Bergen Bagels: is this the best bagel shop in New York?

When you think of the Big Apple you might think of bagels, but for me there’s one place that can truly lay claim to being the best in the city, and that’s Bergen, writes Holly Baxter

The best places have mediocre coffee – it shouldn’t outshine the bagel (Bergen Bagels)

If there’s one thing everyone has an opinion about in New York City, it’s bagels. The everything bagel – a bagel made in-house at the bakery of your choice, comprising every type of seasoning they have (so usually a multitude of seeds, garlic, salt, onion and sometimes egg) – is a staple of any self-respecting New Yorker’s diet, and where you buy it matters.

The first thing that will help you sniff out a good bagel shop is the attitude of the staff. A really great bagel shop will be staffed entirely by people who look and speak to you as if you recently slaughtered their firstborn. The second someone at a bagel counter tells you to “take your time” as you briefly hesitate between a cinnamon bagel with strawberry cream cheese and a plain bagel with lox, you know you’re in the wrong place. Turn on your heel and walk out, without looking back.

Ideally, like a good diner, a quality bagel place should also have a samovar or an always-brewing pot of mediocre coffee. A bagel must be had with coffee, after all, but anyone worth their Himalayan salt knows that the coffee shouldn’t outshine the bagel. Like a bridesmaid at her sister’s wedding, it should be there to bolster the main event and, above all, not distract.