Robson street.

On Kingsway, there's a Cantonese Buddhist restaurant called 'Bo Kong' owned by a family that had a falling out (after the patriarch passed?) and one of the brothers opened another Cantonese Buddhist restaurant across the street called 'Sun Bo Kong' ("New" Bo Kong). I prefer 'Sun Bo Kong.'

A few years back, a very popular dosa place (House of Dosa) on the same block as the Bo Kongs had a revolt by the kitchen staff (poor treatment by management) who then opened up a dosa restaurant down the block (Dosa Factory). Again, I prefer 'Dosa Factory.'
posted by porpoise at 12:18 PM on December 16, 2022

I used to just love love love Cafe Anne and tell everyone about it, and then I read the one where she waxed enthusiastic about Jordan Peterson and decided to nope out right then. I guess she's still putting out amusing and delightful stories about people and places. My loss, I guess.
posted by stevil at 12:37 PM on December 16, 2022 [4 favorites]

In Detroit, the regional style of greasy spoon is known as a Coney Island, after their signature dish, a Coney Island chili dog. The most ancient and revered Coney Islands are Lafayette and American, founded by rival branches of the same family, and sitting directly next to each other downtown. Loyalty to one and the rejection of the other is expected. While I wasn’t born in Detroit, I married into a Lafayette tradition. https://opportunitydetroit.com/blog/coney-showdown-american-vs-lafayette/
posted by skookumsaurus rex at 1:26 PM on December 16, 2022 [4 favorites]

Came here for the Detroit Coneys, was not disappointed (and I did grow up there, NW Side). And yes, Lafayette, absolutely. I wouldn’t even know how to order at American.
posted by monster free city at 1:36 PM on December 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

Was I the only one who didn't realize that bagel rollers a) existed, and b) often work at multiple bagel shops?
posted by mhum at 1:50 PM on December 16, 2022 [4 favorites]

Whenever I find myself in LA, I make it a point to visit one of the marvelous Indian restaurants located in Arcadia along its main street. My first Arcadia visit came about from wanting to buy Indian musical instruments, which led me to take lunch in a local Pakistani restaurant. Experiencing its cuisine was a wonderful revelation.

Next time I visited, it turned out that this restaurant happened to be closed, but a Hindu place directly across from it was open. The food was similar and equally wonderful. I mentioned the history of my two delicious experiences to the proprietor. He did not take this well, as he didnʻt at all like the counterparts across the street.
posted by Droll Lord at 2:59 PM on December 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

It's the fact that they are both open 24 hours a day that is particularly New York, I think. Need a bagel at 3am? NYC has you covered, twice.

NYC. Where you can also get sangria and desert empenadas at 3am.

Oh, and kettle boiling FTW.
posted by mikelieman at 3:03 PM on December 16, 2022

She... she TOASTED the bagels?
posted by Stu-Pendous at 3:04 PM on December 16, 2022 [5 favorites]

She... she TOASTED the bagels?

Indeed. Some poor schmuck got up at 2am to go bake FRESH HOT BAGELS, and she toasts them!

Was I the only one who didn't realize that bagel rollers a) existed, and b) often work at multiple bagel shops?

One of my favorite films from the Brooklyn Public Library collection is "Hot Bagels", and shows the complete process in 1970's 16mm goodness.
posted by mikelieman at 3:15 PM on December 16, 2022 [5 favorites]

I think the substack link in the title is having an issue, maybe this is a better ‘perma’(lol)link? https://annekadet.substack.com/i/89676079/the-bagel-shop-next-to-the-bagel-shop
posted by allisterb at 7:49 PM on December 16, 2022

I just wish I could get a moderately acceptable bagel anywhere close to where I live. If I want a “good” bagel, I have to drive over five miles to a chain store (Einstein’s). They’re...okay. But not drive-five-miles okay.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:16 AM on December 17, 2022

This was fun to read, and the last line made me laugh out loud!
posted by 41swans at 7:08 AM on December 17, 2022

who then opened up a dosa restaurant down the block (Dosa Factory)

I think now there is another (maybe even two) Dosa places on that block, although I don’t know if there’s any relation to the existing shops. I’ve taken to calling it the Dosa Triangle due to the street layout - perhaps it will one day be Vancouver’s Brick Lane
posted by Jon Mitchell at 8:22 AM on December 17, 2022 [1 favorite]

I loved this, but would like to know about the third bagel shop across the street!
posted by chimpsonfilm at 8:55 AM on December 17, 2022 [2 favorites]

There are neighboring brunch places near me whose rivalry spilled over into a fistfight.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 9:44 AM on December 17, 2022 [3 favorites]