I tried the best bagels in New York City and Los Angeles, and I think New Yorkers need to give California bagels a chance

Anneta KonstantinidesMar 20, 2021, 17:24 IST

I put New York and California bagels to the test after the New York Times' declared that the Golden State made better bagels.Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

New York Times critic Tejal Rao recently declared that California made better bagels than New York.
I shipped some from NY's Ess-a-Bagel and went to LA's Courage Bagels to put that claim to the test.
I was blown away by how much I loved the LA bagels from Courage, which were deliciously crunchy.

When I think about mornings in New York City, my fondest memories - at least the ones that don't involve mimosas - include three very important things: a bagel, some lox, and cream cheese.

After I moved back to Los Angeles, I didn't even try to find a replacement - frankly, I didn't think it could exist. There was no way any California bagel could compare to the New York legends.

So imagine my surprise when The New York Times' California restaurant critic Tejal Rao loudly declared that the best bagels were actually in the Golden State, igniting a heated debate on Twitter and within Insider's own Slack channels.

Since Courage Bagels - one of the LA shops mentioned in the Times article - was only 20 minutes away from my apartment, I decided to grab some from there and also ship some Ess-a-Bagel options overnight from Manhattan to really put Rao's claim to the test.

It was time for the battle of the bagels.

I didn't think much of bagels before I moved to New York City.

One of my past New York bagels. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

To start my experiment, I ordered a variety of flavors from Ess-a-Bagel to be shipped overnight.

I decided to order Ess-a-Bagel to represent New York in this experiment. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

The bagels came individually wrapped, and I could smell their delicious scents before I even opened the box.

I ordered six different flavors from Ess-a-Bagel. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

That same morning, I made my way to Courage Bagels - one of the California shops mentioned in Rao's New York Times article.

The front of Courage Bagels in Los Angeles. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

As I rounded the corner, it was clear that I wasn't the only one who had been intrigued by the Times' article.

There were 20 people in front of me in line at Courage. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

After 40 minutes passed, it was my turn to order.

The menu at Courage Bagels. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

With all the bagels now in hand, it was time for the battle of the coasts to begin.

A plain from Ess-a-Bagel and a plain from Courage Bagels. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

First up was the clash of the classic: a plain bagel with plain cream cheese.

There were already obvious differences between the two. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Then I sliced the bagels in half and added cream cheese to our New York bagels. We were ready to dig in.

A plain Courage bagel with cream cheese (bottom) and a plain Ess-a-Bagel with cream cheese (top). Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

The plain bagel from New York was a shocking letdown.

The plain bagel from Ess-a-Bagel was a big disappointment. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Next up was the everything bagel, and this time we decided to sample New York first.

The everything bagel from Ess-a-Bagel. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Then we tried the everything bagel from Courage.

The everything bagel with cream cheese from Courage (left) and the everything bagel with cream cheese from Ess-a-Bagel (right). Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Last but not least was the poppy-seed bagel, and this time New York was the unanimous winner.

The poppy-seed bagel with spring onion dill cream cheese from Courage (top) and the poppy-seed bagel with scallion cream cheese from Ess-a-Bagel (bottom). Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

So which state reigned supreme? Well, I guess it depends on who you ask.

We weren't unanimous in our favorite bagels. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

But we were all in agreement about one thing: You can definitely find amazing bagels in California.

I'm definitely going to give California bagels a chance. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

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