NEW YORK — The 2024 New York BagelFest kicked off Sept. 28, celebrating the bagel market that has dominated the New York food scene for ages.
Beginning as a small gathering for bagel enthusiasts in 2019, the event has grown into a premiere trade and consumer show for the bagel industry. BagelFest offers tastings, community experiences and hands-on training for the art of bagel making. The fest also hosts competitions for the ‘Best Bagel’ that vary by different categories.
The winners of 2024 BagelFest include the following bakeries:
Best of the Fest and Rising Star: Bagelsaurus
This Cambridge, MA, bakery specializes in slow-fermented bagels. Motivated by the lack of bagel options in the Boston area, owner Mary Ting Hyatt launched Bagelsaurus in 2013 with her sea salt bagel with honey-rosemary cream cheese that had previously generated some buzz around the community.
Other bagel flavors on the menu include Pretzel, Sesame, Black Olive, Seeded Wheat, Everything, Chocolate Chip pretzel, French Toast, Blueberry, Cheddar Garlic and Deli Rye.
Best Bagel: Uptopia Bagels
Founded in 1981, this bakery in Queens, NY, hand-rolls and kettle boils its bagels. The menu offers customers a wide range of flavor options, including Pumpernickel, Egg Everything, Bialy, Garlic, Jalapeno Cheddar, Asiago, and Rainbow.
Utopia Bagels also offers gluten-free offerings in Plain and Everything flavors.
Best of the Boroughs: Gotta Getta Bagel
Also located in Queens, NY, this bagel shop bakes fresh bagels every day in two-hour increments.
Noteworthy flavors on this menu include Diet Vegetable, Onion Pumpernickel, Low Carbs, Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin, and Multi Grains.
The bakery also offers Knish, mini bagels, and flagels.
Most Creative: Moonrise Bagels
Newer to the bagel scene, this Woodstock, NY, bakery is known for its eccentric stuffed bagels.
The bagels are hand-rolled, boiled and baked, and then stuffed with an assortment of fillings. For breakfast options, Moonrise Bagels offers a Plain or Everything bagel stuffed with various combinations of cheese, egg, bacon, and sausage. To accommodate vegan customers, the bagel shop also offers plant-based sausage, egg and cheese.
Moonrise’s lunch menu includes Pastrami Reuben stuffed bagels with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing and Eggplant Parm stuffed bagels with Parmesan and Mozzarella. Leaning into the spicier side, the bakery also offers a buffalo chicken-stuffed bagel with bleu cheese.
Moonrise Bagels also offers unstuffed bagels with classic schmears.
Best Showmanship: The Bad Bagel
Contrary to its name, this Brooklyn, NY, bagel shop offers customers deluxe traditional and vegan bagels.
The bakery creates unique schmear fillings for its bagels, such as smores, cheesecake and Lox dill.
Other bagel varieties include Everything, Jalapeno Cheddar, Egg and Poppyseed.
Best Beyond the Boroughs: Fantzye Bagels
Founded in 2020 by Elana Carlson, this bakery makes sourdough bagels by hand and tops them with locally sourced ingredients.
Fantzye’s menu includes traditional bagel flavors as well as homemade pickled toppings and schmears.
Previously debuting in a food truck, Fantzye Bagels is opening its first brick-and-mortar location in Kingston, NY, this year.
Best Bialy: Gertie
Known for its bagel sandwiches, Gertie’s menu was highlighted for its Bialy bagel, which is made with smoked salmon, capers, dill and pickled onions.
Other sandwiches on the Brooklyn, NY, bagel shop’s menu include Lox-Smith, Queen’s Madame, Yenta, and Egg + Cheese. The bagels are hand-rolled and kettle-boiled in-house. Other toppings include beets, scallions, pickled peppers, aioli and dill cukes.
