I normally don't post something without a photo, but it's no trivial matter. I finally had a good bagel in Philly. My first good bagel in 5.5 years here in Philly. I found it at The Famous Fourth Street Delicatessen. A nicely sized plain bagel, lightly toasted with cream cheese. How hard is that to make? Apparently, very hard. I've had many a bagel in Philly, but this was the first bagel I've actually liked.
Thank you Famous Fourth Street Delicatessen.
Unfortunately, it was $2.50. I'd rather take the Chinatown bus up to NYC, see some friends, walk around my old stomping grounds and bring back a baker's dozen than pay $2.50 for a single bagel with cream cheese. Good bagels are the single thing I miss most about NY.
What, for me, makes a good bagel. Step one: it can't be a piece of bread with a hole in the middle. That knocks out 95% of the "bagels" in town in the running. Step two: it's gotta have a slightly crunchy/crusty exterior for the bite into the bagel; none of that soft/mushy stuff. Step three: it's gotta be nice and chewy inside; no dryness, no soft breadyness. Step four: it doesn't need to be covered in other stuff to make it taste good – plain, lightly toasted (or fresh out of the oven), with a nice schmear of cream cheese.
Does anybody out there have a suggestion for a good bagel in town? I tried many, many, many places in the first 1.5 years here to no avail and then I gave up and stopped trying. I recently tried Herschel's East Side Deli in Reading Terminal Market. I highly advise against ordering a bagel there. Before trying a bagel at Herschel's on the suggestion from a co-worker a couple months ago, I can't remember the last time I paid for a bagel in Philly because it's been so long since I gave one a chance.
[Note: Oddly, I was meeting 9 photogs for brunch at the deli and I didn't bother to take a photo of the whole brunch. Too busy talking and eating.]
Famous Fourth Street Delicatessen
700 S. Fourth St.
(215) 922.3274
Mon – Sat: 7:30am – 6pm
Sun: 7:30am – 4pm
