New York Bagel Fest 2025 brought together some of the best bagels in the world to answer the question: What is the best bagel of 2025? While I don’t know about all that – If you’re curious, it’s Starship Bagels in Dallas, Texas – I did go to learn a little about what can make a bagel unique. From the water, to the rolling, to the way they’re heated, the process is totally customizable, and I spoke with various bagel shops with styles and influences from across the country to paint a vivid picture of bagels in America and specifically the New York Bagel.
The festival sojourned in the Heineken Diamond Lounge of Citi Field in Queens, New York. The stadium is home to the New York Mets, an NL East-contending Major League Baseball team, but more than that, it is also home to one of the best culinary experiences in baseball. Touted for their game day menu, they brought the gour-Met commitment to the offseason by hosting 25 bagelries for this breakfast extravaganza.
The long 5th-floor lounge wraps around the home plate corner of the diamond and opens into a wide room at its apex. It is split down the middle lengthwise by a stage reserved for the bagel rolling competition. The walls are lined with bagel stations packed shoulder to shoulder. No two bagel booths are alike, each sporting personality pieces to draw the bagel connoisseurs in. But the main focus of the event, of course, was the bagels. Having spent the day taste-testing the bagels at the event, these three spots came up on top as the best bagels.
From left to right: B’s Bagels, Utopia Bagels, and Curley’s Bagel. Images by Eric Mura.
Curley’s Bagel, Sunnyside, NY
Curley’s Bagel are the runner-up for the people’s choice award. Curley’s Bagel is run by Mark Curley, and their focus is on delicious bagels made with natural ingredients, which they love to pile high with fillings and make into sandwiches. Curley tells of the origin of their recipe is the marriage of the owner’s influences in a perfect sourdough bagel: Mark Curley is from New York, and his wife is from California. The sourdough, he claims, is easier to digest, making for a better bagel-eating experience overall without as much of the bloating that some complain about when eating a bagel. Curley’s stand was tucked away from the windows and bright fall morning light, but one only needed to follow the smell or the bright banners of their booth to find an amazing, albeit untraditional, New York bagel. I tried the apple cinnamon bagel, based on the classic apple cinnamon doughnut. It was flavourful, as easy to eat as advertised, and satisfyingly chewy.
B’s Bagels, Gig Harbor, WA
B’s Bagels came all the way from Gig Harbor, Washington. A port city near the southernmost tip of the South, the bagel scene there is lacking in quality. Britany Erwin, the B in B’s Bagels, spoke to their competition, primarily being big bagel companies that batch-steam their bagels. B’s Bagels’ focus is on brining the boil and bake technique to the steam-saturated West Coast bagel scene. Brittany spoke about the community in her area that came together to help support the growth of her business, which also helped them find their way to the New York Bagel Fest. A significant contributing factor that Brittany attributed their powerful flavours to was the scarcity of ingredients in their neck of the woods, which forces them to get creative in order to get the most out of what they have. I tried a stuffing bagel with a fruit-flavoured cream cheese, it was one of the best things I’ve tasted in ages. A fantastic bite all around. I will be getting them every time I’m in the Tacoma Area.
Utopia Bagels, New York, NY
Utopia Bagels are a New York classic. I had the pleasure of speaking to one of the founders, Scott Spellman, about what it takes to make a real New York Bagel. Scott gave me a glimpse into the bagel factory in his brain, a glimpse, it seems, he truly enjoys sharing with people. Scott doesn’t keep any secrets about how he makes his bagels so good. He said it takes two things to make good bagels: “heart and patience”. By that, he explained to me, he means that it’s not the New York water (though it does make them taste better) because every shop in town has that. Nor is it the special flavours or ingredients in the dough. It’s about taking the time to learn how to do it and to really care about the process. Scott claims his bagel rollers have been doing it for him for 40 years. The woman working the booth, Cameron, is a lifer at Utopia Bagels. Scott cultivates a space that makes folks want to stay and commit to the craft. His love for it is infectious. And all you have to do is try one of the bagels to see the proof of what he shares. I tried a plain bagel with plain cream cheese, everything bagel seasoning, and ACME Lox. It was mouth-wateringly good, no exaggeration.
Despite speaking to some of the foremost minds on the topic, I was unable to define exactly what makes a bagel, a bagel, or even what a proper New York Bagel is, but learning the complex relationships between styles and techniques in the bagel world has opened up my mind and palate to what bagels can do and be. The passion for the craft of making bagels is what defines the art and the final product. Next time you walk into your bagel shop, ask about how they roll their bagels or how the bagels are cooked. The story just makes breakfast that much more filling.
About the author: Eric Mura
muraphotography.com | @mav_ricks_pics | Quip Magazine profile
Eric is a writer and photographer living and working in Brooklyn. He grew up in Oakland, California, cut his teeth shooting concerts in Seattle, Washington, and now works at many of the venues in New York. Born in California, hippy rock mixed with Oakland rap and honed with Seattle Grunge spliced with DIY, Eric lives and breathes live music. His work focuses on the connection between the performer and the audience.
