While you can grab a decent dozen bagels from a nearby bagel chain, Los Angeles has never really been known as a bagel town in the same way New York City is.
Yet, now the city may just be experiencing a bagel renaissance, with self-made bagel shops focusing on achieving artisanal excellence that is receiving high praise from the Big Apple.
New York City’s “Bagel Ambassador,” Sam Silverman, consults with start-up bagel shops around the world. Silverman said of L.A.’s bagel scene, “In L.A., there tends to be a much bigger emphasis on the presentation and overall experience than just the food itself.” Silverman stated that, in N.Y.C., bagels are curated for convenience—they are closed sandwiches you can grab and go.
“There is not an expectation for long lines, with equally relaxed atmospheres, and beautiful open-face sandwiches,” he says. “The aesthetics are more Instagrammable.”
Three L.A. bagel shops helping create a bagel culture in the city are Belle’s Delicatessen & Bar, Hank’s Bagels, and Daniel’s Bagels.
Belle’s Delicatessen & Bar
Nick Schreiber co-founded Belle’s Bagels with his high school buddy J.D. Rocchio after reminiscing about their favorite childhood bagel shops. Sam’s on Larchmont. The Bagel Broker. I & Joy Bagels. The duo was inspired to bring bagels back to L.A. and launched Belle’s Bagels in 2012 as a pop-up “before pop-ups were pop-ups.”
Obsessed with making the ideal bagel, the co-founders watched YouTube clips, going frame by frame to learn about and analyze the techniques and factory setups in them.
What’s the secret to making a great bagel? Schreiber said that a great bagel must have “textural contrast, a good crust, and a little fluff and a little chew.”
Schreiber loves bagels that “still derive sweetness from barley malt syrup,” which is used in beer making and baking and is the signature sweetener of a New York-style bagel. “If you need a frame—it’s Grape Nuts. That’s what I look for.”
When it comes to Belle’s Bagels style, it’s hard to describe, according to Schreiber, who said, “It’s more of an emotion than anything … We’re just trying to make the food the grandma would make with a full sleeve of tats and septum piercing.”
Hank’s Bagels (Burbank, Sherman Oaks, Calabasas)
Blowing up in 2019, just a few months before the pandemic shut everything down, Trevor Faris and his wife Kelly opened Hank’s Bagels. Faris had a background somewhat bagel-adjacent, having baked sourdough as a cook in other kitchens. But when the chance to lease a pinhole-sized restaurant space just a block from Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank popped up, the couple imagined a sort of focaccia-forward sandwich shop.
The bagel shop was an immediate hit, with doors opening at 8 a.m. and selling out by 10 a.m. It was clear the people of Burbank really loved some bagels.
Surviving throughout the pandemic, having shifted to deliveries, the couple now takes Hank’s Bagels via a food truck that does catering events and pops up at The Platform in Culver City on Fridays and Saturdays.
Faris says the secret to the perfect bagel is “time … you have to be willing to take the time to develop dough.
Daniel’s Bagels (Palms)
Relative bagel newcomer Daniel’s Bagels opened up over the summer. Founded by Daniel Messinger, who spent a lot of time reading online recipes and watching YouTube videos about bagels during the pandemic, Daniel’s Bagels whips up smaller bagels, preferring the rip-and-dip smaller side of things.
Opening in June, Messinger said, “The response has been great. We’ve become part of a lot of people’s routines. Walk over, get some bagels.”
“In the first few weeks, we were selling out early, so we had to compensate. We just kept up with the capacity limits and found a way to add more staff,” he added.
Now, on their busiest days, they make between 1,000 and 1,500 bagels.
Messinger said the secret to a great bagel “doesn’t require a crazy amount of knowledge. But to make a really good bagel takes a lot of practice and trial and error.”
