What is it about New York and bagels? When our daughter Jennifer was about 10 years old, we lived in Memphis, but she would spend summers with her grandmother in Westhampton, NY. After a summer of enjoying New York bagels, upon her return to Tennessee she asked: “Why are the bagels better at Mom-Mom’s?” The simple answer is: they just are.
Of course there are several reasons:
- The tradition of making bagels
- The skill of the baker
- Today most of the bakers in New York are Hispanic. To quote the play Hamilton: “Immigrants get the job done”
- The flour
- The water
- The air
- The Schmutz
Making bagels isn’t particularly difficult. I tried during COVID. While I managed to make a decent bagel, it simply wasn’t worth the effort—especially in New York where excellent bagel shops abound. Everyone has their favorites. Mine is Goldberg’s in Westhampton. There’s a chain of Goldberg bagel shops, but the Westhampton location isn’t part of it. Our daughter’s kids spend summers between grandparents: us in Westhampton and their other grandparents 40 miles away in Montauk (lucky them). The grandkids insist that the Montauk Goldberg bagels are better. These kids eat a lot of bagels…
Westhampton Beach Bagel Experts Enjoying Beach with Cousins
Montauk Bagel Experts Enjoying the Beach with Cousins
While making bagels might not be worth the effort, making cream cheese spreads certainly is. I make several varieties of spreads that share common qualities: they’re all delicious, easy to make, and save a fortune compared to bagel shop prices. My favorite Goldberg’s in Westhampton is excellent, but they are proud of their products.
You can start with any brand of cream cheese. For someone who made a living selling Kraft’s Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese, this might sound sacrilegious, but after adding several ingredients, no one can tell the difference between Philadelphia brand and store brands (oh well).
My go-to spreads include:
- Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Spread
- Scallion Cream Cheese Spread
- Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Spread with Horseradish, Dill and Herbs
(Click on the spread for a link to the recipe)
Top – Salmon, Bottom left – Scallion, Bottom right Salmon, Horseradish, Dill, Herbs
With a microwave and a food processor, anyone can make a great spread in 15 to 20 minutes. The beauty of a great spread is that you don’t need to be in New York to have a memorable bagel experience. Adding any one of these spreads to a mediocre or day-old bagel that has been toasted, and you will have a tasty bagel.
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