BAGEL ME
Besides sleeping late, Saturday means one thing: bagels.
I'm lucky enough to live a quarter of a block from Syrena, the Polish bakery in Greenpoint on Norman Avenue. During the latter parts of summer evenings the smell of fresh baked bread fills the block (on the other side of the BQE near the Lorimer stop on the L, near the headquarters and bottling building belonging to Manhattan Special, the coffee soda brewing company, the smell of brewed coffee can lead you by the nose to the source as well).
But depending on the way the wind blows, I really only love the idea of Syrena. The problem is that a few blocks behind the bakery is a water purification plant. On late, hot summer nights there are two distinctly unpleasant situations possible: 1) there is no breeze and the odor from the purification plant plops down on top of the baked bread smell. The result? Poop-bread. The best thing you can do in this case is run for the air conditioning. 2) a breeze is blowing but it's wafting the smell towards Norman Avenue and once again, poop-bread. Very unfortunate.
But you really don't go to Syrena for bagels anyway. The breads are good, their pastries sweet as the Polish girls behind the counter but their bagels? They just don't measure up. For Saturday bagels, it's time for a drive past the park to Bagelsmith on Bedford a few steps from the Bedford Avenue L stop.
The folks behind the counter at Bagelsmith can be a little gruff but that's because they're usually dealing with a Saturday morning rush. Why are their fresh bagels so good? The crust is slightly crisp but soft and the inside has a moist easy give to it's chew. It's all about the chew and the tear. Your teeth should only have to pull a little to tear the bite away. You shouldn't have to turn your head in the least to make the break. Their cream cheese is also good. It's a whipped cream cheese that's a little airy like Temptee cream cheese (my favorite).
They also have different flavors of cream cheese but when it comes to my Saturday bagels I don't mess around with Blueberries, olives or veggies. I've had my affairs with sliced onion and tomatoes as well-- no more. I want large slathers of cream cheese spread thick on my bagel havles topped by some thinly slice Nova (lox or smoked salmon).
On most outings I get a half dozen bagels, a pound of cream cheese and a ¼ pound of Nova. This time I ordered a cup of coffee for the drive past McCarren park on the way home and spent a total of $14.98.
A short glass of orange juice to finish off your bagels and you're ready to face whatever the world can throw you on a Saturday (especially if you're so full you just fall asleep watching baseball on the couch.
I'm lucky enough to live a quarter of a block from Syrena, the Polish bakery in Greenpoint on Norman Avenue. During the latter parts of summer evenings the smell of fresh baked bread fills the block (on the other side of the BQE near the Lorimer stop on the L, near the headquarters and bottling building belonging to Manhattan Special, the coffee soda brewing company, the smell of brewed coffee can lead you by the nose to the source as well).But depending on the way the wind blows, I really only love the idea of Syrena. The problem is that a few blocks behind the bakery is a water purification plant. On late, hot summer nights there are two distinctly unpleasant situations possible: 1) there is no breeze and the odor from the purification plant plops down on top of the baked bread smell. The result? Poop-bread. The best thing you can do in this case is run for the air conditioning. 2) a breeze is blowing but it's wafting the smell towards Norman Avenue and once again, poop-bread. Very unfortunate.
But you really don't go to Syrena for bagels anyway. The breads are good, their pastries sweet as the Polish girls behind the counter but their bagels? They just don't measure up. For Saturday bagels, it's time for a drive past the park to Bagelsmith on Bedford a few steps from the Bedford Avenue L stop.
The folks behind the counter at Bagelsmith can be a little gruff but that's because they're usually dealing with a Saturday morning rush. Why are their fresh bagels so good? The crust is slightly crisp but soft and the inside has a moist easy give to it's chew. It's all about the chew and the tear. Your teeth should only have to pull a little to tear the bite away. You shouldn't have to turn your head in the least to make the break. Their cream cheese is also good. It's a whipped cream cheese that's a little airy like Temptee cream cheese (my favorite).
They also have different flavors of cream cheese but when it comes to my Saturday bagels I don't mess around with Blueberries, olives or veggies. I've had my affairs with sliced onion and tomatoes as well-- no more. I want large slathers of cream cheese spread thick on my bagel havles topped by some thinly slice Nova (lox or smoked salmon).
On most outings I get a half dozen bagels, a pound of cream cheese and a ¼ pound of Nova. This time I ordered a cup of coffee for the drive past McCarren park on the way home and spent a total of $14.98.A short glass of orange juice to finish off your bagels and you're ready to face whatever the world can throw you on a Saturday (especially if you're so full you just fall asleep watching baseball on the couch.
posted by Turo at 4:36 PM
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