NEW YORKERS: Brace Yourselves For The Montreal-New York Bagel Hybrid
Fans of New York's fat, doughy bagels swear they're the best in the world. Montreal natives are partial to their city's smaller, wood-oven-baked variety.
A new New York City bagelry, Black Seed, aims to combine the two in hybrid form. Black Seed, which opened today in NoLiTa, is the brainchild of Noah Bernamoff of Red Hook's Canadian-style Mile End Delicatessen and Matt Kliegman of East Village Cafe The Smile.
Their hybrid bagels start with hand-rolled, glutinous dough - the staple of New York bagels - but are boiled in honey and baked in a wood-burning oven, like the bagels of Montreal.
"We're trying to not make the bagels a geographic thing - I'm a Montrealer, Matt's a New Yorker, and we both love a good bagel," Bernamoff said in a press release. "We think there are benefits to each city's bagel-making process and are trying to capture that at Black Seed. The bagel's shape is original, the size is reasonable and the seeding is substantial."
Black Seed's Elizabeth Steet location will also serve sandwiches, salads, and homemade cream cheese. A second location, a kiosk at Brookfield Place, is set to open in May.
By all accounts, New Yorker's are taking the city's latest hybrid treat in stride; Black Seed announced on its Twitter account that it had run out of bagels by about 3 p.m. on opening day.
Here's how things looked in the kitchen earlier:
And some photos from satisfied bagel-eaters:
Black Seed is at 170 Elizabeth St. (between Spring and Kenmare). Check out the full menu below.
