Einstein Bagels?

I heard that Einstein's was coming to town. Not sure if this is for real or a rumor. Has anybody else heard this?

I hope not. We could definitely use more places that make proper bagels (like, say, Dooleys), but we've got enough places that make round bread with a hole in it (Panera Bread, for example).

One of the many things I miss from back East. Good bagels.

I hope not. We could definitely use more places that make proper bagels (like, say, Dooleys), but we've got enough places that make round bread with a hole in it (Panera Bread, for example).

One of the many things I miss from back East. Good bagels.

Dan: I'm not sure where back east you come from but I'm from Rochester, New York and I'll tell you that there's not a decent bagel to be found in Louisville including at Dooley's. Part of the problem could be that Louisville doesn't have a large Jewish population and thus in general lacks appreciation of good bagels. Einstein's at least it in more traditional bagel shop and serves bagels in a normal way with traditional toppings (the ones I've been to give even served lox). Actually the best bagel chain I've been to is Bruegger's, but unfortunately the ones we had locally closed several years back.

Face it, Louisville just needs a good traditional "New York" bagel shop that makes bagels in the correct way and doesn't worry about fancy flavors and toppings. If one was to open here the other places that claim to make bagels would soon be changing!

[Robin Garr]

I'm not sure where back east you come from but I'm from Rochester, New York and I'll tell you that there's not a decent bagel to be found in Louisville including at Dooley's. Part of the problem could be that Louisville doesn't have a large Jewish population and thus in general lacks appreciation of good bagels. Einstein's at least it in more traditional bagel shop and serves bagels in a normal way with traditional toppings (the ones I've been to give even served lox). Actually the best bagel chain I've been to is Bruegger's, but unfortunately the ones we had locally closed several years back.

Face it, Louisville just needs a good traditional "New York" bagel shop that makes bagels in the correct way and doesn't worry about fancy flavors and toppings. If one was to open here the other places that claim to make bagels would soon be changing!

Speaking as a sometime New Yorker who knows a good NYC bagel when he sees one, I'll agree that there's no such thing in Louisville, although I'd argue that Brueggers' predecessor, the locally owned and operated Syd's, came closer than anything we've had before or since.

With all respect, though, I'm not sure you've picked a great example in Rochester - Rochester and Buffalo may sport NY license plates on the cars, but they're far more midwestern than Eastern, in my opinion; and while I can't speak for Rochester, I can tell you that bagels in Buffalo are no better than here. Maybe worse.

This document indicates that Rochester and Buffalo rank ahead of Louisville in Jewish population - Rochester is 28th, Buffalo 36th and Louisville a puny 48th out of the top 50 metro areas. But proportionately, it's not a huge difference: Rochester's Jewish population makes up 2.1 percent of the city total; in Louisville it's 0.8 percent.

The point, I'm afraid, is that most Louisvillians don't know a good bagel when they see one (hence the success of Nancy's), just as we don't know good Greek food when we see it. I'm not sure that an authentic bagel place would thrive, because there's just no real demand for the real thing. Not a happy situation, but there it is.

So what exactly is a "real" bagel? Fill in us bagel dummies

[Robin Garr]

So what exactly is a "real" bagel? Fill in us bagel dummies

It's sort of hard to explain ... you almost have to eat one to get it. But speaking off the cuff, it's a good-size roll with a hole big enough to stick your thumb through. There's a little bit of malt in the dough, which imparts a sweet taste that's different from sugar, and it's simmered in a water bath to rise before being baked. A real bagel has a distinct wheat-and-malt aroma and flavor. The inside is tender but not limp - nothing like the "Wonder Bread" texture of most Louisville bagels - and the crust should be golden-brown and perceptibly chewy.

Mark,

Do you think every person lined up on the weekends at H&H, and every other bagel shop is Jewish? Nope. So you do not need a Jewish community to support a bagel shop.

Just like the Levy's Jewish rye commercials in NY, "you don't have to be jewish to enjoy Levy's bread".
also, You don't have to be Jewish to create NY style bagels,
I do not know many Jews here in town (and I know A LOT) that can make a bagel. What I am trying to say is we need someone that has the passion, and know how, to create such a thing. The same goes for breads, and pizza. I think it has to do with recipe, technique, and some say the water MAY have something to do with it.

Dooley's is the closest to a NY bagel, (IMHO), Hell the guy is from Wyandanch LI!Unfortunately, he has kids making his bagels, sometimes I think they are budding abstract artists! Brueggers was a chain, and that in itself takes the NY out of a NY bagel.

Sbarro can be the closest thing to NY pizza here, some said it was Impellizeris.... uh, no! I think Hero's in J-Town has pulled that off.


Oh by the way, I am not being racist... but I am being factual... the folks in NY who are making the bagels, breads, and Pizza in NY are MEXICAN!

Go figure!

Thanks

Robin, Rochester's Jewish population is very concentrated in one suburban town and thus that area has many Jewish delicatessens and bakeries. One of them 12 Corners Bagels made bagels that I'd put up against any bagel shop in New York City! They were totally carryout with no place to eat in the shop. All they sold was bagels, cream cheese and butter, of course a deli next door sold lox.

As far as Nancy's goes, I agree that they too don't really make a good New York bagel.

As far as what a bagel is, here's the definition from the Wikipedia Bagel. As you can see from the definition all of the flavored bagels should not be really considered bagels!

New York bagels...pizza...hard rolls, etc.

It's in the water.

There's no other possible reason that I can think of for those things to have such a distinct look, feel, taste, and texture up there, with no comparison down here.

(But we don't need water to get Drake's Cakes, thank goodness.)

If a bagel has diamond tracks on the bottom, they've been steamed instead of boiled (see Einsteins).

[Robin Garr]

If a bagel has diamond tracks on the bottom, they've been steamed instead of boiled (see Einsteins).

I've noticed that Original Impellizzeri's pizza has diamond tracks on the bottom. What do you suppose <i>that</i> means?

Robin,

I've noticed that Original Impellizzeri's pizza has diamond tracks on the bottom. What do you suppose that means?

That just means they use a perforated pizza rack for their dough, as opposed to the flat metal pan we think of as a "pizza Pan" like lots of pizza places. Fat Jimmies does too. I presume it is supposed to give a crispier crust by letting the moisture escape. Definitely has nothing to do do with steaming the pizza...

Deb

[Robin Garr]

That just means they use a perforated pizza rack for their dough, as opposed to the flat metal pan we think of as a "pizza Pan" like lots of pizza places.

I knew that! And I think the piled-high Louisville pie really requires a pan to bear the load.

I really prefer the Italian/NYC procedure, though: Board to peel to stone to plate: No need for a pan or screen at all!

Dig that!

Here' something crazy! Chef Mike can sling dough like nobody's business!
Not bad for a boy from Frankfort...

He informed me that pizza joints are no longer allowed to toss dough because of health reasons! I remember walking into "Sal's Pizzeria", and there they were tossing dough like crazy air to board, board to peel ..... now that was Pizza.

I guess it will save Papa John's, Pizza hut, Domino's, and the like from big corporate lawsuits.

[Robin Garr]

Robin, Rochester's Jewish population is very concentrated in one suburban town and thus that area has many Jewish delicatessens and bakeries. One of them 12 Corners Bagels made bagels that I'd put up against any bagel shop in New York City! They were totally carryout with no place to eat in the shop. All they sold was bagels, cream cheese and butter, of course a deli next door sold lox.

It sounds great, Mark! As I said, I'm more familiar with Buffalo than Rochester, and I've been very disappointed in the bagels (but not the pizza or the wings!) over there.

Interestingly, Louisville's Jewish population remains surprisingly concentrated, according to this report:
http://www.jewishlouisville.org/page.ht ... eID=144463
which indicates that 48 percent of Jewish families live in the Highlands and 48 percent in the suburban East End.

When I was young, back in the Jurassic, it was much more tightly concentrated in the Highlands, and as I recall, there were about four synagogues within walking distance of the Douglass Loop (the other, Adath Israel, being downtown), and just about all the Jewish kids went to Atherton. That's changed along with the suburbanization of the metro area, but as I understand it, a lot of the older Jewish population remains in the Highlands.

In further trivia, Louisville's first bagel shop was in a storefront at Hikes Point. But those days are long gone, and we certainly agree that there are no great bagels here now.