🥯An ode to the bagel
My family and I at my Bar Mitzvah, circa 1989.
For me, food plays a special role during the holidays. I know, shocker. With Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur just around the corner—two of the most significant moments on the Jewish calendar—it’s a time for reflection and coming together with loved ones. And fortunately for me, a lot of that happens over meals. Now, at risk of upsetting my family and friends, I have to admit: I don’t necessarily love Jewish holiday meals. I know my friend Jordan Okun strongly disagrees with me on this point, but I think he has been brainwashed by his family. There is no way his mother’s brisket holds a candle to Snow’s, Franklin’s, or Moo’s Craft. But I'll let him believe what he wants. However, I will say, I do love a nice Noodle Kugel, Challah, Matzah Ball Soup, Potato Pancakes, and my wife’s honey cake.
That said, Jews are responsible for one of the most important foods in the world: the bagel. In light of this, I decided to ask the crew what their favorite bagels are in both New York and Los Angeles. The first thing that came out of this discussion (that quickly transitioned into a spirited debate, to put it lightly) is that although NY is still the king of pizza, LA has officially graduated into the number one bagel city in the country, which the New York Times has even signed off on. This West Coast seeded carby assault has obviously been driven by Courage Bagels and the new age, anti-purist movement of bagel artistry, but there are many other Pacific Ocean adjacent everything seasoned contenders that are now neck and neck with, and even surpassing what is happening out east. It seems, at least for the foreseeable future, that the New York bagel has fallen.
Below are our picks for the best NY and LA bagel, plus some honorable mentions, and of course the best place for sliced fish. I am fully aware this will cause some angry emails to hit my inbox, but I’m just a messenger for the crew, who firmly stand by their opinions.
Like so many other facts of life these days, LA is just better than NY.
Los Angeles 🌅🎬
Cuisine: Bagels
Crew: Ben Hundreds, Sophia Rossi, Jordan Okun, Kelly Sawyer Patricof, Jessica Alba, Chad Gutstein, Anthony Jacobson, Alex Tse, Eli Meyer, Todd Steinman
What to Order: Hand Sliced Smoked Salmon, “The Hottie”, Cream Cheese & Tomato, The Bialy (off-the-menu)
Notes: In my opinion there’s Courage Bagels, and then there’s everybody else. They weren't called the “best bagel” in the New York Times for nothing. A few things:
Haters will say that because they are sourdough or not baked on burlap boards, they aren’t “real bagels.” But this argument is factually wrong. Oxford Dictionary defines a bagel as “a bread roll in the shape of a ring, made by boiling dough and then baking it.” So let’s stop this nonsense once and for all – a Courage Bagel IS in fact a bagel. And the best one.
The biggest knock on Courage is the line, but I say it’s worth it. Plus, for the Jewish Holidays (and sometimes on a regular day), you can place orders ahead of time by checking online, DM’ing them or emailing couragebagels@gmail.com.
🏆LA Honorable Mentions:
NY Bagel & Deli in Santa Monica (if you are looking for a traditional NY style bagel, this is the best you will find in LA)
Belle’s Bagels in Highland Park
Jyan Isaac in Santa Monica
Maury’s in Silver Lake
Smögen in Studio City
New York 🏙🚖
Cuisine: Bagels
Crew: Andy Wang, Jon Buscemi, Vinny Dotolo, Jordan Okun
What to Order: Plain with Cream Cheese, Signature Favorite, Mr. Nova Lova
Notes: There was a lot of debate in the chat about whether Ess-A-Bagel was the best, and there was some criticism that it has gone downhill. That is not my experience.
One common critique is that they are too dense, but it’s a bagel - it’s supposed to be dense.
Similar to Courage, the knock at Ess-A-Bagel is the line, but there is a hack, you can cut the line and buy individual bagels in the back. So if you are in NY for Yom Kippur like I am this year, make sure to pick up your breakfast bagels here.
🚨SLICED FISH PSA: Having the best bagel DOES NOT mean you have great sliced fish - and vice versa.
The best example of this is that Russ & Daughters has arguably the best smoked fish in the world – but also some of the worst bagels. Eating their bagel almost ruins their extraordinary fish.
Get your bagel from Ess-a-Bagel and then get your fish from Russ & Daughters.
If you are in LA, The Joint, Gjusta and Santa Monica Seafood are all incredible options for smoked fish to top your bagels. Courage also sells salmon by the pound.
🏆NY Honorable Mentions:
🏆Other Honorable Mentions Around The Country:
Call Your Mother in DC
Schmaltz Appetizing in Toronto
Flour Moon in New Orleans
Boichik in San Francisco
ixlb Dimsum Eats with Chris Bender; Genghis Cohen with Lunch With Jamie crew; Mizlala with the Office; The Benjamin with Mark Feurerstein, Jordan Okun, Todd Steiman, and Jeff Berman; Cafe Habana with Kelly; Joan’s with Rachel Halilej; Supperland with Derek Cianfrance, Rachel Halilej, and Ben Ormand; Lang Van with Rachel Halilej; Cafe Avanti and Enriqueta's with Karim Sabet; Chateau ZZ's, True Loaf Bakery, Publix, Prime 112, El Bagel, and STK Steakhouse with Mark Patricof, Jon Patricof; Steve Kramer, Kenny Kleiner, Daniel Magliocco, Matt Siegal, and David Jones; Langer's Delicatessen with Chris Bender, Matt Karatz, and Jordan Okun; Highly Likely with Rose Previte, Teaba Sedghi, and Wes Spivak.
His Three Daughters
I had the chance to meet director and screenwriter Aza Jacobs on his first film Momma’s Man, a personal story that he made with his parents, who played on screen versions of themselves. When the movie premiered at Sundance in 2008, it was clear that Aza was something special.
With his latest film, His Three Daughters, he has taken his craft to new heights. It is heartbreaking, funny, emotional, and poignant, all wrapped up in 90 minutes. As someone with two daughters, it even made me shed a tear.
The story, which is about three distant sisters reuniting in NYC to care for their sick father, is perfectly acted by Carrie Coon, Lizzie Olsen, and Natasha Lyonne.
Although all the performances are flawless, Natasha Lyonne—who once described herself on a panel as someone who was not a child actor but a “child character actor”—is perfect in this role.
It is in theaters now or you can watch it on Netflix.
Who: Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX)
Where: Zoom
Why: After watching her inspiring, passionate DNC speech and then sharing a nice dinner with her in Los Angeles, I knew I wanted to have Rep. Crockett on LWJ. We discussed the key issues facing Texas, finding her voice in Congress, what she sees as the problems facing our political system, and of course – Texas BBQ. (Her favorite is Franklin’s in Austin!)
Quote: “I'm only the fourth Black woman to be elected to the US House from the state of Texas… I walk in a rich legacy, and we are all different in our own way, starting with Barbara Jordan being the first, and then the second one being my predecessor, Eddie Bernice Johnson. And then Sheila Jackson Lee, who recently passed as well. It is a rich tradition of Black woman powerhouses that have come out of Texas and ended up on the federal level. And so while we're all different, there's something that's always kind of great about us. But I want to be the modern version of these warriors that really paved the way.” -Rep. Crockett
If you haven't done so already, apply for my members-only conversation series, so you can hear thought leaders from diverse fields — from politics to entertainment — discuss the most pressing issues of our time.
☎️ Tomorrow 9/27 is our second PHONE BANKING FRIDAY. We will be hopping on a Zoom and phone banking for swing states, with this week’s focus being North Carolina. I’m excited to announce that we’ll be joined tomorrow by Governor Roy Cooper to kick us off.
Here is the link to register for the Zoom, and I’ll send out more information for the upcoming ones. Even just an hour of your time can make a big difference in these battleground states!
Anthony Jacobson, Aaron Michaelson, Adam Saper, Adam Smith, Aaron Stern, Andy Wang, Ashley Sawyer, Alex Tse, Blake Lively, Bobby Kim, Ben Hundreds, Jamie Patricof, Chad Gutstein, David Geffen, David Gelb, David Katzenberg, David Nathanson, Eater, Eli Meyer, Food & Wine, Gwyneth Paltrow, The Infatuation, Jessica Alba, Jerry Greenberg, Jason Spivak, Jon Buscemi, Jon Shook, Jordan Okun, James Ponsoldt, Jeremy Smith, Jerrold Son, Joseph Varet, Katie McNeill, Kelly Sawyer Patricof, Lawrence Longo, Lily Rosenthal, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Haimes, Michael Kives, Michelin Guide, Marc Rose, Mark Patricof, Martha Patricof, Matt Karatz, Max Shapiro, Max Winkler, Max Chow, Neal Moritz, Paul Zucker, Peter Goldwyn, Phil Rosenthal, Rachel Halilej, Sawyer Patricof, Sarah Meyer, Shu Chowdhury, The Hungry Tourist, Todd Steinman, Vinny Dotolo
Don’t forget to make it official!
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Have any thoughts, questions, or additional bagel recommendations? Let me know!
Today's email was brought to you by Jamie Patricof and team, including Stazy Mazo and Michaela Sullivan.
Edited by Alana Hope Levinson of Top Down Studio.
Completely agree that Ess is the best NY bagel, but will clarify that their downtown and uptown locations are truly the best (a special place in my heart for the downtown 1st Ave one). The midtown location... it is not the same bagel. However, what is missing from the Honorable Mentions is Olde Brooklyn Bagel Shoppe — I dare anyone to eat that bagel and tell me it's not top tier, tied with Ess in my opinion. I get to have it both ways by saying Ess is the best in Manhattan, Olde is the best in Brooklyn.
One of the best bagels - strictly the bagel, not the toppings or presentation, or vibes, just the bagel itself - is to be found at New York Bagel on San Vicente in Brentwood. Of course bagels are all about personal preference, like everything else, and personally I find many bagels too thick, too much middle, too much dross as some would say. Also, I'm more of a harder bagel guy, I like some integrity and toothsomeness when I bite in. With all that said, the sesame flat bagels at New York Bagel are a thing of flat beauty, a flat miracle. And they're (thankfully) under-known. As it is, they're the first bagel to sell out there. On one hand I want them to stay under the radar, on the other hand don't sleep on this bagel.