Bagels?

I have not been to NYC, but I've lived all over the country, and I have to say Louisville tap water is some of the best-tasting I've experienced.

I think how you feel about the flavor of water is based on what you grew up drinking. I've lived all over the U.S. and Europe and the water I grew up with still tastes the best. I even lived near one of the world famous sources of mineral water while in France, we can walk to the source and fill all the jugs we wanted for free, yet that water still didn't taste good to me.

As stated elsewhere in this thread baking is a science and thus the properties of water, PH, salinity, mineral content etc. have have a large effect on the final product. There are many bakery products that taste different anywhere but where they originated. French bread, San Francisco sourdough, New York bagels and pizza crust all come to mind immediately. When you make this product elsewhere it may still taste good but not like the original. Part of a difference is definitely the water but the climate and other environmental factors also come into play.

If the bagel's in Louisville were the only bagels left on the face of the earth, I bet we would all eat them.

flour water, yeast, flour, water yeast. 220 calories in each. Add the cream cheese and you get another whopper of calories.

Bread is the staff of life, eat, drink and be merry . You never know when it will be your last.

NYC will be the first to break off into the waters, and then there will be no more bagels for comparison.
Enjoy a bagel anywhere you can get it. Life is too short.

Well said, Heather. I tried once years ago to make bagels at home. They were okay, but I think it's almost impossible to make good ones at home. In the meantime, if anyone wants to take me out for a bagel, I'm all dill-and-cream-cheese-spread about it

and I won't bore everyone by going into my usual rant about how ridiculous Nancy's bagels are. Feh!

I absolutely LOVE Nancy's Bagel's and I have 0 affiliation. Never loved a bagel better. Best egg salad (I attempt to recreate the recipe often, and I'm an adept critic on the subject) on a toasted spinach with a little cholula sauce, delicious cup of coffee and a lovely atmosphere with a rotating art showcase. Just goes to show you taste of another... May not be Ny'er, but I ain't no philostine, neether. And I don't particularly love Montana, eether, which is where supposedly her concept comes from. I just know what my belly speaks.

Nancy's Bagel's = Jackie in love.

and I won't bore everyone by going into my usual rant about how ridiculous Nancy's bagels are. Feh!

I absolutely LOVE Nancy's Bagel's and I have 0 affiliation.

Me, too. Every time Robin does the Nancy's rant, I respond in opposition. The garlic bagel with lox filet, cream cheese and a sprinkling of capers is one of my favorite breakfast splurges in town. One time I ate one for breakfast and took another with me for lunch, to be accompanied by Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout.

Yum.

Excellent, Roger, I knew my taste was founded. No BS here, I have just always genuinely thought she (Nancy - who is a REAL person) has something special, and she knows what the hell she's doing. No pretense. And her bagels make phenomenal sandwiches. I used to live very close by and buy the day olds by the dozen. Or just stop in for a cup of her consistently good coffee. It's just as much a coffee shop as a lot of other places. I'm not even friends with them, I just like the product.

Oh, shit - I'm in trouble here. I know they're not in any way authentic, but I also love the product that Nancy's puts out - plus good spreads to go on top. *ducks*

Oh, shit - I'm in trouble here. I know they're not in any way authentic, but I also love the product that Nancy's puts out - plus good spreads to go on top. *ducks*

HAH! I'm getting critical mass on this one.

NO Marsha! Speak out loud and forcefully! Nancy may just need it. Her stuff is great, and we should campaign the quality. I REALLY don't want her shop to go unnoticed. She's been around for awhile and supports the community. I've seen her put out bagels and coffee at a number of local events. Her staff has always been artsy and friendly, and nothing has waned over the years that I can tell. More people should know. Forget about bagel preconceptions, get on with a more unique concept.

Forget about bagel preconceptions, get on with a more unique concept.

Precisely. In beer, we ditch the preconceptions, freeing us to make styles that expand upon orthodoxy. I see no reason why bagels can't follow suit.

There is no close approximation to the real New York bagel in Louisville, and I honestly don't believe it has a darn thing to do with the water. Most people here simply haven't developed a taste for NY bagels, don't know what they are, don't care, and probably wouldn't like them anyway.


Rant out.

I agree with Robin. The average person here could care less about a "NY" bagel, I included. Heck, you give me a decent bagel from wherever (usually wheat, at that) and let me pop it in the toaster and I'll be a happy camper. As for NY anything, I'm frankly tired of hearing about NY bagels, NY style pizza, America's mayor, the Good Morning America crew and Rockfeller Plaza, Donald Trump, and especially the NY Yankees vs Boston Red Sox......Thanks for letting me get that off my chest! (:

Precisely. In beer, we ditch the preconceptions, freeing us to make styles that expand upon orthodoxy. I see no reason why bagels can't follow suit.

"Without deviation, progress is not possible" - F. Zappa

NYC will be the first to break off into the waters, and then there will be no more bagels for comparison.

Actually California is going to fall into the ocean first, then New York and Miami. After that America will be a much better place to live!

And as far as the Nancy's bagel subject goes, I'm definitely on the don't like them side!

Saw a" new" Einstein bagel shop downtown around 4th street.
Anyone had a bagel from there ??

[Robin Garr]

(A Nancy's bagel is no more like a New York Bagel than a bag of grits is like a New York pie.)

Couldn't resist, could you?

I just get frustrated because those are the "bagels" available at Heine Bros. Crescent Hill, my daily hangout. I'd really love to have a toasted bagel and cream cheese with my espresso drink sometimes, but I just can't eat those gummy little balls of dough.