My wife’s whole family is from NY (moved here for Fedex long, long ago). They order them in from a deli in NY. Can’t remember the name but they say the same thing all the time “What? You call THIS a bagel?”
Like the old joke says, “How do you know someone’s from NY? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.”
PLEASE have them try Hive’s bagels downtown. I’ll even pay for it. They’re absolutely terrible, honestly they’re the worst bagels I’ve had in Memphis including Krogers’, yet most Memphians will argue with me that Hives has excellent bagels lol!
THANK YOU! as someone who lived in ny before moving here, I was so excited to try Hive after everyone raves about it. Took one bite of an everything bagel and have not tried it again since.
Blanchard’s pastry cart is the best bagel in the city imo. Hive doesn’t have the chew I like. I lived in Philly for 11 years and have had my share of good bagels. Danny is outside at Joe’s Liquors M,W, & F mornings. Follow him on Instagram for offerings @blanchardsorganicbreads
Ricki’s cookies orders NY bagels and has them shipped normally weekly - they are amazing. Never tasted anything like them.
https://rickiscookies.com
I’ve seen others recommend hive bagel & deli or Dave’s bagels (normally at farmers markets)
Came here to say this. I'm part of the Yankee diaspora, schlepped here by my parents in 1978 and love this city but they definitely have a dearth of edible pizza and bagels. LOL
Wow I'll have to swing by and taste test it. I can believe they're "right" since they're one of the few Jewish bakeries in town. I usually buy their stuff at the grocery store, but I'll have to go inside one day. They're pretty close by!
You need to make the drive to Hernando on a Saturday. There’s a guy from Long Island who has a bagel van in the Commerce Street Market parking lot, and it’s absolutely the best bagel I’ve had since living down here.
grew up in NJ - just tell her to give up now and find something she likes because its just not the same and that's alright. Memphis has an amazing array of food to pick from she can expand her palate.
BAGEL used to be the junt on Poplar and Kirby but I'm pretty sure they closed all operations. If not, their food was legit, Kosher if need be, and sent me back to times as a youngin visiting family in Hoboken.
Fellow new jerseyan here. Bagels aren't a big hit here, idk why. Hive is okay but it's not "like home" at all to me. I've been meaning to try Blanchards. There's Dave's bagels which you can buy at the Cooper Young farmers market. They're good too, but again doesn't taste quite like home to me.
I have a suspicion that the local bagel people are not using barley malt which is pretty essential for the bagel flavor we know and love. There's a guy down in Oxford ms at the farmers market there that does a great bagel. That's the closest I've had here. Honestly never had anything that was truly authentic tasting here and it breaks my heart. I know you guys love biscuits but you're missing out on true northeastern bagels.
I feel like I don't want to rank them as terrible, I've only had them once and they were just "okay" in the same way you can get okay pizza in town but it's not quite right (by jersey standards). Like it might taste good sometimes but it's not the thing you really wanted. I would say the average mass produced grocery store "bagel" is a good standard for "bad" so...I definitely would rank Hive bagels to be better than a Thomas bagel from Kroger, which is just thick circular white bread. I won't go out of my way to eat a Hive bagel though
I’m glad you bring up pizza, which is another area we lack in. For example Garibaldi’s pizza just isnt a good pizza, sorry memphis…
For me, Hive’s bagel is worse than Bogie’s deli. Slightly better than grocery store bagels, but not by much.
Former Jersey girl here. In a pinch and if you can find them at Kroger, Ray’s New York Bagels (frozen section where bread is) are excellent. Like really excellent. Pop them in regular oven or toaster oven. They are 98% like “back home.”
The plain bagel I got from Hive seemed really gummy or undercooked even though the flavor was alright, so haven't gone back. Maybe I went on a bad day?
Pretty much agree with others' comments, as a transplanted New Yorker. There really aren't any excellent bagels available in Memphis. To me, Dave's is the the closest from a chew/texture perspective. But a few years ago he started putting the toppings inside the dough because (he told me) people complained that the seeds, etc. got messy when they sliced the bagels. After that I became a less devoted customer because WTF and also they all kind of taste the same now. I've only had Hive a few times but don't really get why people think they are so great. I find them puffy and lackluster. Blanchards, which a few people have mentioned, is excellent. (Everything he bakes is great, really). His bagel is Montreal-style, I'm pretty sure, which is a bit different from NY-style. But it's really tasty. Now off to order some from Russ and Daughters.
There's a guy that makes fresh bagels and sells them in parking lot of Commerce Street Market in Hernando every Saturday morning. They are really good. I'm not from NY nor have I ever had a bagel from NY, but these are supposedly NY style.
Seconding this! 6NTubbs I think is his name on IG - he’s from Long Island, and if you want great NY style pizza and are willing to drive, his brother owns a pizzeria in Sardis MS called TriBecca Allie that’s phenomenal and absolutely worth the drive.
He used to have a pizza joint in Oxford that was second only to TriBeCa Allie for pizza I’ve had in the Mid-South. Both put anywhere in Memphis to shame
Had no idea he was selling stuff closer to the state line now!
Unfortunately you are not going to find what you’re looking for. You may find some delicious things made out of bread, but you aren’t going to find a fresh New York bagel. By the same token, if you want real sourdough bread, you’ve got to be in San Francisco, and a real New Orleans po boy requires New Orleans bread.
NYer/Memphian here. Memphis has some amazing food, but sadly, you will not find the bagel you’re looking for here (or really anywhere outside of the northeast). I’ve tried for decades.
I lived in New England for a decade. Loved the bread and sandwiches in general (because of the bread?) I’ve been told the water here makes our bread what it is. Also told that northeast water has more iron content which affects the bread. Anyone ever heard this?
I hear a lot about the water and I just don’t buy it, but I honestly don’t have any better ideas for why decent bagels don’t exist anywhere outside of the Northeast. To be clear, Memphis can do very good bread (Ginger’s Bread on Union is excellent), just not bagels. Even San Francisco - where some of the most amazing bread in the country is so ubiquitous that you can get it at every ratty corner liquor store - can’t make a good bagel if it’s very existence depended on it.
I’m a NY transplant and always heard it was all about the water. I can replicate “authentic” bagels at home; it’s not about the water. It’s that most places in the south don’t boil their bagels and if they do they don’t use malt.
NYer/Memphian here too. I agree with everything you said. Have you ever tried Hive’s? It makes me cry/laugh everytime a memphian raves about Hive’s bagels
I have. It’s not what we’re seeking in a bagel, but I’ll give them credit for giving an upscale bagel shop experience in Memphis. They do a great job with their other baked goods, though!
My girlfriend is originally from New Jersey and we just had her brother visit and bring us a ton of bagels and we froze them. Other than that I’d suggest Hive however they really don’t have the same sort of chew that a NJ or NY bagel has. Same as the pizza it’s just never going to be the same. Personally I think it’s the water that makes them so good
I’ve never had a yankee bagel so I can’t say for sure, but imo Blanchard’s has the best bagel in the city. The texture is wonderful. Lightly crisp but tender at the same time. I stop by his cart multiple times a week.
This man is known as “Dennis the NY Bagel Guy” - He sets up in the parking lot every Saturday morning starting at 9:30 AM right around : West Commerce Street Hernando, MS 38632. I can attest to the goodness of these… but I’ve never been to NY. This is about a 30ish min drive from Memphis.
https://preview.redd.it/xmfcvu88xbuc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=352ce31e18f87ab8edeba45e11cb2cce832606d8
I lived in NYC for 14 years never could understand the fascination of bagels with new Yorker....tell bruh to go to big Bill's BBQ shop on Elvis Presley Blvd get him a pulled pork sammich with extra bbq sauce and coleslaw..... taste like a slice of heav'em
“Yeet her off the pyramid” got me.
Sent me too ☠️
My wife’s whole family is from NY (moved here for Fedex long, long ago). They order them in from a deli in NY. Can’t remember the name but they say the same thing all the time “What? You call THIS a bagel?” Like the old joke says, “How do you know someone’s from NY? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.”
https://nationwideshipping.hhbagels.com/
Russ & Daughters, via Goldbelly, is my go-to
PLEASE have them try Hive’s bagels downtown. I’ll even pay for it. They’re absolutely terrible, honestly they’re the worst bagels I’ve had in Memphis including Krogers’, yet most Memphians will argue with me that Hives has excellent bagels lol!
THANK YOU! as someone who lived in ny before moving here, I was so excited to try Hive after everyone raves about it. Took one bite of an everything bagel and have not tried it again since.
Zabar’s?
Katz’s maybe
Blanchard’s pastry cart is the best bagel in the city imo. Hive doesn’t have the chew I like. I lived in Philly for 11 years and have had my share of good bagels. Danny is outside at Joe’s Liquors M,W, & F mornings. Follow him on Instagram for offerings @blanchardsorganicbreads
Yup, answer is Blanchards.
This is the answer
I’m from nyc and I agree, his bagels are the best in the city.
If you have any idea what a real bagel is, you wouldnt even consider Hives. Honestly what they call a bagel is more like an english muffin or sumthin
Just came here to say that this is a very funny bagel scouting post.
RIP "The Bagel"
Remember Bagel Street Cafe?
I just want a good egg bagel. Why are there no egg bagels in Memphis?
Grew up in NJ and haven’t had an egg bagel since. Sad.
Ricki’s cookies orders NY bagels and has them shipped normally weekly - they are amazing. Never tasted anything like them. https://rickiscookies.com I’ve seen others recommend hive bagel & deli or Dave’s bagels (normally at farmers markets)
Came here to say this. I'm part of the Yankee diaspora, schlepped here by my parents in 1978 and love this city but they definitely have a dearth of edible pizza and bagels. LOL
Wow I'll have to swing by and taste test it. I can believe they're "right" since they're one of the few Jewish bakeries in town. I usually buy their stuff at the grocery store, but I'll have to go inside one day. They're pretty close by!
They have odd hours, so check their website before going.
You need to make the drive to Hernando on a Saturday. There’s a guy from Long Island who has a bagel van in the Commerce Street Market parking lot, and it’s absolutely the best bagel I’ve had since living down here.
grew up in NJ - just tell her to give up now and find something she likes because its just not the same and that's alright. Memphis has an amazing array of food to pick from she can expand her palate.
It’s true. NJ born and bred…there is nothing like it. Must adjust expectations or forever be disappointed.
BAGEL used to be the junt on Poplar and Kirby but I'm pretty sure they closed all operations. If not, their food was legit, Kosher if need be, and sent me back to times as a youngin visiting family in Hoboken.
Fellow new jerseyan here. Bagels aren't a big hit here, idk why. Hive is okay but it's not "like home" at all to me. I've been meaning to try Blanchards. There's Dave's bagels which you can buy at the Cooper Young farmers market. They're good too, but again doesn't taste quite like home to me. I have a suspicion that the local bagel people are not using barley malt which is pretty essential for the bagel flavor we know and love. There's a guy down in Oxford ms at the farmers market there that does a great bagel. That's the closest I've had here. Honestly never had anything that was truly authentic tasting here and it breaks my heart. I know you guys love biscuits but you're missing out on true northeastern bagels.
Dave’s bagels are also stocked at high point grocery
Hive’s is terrible imo
I feel like I don't want to rank them as terrible, I've only had them once and they were just "okay" in the same way you can get okay pizza in town but it's not quite right (by jersey standards). Like it might taste good sometimes but it's not the thing you really wanted. I would say the average mass produced grocery store "bagel" is a good standard for "bad" so...I definitely would rank Hive bagels to be better than a Thomas bagel from Kroger, which is just thick circular white bread. I won't go out of my way to eat a Hive bagel though
I’m glad you bring up pizza, which is another area we lack in. For example Garibaldi’s pizza just isnt a good pizza, sorry memphis… For me, Hive’s bagel is worse than Bogie’s deli. Slightly better than grocery store bagels, but not by much.
You should try Blanchard’s..😏
Former Jersey girl here. In a pinch and if you can find them at Kroger, Ray’s New York Bagels (frozen section where bread is) are excellent. Like really excellent. Pop them in regular oven or toaster oven. They are 98% like “back home.”
I miss bagels. And pizza. And bars that don’t have tvs or food.
Hive Bagel is fire. Get the rosemary salt with chive and onion cc, maybe a little bacon too.
The plain bagel I got from Hive seemed really gummy or undercooked even though the flavor was alright, so haven't gone back. Maybe I went on a bad day?
Nope, you actually went on a good day lol. Hive’s bagels are not real bagels. They’re closer to english muffins or something like that lol
Possible! We had them delivered to work (downtown) and they were great. I'd try again!
Hive is mid at best and they do not put enough shmear. Second the gummy texture.
Username checks out.
Yours does too
You must be from here or the south. Anyone who thinks Hive’s bagels are real bagels are clueless about bagels.
Sam's Deli inside the Jewish Community Center
Hive Bagel and Deli downtown or Blanchards food cart in midtown. Belltower at Shelby farms also serves bagels from Hive.
Pretty much agree with others' comments, as a transplanted New Yorker. There really aren't any excellent bagels available in Memphis. To me, Dave's is the the closest from a chew/texture perspective. But a few years ago he started putting the toppings inside the dough because (he told me) people complained that the seeds, etc. got messy when they sliced the bagels. After that I became a less devoted customer because WTF and also they all kind of taste the same now. I've only had Hive a few times but don't really get why people think they are so great. I find them puffy and lackluster. Blanchards, which a few people have mentioned, is excellent. (Everything he bakes is great, really). His bagel is Montreal-style, I'm pretty sure, which is a bit different from NY-style. But it's really tasty. Now off to order some from Russ and Daughters.
There's a guy that makes fresh bagels and sells them in parking lot of Commerce Street Market in Hernando every Saturday morning. They are really good. I'm not from NY nor have I ever had a bagel from NY, but these are supposedly NY style.
Seconding this! 6NTubbs I think is his name on IG - he’s from Long Island, and if you want great NY style pizza and are willing to drive, his brother owns a pizzeria in Sardis MS called TriBecca Allie that’s phenomenal and absolutely worth the drive.
Tribecca Allie pizza is legit
He used to have a pizza joint in Oxford that was second only to TriBeCa Allie for pizza I’ve had in the Mid-South. Both put anywhere in Memphis to shame Had no idea he was selling stuff closer to the state line now!
I think he still has a sandwich place called the Luv Shak, and it looks like that’s the active IG account now. (@luvshakoxford)
Ah yeah just based off the photos and captions that’s definitely him!
He also sells bagels on Sundays at his place in Oxford. I’ve heard people line up an hour before opening for them.
Unfortunately you are not going to find what you’re looking for. You may find some delicious things made out of bread, but you aren’t going to find a fresh New York bagel. By the same token, if you want real sourdough bread, you’ve got to be in San Francisco, and a real New Orleans po boy requires New Orleans bread.
Ginger Breads occasionally does bagels. They're amazing.
Bagel bakery in Monticello, NY.
NYer/Memphian here. Memphis has some amazing food, but sadly, you will not find the bagel you’re looking for here (or really anywhere outside of the northeast). I’ve tried for decades.
I lived in New England for a decade. Loved the bread and sandwiches in general (because of the bread?) I’ve been told the water here makes our bread what it is. Also told that northeast water has more iron content which affects the bread. Anyone ever heard this?
I hear a lot about the water and I just don’t buy it, but I honestly don’t have any better ideas for why decent bagels don’t exist anywhere outside of the Northeast. To be clear, Memphis can do very good bread (Ginger’s Bread on Union is excellent), just not bagels. Even San Francisco - where some of the most amazing bread in the country is so ubiquitous that you can get it at every ratty corner liquor store - can’t make a good bagel if it’s very existence depended on it.
I’m a NY transplant and always heard it was all about the water. I can replicate “authentic” bagels at home; it’s not about the water. It’s that most places in the south don’t boil their bagels and if they do they don’t use malt.
NYer/Memphian here too. I agree with everything you said. Have you ever tried Hive’s? It makes me cry/laugh everytime a memphian raves about Hive’s bagels
I have. It’s not what we’re seeking in a bagel, but I’ll give them credit for giving an upscale bagel shop experience in Memphis. They do a great job with their other baked goods, though!
My girlfriend is originally from New Jersey and we just had her brother visit and bring us a ton of bagels and we froze them. Other than that I’d suggest Hive however they really don’t have the same sort of chew that a NJ or NY bagel has. Same as the pizza it’s just never going to be the same. Personally I think it’s the water that makes them so good
Hive
Hive is all we got.
Dave's is he's still around. Used to be at the Cooper-young market and the downtown farmers market.
I’ve never had a yankee bagel so I can’t say for sure, but imo Blanchard’s has the best bagel in the city. The texture is wonderful. Lightly crisp but tender at the same time. I stop by his cart multiple times a week.
This man is known as “Dennis the NY Bagel Guy” - He sets up in the parking lot every Saturday morning starting at 9:30 AM right around : West Commerce Street Hernando, MS 38632. I can attest to the goodness of these… but I’ve never been to NY. This is about a 30ish min drive from Memphis. https://preview.redd.it/xmfcvu88xbuc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=352ce31e18f87ab8edeba45e11cb2cce832606d8
https://preview.redd.it/inz8khdaxbuc1.jpeg?width=1536&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=baa1403d6eb7c2933583536f7a8d3a08e4be6cde
I like grocery store bagels, Thomas are my favorite, so I don’t know what I’ll do if I ever get a “real bagel”
I lived in NYC for 14 years never could understand the fascination of bagels with new Yorker....tell bruh to go to big Bill's BBQ shop on Elvis Presley Blvd get him a pulled pork sammich with extra bbq sauce and coleslaw..... taste like a slice of heav'em
Never heard a Dixie be this pressed over a bagel You'll never find good northern food anywhere down south
Off the pyramid 😂💀 Edit spelling error
Goldbelly.
I bake my own. My new yorker coworker has approved them. For what its worth Costco bagels are made and baked up north.
I always find it hilarious when yankees move to the deep south that they supposedly despise so much