Submitted by fill-in-theblank t3_10ng2ib in RhodeIsland
What are everyone favorite places to get a bacon, egg and cheese?
As a transplant from NY I’m having a hard time finding a go to place for bagels and breakfast sandwiches. I’ve tried Providence Bagels and they were okay but nothing amazing. Where else should I try?
Thanks guys! Apparently I have a bunch of places to check out :)
As a NY transplant, BGO on Thayer has been my go to for over a decade. Great bagels, awesome breakfast burritos, and super nice staff. I’m always happy to give them my money!
Not from NYC but I second BG also Krazy Korner in seekonk
I haven’t tried BG but can confirm that KK is excellent.
Another vote for Bagel Gourmet. I’ve been going to them since 1997/8. Consistent quality as far as bagels go and friendly staff. They are also one of the few to do salt bagels which are a low key favorite of mine.
Yes! The salt ones are great.
This is the right answer. Ever since they opened in 1996(?) all of my NYC classmates at Brown confirmed their authenticity, and they’ve never lost their quality
Good to know. Will have to try it. A good NYC bagel is hard to find even in NYC
Because good nyc bagels are in North jersey
Bergen county here, and it's the one thing I stock up on when I visit home
Thayer location moved to Meeting street just FYI! It’s a much bigger location :)
No it didn’t move - both are open. The meeting at one is only half full at best.
Oh my bad! The Thayer street location doesn’t pop up on google anymore. I know the Brook St location moved too. That’s funny they have 2 in such close proximity.
Meeting st location is the replacement (likely temp) for brook st since Brown knocked down the strip that was in. Also whenever I’ve gone to meeting st they usually have already run out of things compared to the Thayer one. So the parking spot at MS is nice but not worth it.
Ah yeah see I honestly figured that was a replacement for Thayer and the downcity one was a replacement for Brook st but it’s awesome they have 3 locations now. I thought it was still just 2.
Oh totally. The more the better. But really would be surprised if meeting st one becomes permanent without a huge reno inside. Space isn’t set up well right now. But that’s also been the space that can never hold a business (excluding gourmet heaven stealing wages they brought that on themselves).
Also NY transplant.. bagel gourmet is the best around...
Do they have salt bagels?
I've gotten them at Cafe Tempo in Warwick. The selection seems to be pretty limited later in the day though.
Hudson Street Deli is pretty good. I also like Coffee Connection in a pinch.
Definitely Bagel Gourmet. Also someone will inevitably bring this up so I’ll say it now - Rebelle bagels are decent but overpriced and it’s a pretty well known fact around this subreddit that the owner sucks.
Did you see she just got nominated for a James Beard award?
I literally laughed out loud. How?
I think she won the internet with that impossible move 😂
I thought this was a joke, I had to Google it. Wow.
Theyre bagels are pretty delicious and honestly the best in the state as far as I've tasted. The cheddar jalapeno they do as a special is pretty fire.
“Fact”
Do you have a separate account just for defending Milena or is this all you do on Reddit
Either/or. I just have a lot of fun being a contrarian
krazy korner seekonk ma
This is the correct answer
Lived in NYC for a few years. This one hits the spot for me.
agreed!!
You won’t find a bagel that can touch a ny bagel
But you can find a decent one
As a NY transplant my self, I do like Coffee and Bagel Connection in Narragansett.
They have the best prices as well and great coffee
Ex NyEr here too. This has been a struggle. Everything is just fine? Some are horrible? Bagel Gourmet has been my favorite but it’s still not quite right. Weirdly, the closest thing I found to the real thing is at beans & buns in Pawtuxet Village.
We came from NYC / NJ, and I have to say that’s the best way to put it - there are plenty that are fine and a bunch that are just terrible.
We’ve resorted to just buying bagels when we visit my wife’s mother.
CBC in Narragansett
coffee n bagel connection? Never tried it but will. Still on the search for good bagels in South County. Bagelz is decent but doesn't cut it.
Yes coffee n bagel connection! Be sure to get there early for the best selection. I haven't been in a few years, but their coffee was pretty meh. It's fine but not why you're there
Thanks!
I’m just glad nobody here is recommending Providence Bagel. Their bagels are “meh” at best, and their customer service is absolute shit.
Their owner is focused on opening more locations, and it comes at a cost of product quality and customer experience.
OMG remember when they got shat on for bringing in people to work for free as a "interview"? He's such a scummy dude
Agree on their bagels and service but I love their cold brew!
BrewGrindz in North Prov has much better coffee!
Thanks for the recommendation!
Gotta try some of these other suggestions but I STAND by Bristol bagel works
100%. I'm so glad to see another cultured individual here.
Count me in … they’re great! (I’ve been a Bristolian for 25 years … I rely on them.)
Cafe Tempo
Bagel gourmet is pretty great
I’m a fan of Cafe Tempo’s bagels- they’re in Warwick.
Cafe tempo is ok, but definitely not the same as a NY style. Too dense
I really enjoy Bristol Bagel Works
I miss Rainbow bakery like you wouldn't believe!!!
Reservoir ave Cranston right? I just started going and then they closed I was getting bialys. So good
Yes omg best bagels I've had around here for sure.
Bristol Bagel works
My favorite muffin in Warwick
Bristol Bagel Works is the best but Krazy Korner will do
this is the answer
My favorite muffin in Warwick is surprisingly legit
NJ transplant - Bristol Bagel Works are the closets I’ve found to real NY/NJ bagels
Coffee Connection’s everything bagel with onion and chive cream cheese and bacon. Swear it’s a life changer.
Lots of Paise for - Rebelle! High quality. But yes, pricey. Their cinnamon raisin are my favorite. With that roasted poblano cream cheese... Very nice contrast.
Avoid... Providence bagel. Started strong, however, quickly dropped off. Bagels used to be more bagel-ey, but then got bread-y. Last time I was in a couple years ago the counter was black with grime. The cinnamon raisin here usually taste like onion bagels... Gotta pay attention to that baking order...
Agreed on Rebelle. Strongest bagels and dope cream cheese flavors. Also the thicc egg patties yummmm
Milena is that you?
Haha nope there is more than one chem eng in pvd ya know.
It was the name that had me suspicious!
No way... avoid the bagel nazi
Bristol Bagel Works is pretty good
As a transplant from here to NYC, back to here, back to NYC, and back to here again - as many have said, you’re not going to find the perfect bagel here. Bagel Gourmet, Bagel Express on Broadway are perfectly acceptable. Bagel Gourmet for a BEC, and Bagel Express for a lox special. You can get a bacon egg and cheese at Bagel Express, but the egg and bacon are microwaved so that’s a hard no from me. If you don’t mind making yourself a sandwich, grab a half dozen from either place and diy at home for the closest possible thing.
If you really want a solid bagel sandwich made-to-order, head north and hit up Katz in Chelsea, Kupel’s in Brookline, and I’ll throw Bagelsaurus in Cambridge in there too - not exactly NY style, but very good in its own right.
If you’re talking bagels in Boston I don’t think you have the best spots on your list. Kupel’s bagels are so sad, fluffy and bready and the lox spread has no flavor at all. Bagelsaurus has sourdough bagels with the right chewiness but the sour flavor is too much. The best bagels in Boston are at Exodus. They’re also hated on the Boston sub same as Rebelle… but no doubt the best bagels in the area!
I haven't had Exodus, but I'll give em a shot for science. Katz is still my favorite in the area, but I'll admit I only lived there for a year so my conclusion about Boston is that the bagel situation is only slightly better than Providence's - but the NYC gap is just too great. I am surprised to see negativity around Kupel's though - I've gotten a few bacon egg and cheeses on salt bagel and the pump and rye. If you put it next to a BEC from a mediocre Brooklyn shop (Smith St Bagels is my go-to for this comparison - they are very"okay") I might mix them up.
The thing that all of them are missing though is that moist sponginess that lightly dabs away one of those nasty "got to bed at 4:30" hangovers at the crack of noon. They just make fucking weapons-grade bagels in NY and NJ and I don't know why they are so much better, but they just are.
Yeah I mean I guess my vibe is more like… Russ & Daughter style than NYC corner bodega. If you’re looking for a bodega style bagel sandwich Kupel’s is correct for sure.
I mean R&D is clearly superior, but I’m definitely not chasing that dragon round these parts.
Fun fact, while ordering Russ & Daughters on Goldbelly is prohibitively expensive (or at least financially unwise) - Shelsky’s is very close in quality and has reasonable prices, shipped nationwide. For those days you would otherwise break down and buy an Amtrak ticket
I have ordered Russ & Daughters on Goldbelly and it's eye-wateringly expensive but worth it. Rebelle scratches the itch for me bagels-wise and they have Acme nova lox which is where R&D gets theirs. I do miss me some lox spread...
Bagelz in wakefield, and Island Deli does great breakfast sandwiches on English muffins.
Bagelz is not the answer
Why not? I thought they were great. They boil and bake them there.
Everything bagel w creamed cheese and a slice of tomato at international cafe on oaklawn is my go to
There is a massive opportunity in RI for someone who knows how to make a true NY bagel
To add on to this question, does anyone know where to get a marble rye bagel?
I’ve seen rye, I’ve seen pumpernickel, but never the two together. (Doesn’t look like Bagel Gourmet, Krash Korner, or Hudson have them)
Also yeah Providence Bagel used to be great, but they’ve been skimping on their seasonings lately. I’ve had decent ones at Bagel Express in Pawtuxet Village, but not 100% there
Try cafe international in cranston. I’ve seen marble there before
Confirmed. Saw them there this morning.
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Bristol Bagels Works in Bristol and Krazy Korner in Seekonk
Latte Love. Cranston
Nobody does breakfast sandwich here likeNYC everything mentioned is great….. we lack delis in RI
Hudson Street Deli
Dope sandwiches but supermarket quality bagels. Could be so much better if they had good bagels
Not exactly what your ordering but Bess Eaton in westerly being the only place you can get soupie egg and cheese on a bagel. Also pretty sure it’s very common for places to have bagels shipped from NY
There's still a Bess Eaton?! 🤯
Yea it’s kinda like Bess Eaton the resurrection since it was no more than became time hortons than someone restarted the company so a handful now reexist but only one offers soupy
Bagels Etc in Barrington and Krazy Korner in Seekonk Mass is as close as you’ll get to a NYC bagel. Bagels Etc is only open a few days a week but worth it.
Does anyone know where I can get a good bialy? Not quite a bagel but just about.
Is that crazy lady at rebbelle still operating?
Not that the bagels were good or value. Just curious.
Someone mentioned she got nominated for a James Beard up thread. Pretty crazy stuff!
Do they do a mental health check before they award those?
Have you met an actual chef before? Doesn't sound like it. Or is it because she is a female chef with a strong personality? Let's be honest if she was a man nobody would blink an eye but because it's a woman everyone is so offended!!! Such BS!
wtf does this have to do with gender? the owner is just a bad person and do a minimal amount of research to read all the horror stories.
It's a double standard. As a female chef I'm sick of it!! God forbid a woman isn't meek and hospitable. The industry has changed post Covid. We can't staff restaurants. Establishments have shortened their work weeks and have to pay staff higher wages to keep them. They have had to be on the receiving end of abusive customers who feel entitled. The owner of Rebelle will not tolerate it and I commend her for it! Grown adults screaming at 16 year olds scooping ice cream in the middle of a pandemic. It's ridiculous. Stay home and cook your own food until you can learn how to behave!!
Name checks out
Such-A-Bagel by 116 has some really good breakfast sandwiches and bagel sandwiches
As a fellow Ex NYer - there are loads of us it seems - I am watching this thread with great interest.
As a corollary - I've found Cindy's Diner in Scituate (I think) is the closest to a traditional NY/NJ style diner in the state, and would recommend that as well.
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Hello fellow transplant! Thanks for asking! I’m following this thread too!
Bubbie's on Hope St gets bagels from Life's a Bagel in Canton. They're only available on Fridays and Sundays. This is the closest I've found to a good Jewish bagel.
Krazy Korner (Seekonk) has decent bagels and makes great sandwiches
Bagel Gourmet is tasty but still not quite right. Good for a quick fix.
There's a delicatessen opening near Wildflour that I'm hype to try because they might have good bagels.
I'll double up on Bubbie's. They're pretty huge/tall in size and very tasty. Am a regular at Bristol Bagel works buying the baker's dozen and slicing and freezing them all the time....
Hudson st deli … best breakfast sandwich in the city
Bagel boys
My dad is a NY transplant and he LOVES Gunther Tooties. There are a few locations in MA if you ever want to venture out to try!
As a firmer NYer Cafe Such a Bagel in Smithfield is very good
Bagel Express on Broadway in Providence
any new york system. they will warm it up right on the grill and really good!
I will swear until the day I die that Cafe Tempo in Warwick has the best bagels in RI.
They are made fresh daily, tons of variety and they load up because they sell out, they are like the perfect texture of fluff to density ratio, and they’re pretty cheap to buy in bulk
They are my go to when I run out of my imported bagels. Not NYC style tho.
mary lou's coffee has excgzellent bagels
Bagel gourmet. Meeting st providence.
TLC Coffee Roasters, West Kingston Get a sausage egg and cheese on an asiago bagel Thank me later
I haven’t found a single good Montreal style bagel in town. 😅
ma's donuts
Bagelz in Wakefield is pretty good
Bagel Gourmet
Unfortunately the owner is problematic but Rebelle has the best bagels imo
Problematic how?
There’s a whole Reddit board actually on her 😬 look up little sister pvd and Rebelle on here.
Rebelle Artisan Bagels....best I've had
Same
Pvd bagel
Providence Bagel on Mineral Spring...
Rebelle bagels has the best egg bagel with lox I’ve found.
They smoke their salmon in house, really tasty.
Rebelle is my favorite too. Why all the down votes?
The owner is not loved in the community, also a lot of past and present employees call it a toxic work environment.. but hot damn those pastrami lox are too good!
Present employees are trashing Rebelle? Where? I’ve only seen threads from one former employee in the beginning of the pandemic, the rest is just pedestrians. I don’t think I’ve seen any recent threads with real life actual present employees trashing Rebelle
Don’t downvote me, show me the receipts y’all
At a minimum it’s because bagels aren’t supposed to be squishy like a roll. Both rebelle and PVD err on the side of soft, entirely wrong texture for a genuine bagel that’s why.
Rebelle bagels are not squishy at all. Have you even tried them? If anything the complaints are that they are hard and chewy. Which is how bagels are supposed to be anyway.
Yes I have and no the texture is wrong. Same thing with PVd bagels / my bagel should taste like a bagel not a roll. It was bad every time I went so I stopped going @rebelle. Maybe they’ve started to err in the wrong direction (like seven stars does with their brittle croissants) - either way that’s not a bagel. BG is spot on.
(Also - “have you even tried them”? No I just sit on Reddit and make up replies. What kind of a rebuttal is that?)
Fun exercise: Take a look at that account's comment history and tell me whether you think it's the owner of Rebelle or not.
👀
Yup she pays me to rep her on Reddit. True story. 😂🤭
Does she pay you in bagels and wine?
That sounds pretty good actually! I bet she has good taste in wine if the food is any indication 😂
Now I’m wondering if you’re stalking me on Reddit??
5 downvotes I guess people don’t agree in house smoked salmon sounds good to
You should try going back to NY
Glad you found time out of your day to type this
Somebody already brought this up, but in the muted fashion you would expect given the context, so in the public service, I'm going to have to amplify it.
I'm also a transplanted New Yorker. Bagels are my thing. Bagels are so my thing that they were even my thing when I lived in New York, where bagels were everybody's thing.
Rebelle are the best bagels in Rhode Island and it's not close. This is a very controversial thing to say here because, as the commenter mentioned, the owner is incredibly unpopular on this subreddit for various reasons. You will be strongly advised to stay away under any and all circumstances.
In the service of sharing the bagel gospel with New Yorkers, though, I have to say it, downvotes be damned. They are, in fact, the ONLY bagels I have EVER HAD outside of the New York metro area that I would consider "good," and I have sought out acclaimed bagel places far and wide. Yes, they are expensive, and I would argue unnecessarily so. The owner promotes the high-quality flour she uses, for example, when I can pretty much guarantee you that Ess-a-Bagel and Murray's don't give a damn about the quality of their flour.
She was nominated for a James Beard Award last week. It's the highest honor in food. It's unheard of for the owner of a bagel shop to get that. I'm just putting that out there for you.
That’s amazing-I didn’t know she was nominated. I think it’s for her Puerto Rican restaurant on Hope St though, not bagel place. Still - impressive achievement.
Im def still going to love reading posts about how shitty she is tho.
Thanks for adding more context!
I say this all the time. 100% the best bagel in RI is at Rebelle. But you will absolutely get down voted for saying it. Bagel Gourmet is okay. Providence Bagel is okay. Neither of them come close to Rebelle. But the stories about the owner are definitely concerning. And for some reason they just never figured out workflow.
I’ve ordered online from Rebelle and I gotta say it’s pretty smooth sailing. The early years were a shitshow and early pandemic even more messy. But I think they’ve figured out their workflow pretty well as of late.
As someone who can’t claim bagels are their thing, can you elaborate on what makes NY bagels NY bagels? And why are they so good?
Well! You may regret getting me started on this.
Many people will tell you that the difference is the New York City water. I have serious doubts about this theory. For one thing, New York City and Long Island have completely different water sources, and yet Long Island bagels are every bit as good as New York City bagels. It doesn't add up. I've had bagels outside of New York from places that took pride in importing New York water, and they weren't good.
I think the big difference is that making real bagels is a long and onerous process, and places outside of New York think they can take shortcuts. I'll give you the best example I've ever seen. Years ago, when Providence Bagel first opened, maybe even before it opened, I read an article about them in a local magazine. The owner talked about how they were going to bring real New York-style bagels to Rhode Island for the first time. He described how he'd hired a professional bagel consultant from New York to show him how to do it.
The consultant part was already suspicious, as I think anyone who wants to make New York bagels should first spend a significant amount of time apprenticing in a New York bagel shop -- so already you're seeing shortcuts here. But then he said that while New York bagels are traditionally first boiled and then baked, the consultant showed him how he could buy a special oven that would do the same thing in just one step. Even though I was alone, I remember saying, "No, no, no!" out loud. Sure enough, when I went and tried the bagels, I could immediately tell they weren't the real thing.
Here's a good video I saw recently about how they make bagels at Utopia Bagels, a well-respected shop that I've personally never been to. Notice that the process is long, difficult, and best performed by people who have been doing it for many years. Nobody wants to do this, but in New York you HAVE to do it because there's too much competition and you're going to fail if you don't. I suspect places outside of New York are omitting different steps -- but they're all omitting at least one of them. Providence Bagel, for example, isn't boiling them. Others may not refrigerate them first, or may not use malt. Everybody's doing at least something wrong.
One commonality I've noticed in almost all bagels outside New York is a consistent texture. Bagels should NEVER have a consistent texture. They should be slightly crispy on the outside and dense and doughy on the inside. A good bagel should hurt your jaw a little to eat (Rebelle is the only bagel I've ever had outside New York that did this). You shouldn't be able to just chomp right through it -- as you bite, you should feel your teeth sinking further and further into it. It's not a roll. There should be a distinct malty flavor, which I rarely if ever see outside New York. This actually isn't traditional, but I also like my bagels big, so big that the hole almost disappears, which most of the better New York places will do these days and places outside of New York rarely do.
This was fantastic! Thanks so much for the detail.
This guy knows bagels!
This is a pretty wild endorsement and I’m surprised nobody has accused you of being Milena in disguise 🤣
Christ with you people. Yes the bagels are better in NY. But also bagels aren’t that important. Grab a bolo and get on with your life.
No one grabs a bolo when they're looking for a bagel.
Says the guy who doesn’t appreciate good bagels on a post about finding good bagels
No
Status_Silver_5114 t1_j68i74f wrote
Ex NYer here. Bagel gourmet. One on Thayer one on meeting st and another I think on Richmond (or used to be?). Artisan bagels around here are all meh. Ditto their sandwiches. BG is closest to an nyc egg and cheese and b (or s) you’ll find.