Brooklyn Bagel round-up: Get ‘em while they’re hot

BY HELEN KLEIN & ANNA SPIVAK

There’s nothing like a Brooklyn bagel.

That’s not braggadocio. That’s fact.

Ask any former borough resident who’s relocated somewhere else. They all tote brown paper bags of fresh bagels back home when they visit because, quite simply, the supermarket variety – even the ones in the bakery – just don’t cut it.

Everyone has his or her favorite bagel shop. Here are some of ours:

Kosher Bagel Hole (1423 Avenue J and 1431 Coney Island Avenue): It’s not open Friday nights, Saturdays or on Jewish holidays, but if you can get here during business hours, you will quickly agree – this is the real deal. The bagels are often still warm when bought, because they are baked throughout the day, and they have that wonderful, chewy consistency that purveyors away from the city can’t begin to replicate. These are not the biggest bagels we have ever seen, but what they lack in size they make up in flavor.

Highway Bagels (1921 Kings Highway) serves up large, doughy bagels in a myriad of flavors, and gives deals on six or 12 that are darn well irresistible. The store, which was established in 1951, so they’ve got practice, is open 24/7, too, so no matter what time you get a craving, they’ve got you covered! And, yeah, they are big – calories, schmalories. As your Yiddish grandma might say, ess and enjoy!

Wild Bagel (1901 Stillwell Avenue) is a top-notch entry in the Bensonhurst area, offering up satisfyingly chewy bagels that are dense and delicious, and provide a perfect foil for the repertoire of spreads. We especially liked the whole wheat bagel covered in seeds, whose nutty flavor provided the perfect contrast to its specialty cream cheese spreads, including our favorites, scallion (studded generously with bits of the onion relative) and vegetable, with a rich selection of veggie shreds and bits.

We particularly enjoyed the everything bagel from Dyker Park Bagels (713 86^th Street) – this toothsome treat was lavishly covered with all the good stuff that makes an everything bagel enjoyable – seeds galore, bits of toasted onion and garlic and a modicum of salt that is so often missing from today’s crop of bagels. And, it’s perfect paired with Dyker Bagel’s vegetable cream cheese, which is chock-full of different veggies.

Bagel Schmagel (7510 Third Avenue) produces a very different bagel – it’s lighter and less dense, though with plenty of chew and flavor, whether you’re noshing on the sesame bagel, the poppy seed bagel or the rainbow bagel, the latter a pumpernickel-based treat which was slightly sweeter than the bagels made with regular white flour. Bagel Schmagel also offers up the Doughnolli, a cannoli bagel, which is kind of a doughnut-cannoli hybrid, its cake-y base piled high with sweet cannoli cream and dusted with confectioner’s sugar.

Catskill Bagel Company (1416 Cortelyou Road) offers up freshly boiled and baked bagels in a shop that was one of the first signs of gentrification on Cortelyou Road, the main street of Victorian Flatbush. Cutesy accessories perched in various locations, an extensive menu including breakfast all day and a wide selection of fruit and vegetable juices, and more than a few tables in the roomy eating area up front make this a sort of hipster haven. You can hang out as you surf the net, soak up the scene and munch on your selection.

Stationed at a busy Bensonhurst corner, Bagel Chief (2169 Bath Avenue) has all the classic menu items of a Brooklyn bagel shop and then some. A fixture in the neighborhood since 2013, the breakfast stop boasts a large array of bagels, specialty sandwiches, wraps, paninis, cold cuts and salads. For $3.50, you can grab yourself a quick bacon, egg and cheese on a bagel – a perfectly constructed breakfast featuring melty cheese atop a fresh bagel and stuffed with crispy bacon. The everything bagels are every bit as delicious as well, boasting an impeccable seed to salt to onion to garlic ratio.

Bagel Supreme – the name says it all. At this Bay Ridge corner bagel shop (9401 Fifth Avenue), bagels, cream cheese and toppings are fresh as can be, making any bagel you choose the right choice. Also preparing a variety of breakfast options, sandwiches and wraps, you can’t go wrong with any of Bagel Supreme’s offerings, but, its cinnamon raisin bagel with butter is a crowd favorite.

Any way you slice them, these are the real thing — in Brooklyn, you should expect no less.