Introduction
Welcome to Eat This Not That’s guide to the best bagel shop in every state! Whether you’re a bagel connoisseur or just looking for a delicious breakfast, this guide will help you find the perfect spot. From classic New York-style bagels to unique flavors and toppings, we’ve got you covered. So grab a cup of coffee and get ready to explore the best bagel shops in the US!
The Best Bagel Shop in Every State — Eat This Not That
Bagels are a beloved breakfast staple, and there’s nothing quite like a freshly-baked bagel with cream cheese. But not all bagels are created equal, and some states have better bagel shops than others. We’ve rounded up the best bagel shop in every state, so you can get your bagel fix no matter where you are.
Alabama: Big Daddy’s Bagels
Big Daddy’s Bagels in Birmingham is the place to go for a delicious bagel. They offer a wide variety of bagels, from classic plain to more unique flavors like jalapeno cheddar and blueberry. They also have a great selection of cream cheeses, from traditional plain to more creative flavors like honey walnut and roasted garlic.
Alaska: Bagel Factory
The Bagel Factory in Anchorage is the place to go for a great bagel. They offer a wide variety of bagels, from classic plain to more unique flavors like cinnamon raisin and everything. They also have a great selection of cream cheeses, from traditional plain to more creative flavors like honey walnut and roasted garlic.
Arizona: Bagelz
Bagelz in Phoenix is the place to go for a delicious bagel. They offer a wide variety of bagels, from classic plain to more unique flavors like jalapeno cheddar and blueberry. They also have a great selection of cream cheeses, from traditional plain to more creative flavors like honey walnut and roasted garlic.
Arkansas: The Bagel Cafe
The Bagel Cafe in Little Rock is the place to go for a great bagel. They offer a wide variety of bagels, from classic plain to more unique flavors like cinnamon raisin and everything. They also have a great selection of cream cheeses, from traditional plain to more creative flavors like honey walnut and roasted garlic.
California: The Bagelry
The Bagelry in Los Angeles is the place to go for a delicious bagel. They offer a wide variety of bagels, from classic plain to more unique flavors like jalapeno cheddar and blueberry. They also have a great selection of cream cheeses, from traditional plain to more creative flavors like honey walnut and roasted garlic.
There are few foods more beloved and more debated than bagels. There are traditionalists, who like plain, egg, onion, and everything bagels topped with cream cheese, and there are more adventurous bagel fanatics who like to turn the simple pastry into a sandwich filled with everything from eggs to guacamole.
What makes a great bagel shop? We think it’s fresh-baked bagels, the best toppings and fixin’s available, and lots of loyal customers.
With that in mind, we scoured reviews, talked to locals, and looked back on our travels around the country to put together a definitive list of our favorite bagel shops in the United States. And if you’re looking for a sweeter breakfast, check out The Best Donut in Every State.
Offering “fantastic food and even better service,” this is the spot to go for creative bagels and sandwiches in ‘Bama, reviewers say.
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Try the traditional bagel with house-smoked salmon or one of the shop’s more unique offerings, like Taylor ham and egg.
Catering to East Coasters who’ve moved out west, this bagel shop and deli hits all the bases, including bagels with cream cheese, breakfast sandwiches, and a full selection of cold cuts. Locals swear by the super cinnamon bagel.
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“Spreading joy, love, and cream cheese” throughout Northern Arkansas, this shop offers handcrafted, “amazing” bagels with a side of “quirky local charm.”
A taste of Brooklyn in Los Angeles, for 65 years this bakery has made fresh bagels seven days a week. They’re made old-school style, first boiled then baked.
A community favorite, Rosenberg’s gets raves online, with one reviewer writing of the New York-style deli, “they are consistent, resilient, and innovative. Get the bagels, try all the sandwiches!”
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Like New Jersey, Connecticut has enough New York influence to have a strong bagel game, with this shop offering up the gold standard of traditional bagels: crispy-crunchy on the outside, soft and warm inside.
While perhaps not the most traditional bagel spot, this summery shop on the beach appeals to locals and tourists alike. Try the Malibu Bunny breakfast sandwich, with your choice of bagel, topped with veggie cream cheese, avocado, tomato, and romaine.
This Florida chain comes up over and over again, and it’s probably due to the proprietary water they use to boil their bagels. It’s meant to mimic the water unique to NYC, which many believe is the secret to the perfect bagel. The shop also offers traditional deli sandwiches, should you find yourself craving a Reuben.
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A former Food Network colleague, transplanted to Atlanta, swears by the New York-style bagels at this shop, and they’ve got the accolades to prove it. The Long Island mother/daughter team who own the shop has turned their bagel obsession into a thriving business.
“The absolute best bagels in Maui, done the real New York way,” raves one fan of these hand-rolled, kettle-boiled, fresh-baked bagels you can find right in the heart of Lahaina.
“The best bagels in the valley. Having come from the East coast, it’s so nice to have a good bagel place locally,” raves a satisfied customer of this cozy shop that also offers smoothies.
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Established in 1960 by Manny Kaufman, this suburban stalwart has “the best bagels outside of NYC” and bakes them fresh daily. Top your classic bagel with chopped liver or lox, or try a pastrami on rye at lunchtime.
Famous for its steamed bagel sandwiches (the shop’s name is due to the motto “it’s the steam that makes it ripple”), this family shop has been around for almost 20 years. Try the pizza bagels!
Serving up fresh bagels, espresso, and mimosas, this “cozy and cute” spot wins raves from locals for both its bagels and the warm staff.
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This bakery uses a wood fire oven to make its amazing local bread, and on Sundays only, they fresh bake the best boiled and then hearth-baked bagels in Kansas.
Billed as “Louisville’s only place for Jewish comfort food,” Cold Smoke Bagels is where you can get a classic with lox or a schmear to eat while strolling around the public market.
Finding good bagels isn’t always easy, but the Flour Moon pop-up at Coffee Science is worth the extra effort. Pick up a bag of salt, everything, or onion bagels every Sunday.
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This counter spot for hand-rolled bagels is a favorite of locals and tourists alike (you can only eat so many lobster rolls). The short but tasty menu includes flavored bagels and cream cheese. You’ll even find tofu options if you’re keeping it vegan.
Hand-rolled bagels and housemade lox are the two things you need to know about how legit this Baltimore bagelry is. Baked fresh daily, these bagels come in every flavor from plain to whole-wheat everything.
Besides its pitch-perfect NYC-style bagels, this corner shop just outside Boston began slathering red sauce and cheese on leftover bagels and selling them late night back in the 1970s. Yes, they claim to have invented the pizza bagel. We don’t know if that’s true, but we do know they’re delicious.
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Customers rave about the incredibly fresh bagels at this 100-year old shop that’s been run by the same family for four generations. “This is the freshest bagel I’ve ever eaten! Hot, chewy in that perfect bagel way,” said one reviewer.
This bread baker also makes classic-style bagels and bialys that are ranked the best in the state. Order sesame bagels and onion bialys for pickup, and don’t forget the cream cheese.
You’ll have to hunt for these yummy blueberry bagels (and blueberry cream cheese), as they go fast at the bagelry‘s kitchen and local spots around town.
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This old-school deli offers a simple bagel with cream cheese and lox that one reviewer said was “like going into a deli on 2nd Ave in NYC.” High praise!
While Billings isn’t exactly known as prime bagel country, this spot serving crunchy hand-crafted, slow-fermented bagels was an overnight hit, opening after the owner spent several years selling them from a box on the back of her bike.
These “old-style bagels” are “made correctly, not just round bread,” rave locals of this Omaha stalwart of 40 years. Pick up a baker’s dozen of flavors like onion and blueberry for under $10, and you’ll be a breakfast hero!
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Everything is over-the-top in Vegas, and that includes this bagel shop that locals love for the French toast bagel. The shop also offers a selection of belly-busting sandwiches.
Unfussy and casual, Bagel Alley serves high-stacked, decidedly not-Kosher bagel sandwiches called “meltz” that will keep your belly full until dinner.
We’re going to take a bold stance here: New Jersey has bagels that rival NYC’s finest, and Wonder Bagels‘ hand-rolled New York-style is the best Jersey has to offer. And with seven locations in Jersey City, they’re just a PATH train ride away.
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Just off historic Santa Fe Plaza sits a loosely New York-style deli that serves up a traditional bagel with Nova salmon platter, as well as deli classics like Reuben sandwiches on rye.
There’s nowhere else in the world better for bagels than New York, and picking the best is complicated, as competition is fierce. Our pick is the spot we’ve returned to for more than 20 years for the perfectly boiled, fluffy, crisp bagels.
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Located in a “cool food hall space,” this bagelry offers “inventive flavor combos,” according to reviewers.
A classic New York deli in Fargo, BernBaum’s serves rave-worthy bagels, as well as latkes, blintzes, and knishes. Don’t miss the vegan Reuben!
Located at the Van Aken Market Hall, this venture from local favorite chef Anthony Zappola offers a Seinfeld-reference-heavy menu (there’s a big salad!) and offers deli perfect bagels for breakfast.
This literally old-school spot cures its dough overnight, then boils it before baking, for perfect New York-style bagels in Oklahoma. Whodathunkit?
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The boiled bagel love has spread all the way to the west coast with this Portland shop that offers fresh bagels daily using Shepard’s Grain flour and Bob’s Red Mill flour and seeds.
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One of the oldest Jewish bakeries in the city, Kaplan’s New Model serves up perfectly chewy kosher bagels in a variety of flavors, including French toast, whole wheat, and blueberry.
Not only are the bagels hand-rolled, cold fermented, and boiled before baking, but this award-winning Rhody spot also makes cream cheese flavors like honey and sea salt and Mexican street corn (heavy breathing).
Repeatedly named the best bagel in town by the Charleston City Paper, Bagel Nation is a college student and local favorite for bagel sandwiches like the Southern Belle, which includes egg, Cajun spices, green peppers, tomatoes, sausage, and cheese.
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The extremely not-traditional style bagels at Black Hills are packed with delicious and creative flavors, like white chocolate chip and spinach parmesan.
This bustling deli serves bagel sandwiches and with a smear of cream cheese on weekends and fresh-baked bagels with spreads Monday through Friday until they sell out (they always sell out).
Try the lunch sandwiches on bagels at this cute shop that has its dough shipped in from NYC, to which they add local flavor and flair.
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Believe it or not, it’s possible to get amazing bagels even in Utah! Since 2011, the people behind The Bagel Project have been making traditional bagels served with house-cured lox and cream cheese.
Named one of the best bagel shops in America, Myer’s serves up fresh, Montreal-style bagels daily, including some incredible bagel sandwiches like the McMyer, packed with house-roasted Brisket, melted Swiss, pickles, coleslaw, griddled fingerling potatoes, and green day sauce.
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Offering classic and gluten-free options, Yorgo’s bagels are “fresh and delicious” and offer invention toppings like jalapeño cream cheese.
While the Seattle area isn’t really known for great bagels, locals swear by the elusive delivery-only bagel bakery that sells out in minutes weekly. Follow them on Instagram for a peek at their soft and crusty treats.
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Reviewers say this spot, which also serves Italian pastries, has “the best bagels anywhere” and has “the friendliest staff.”
Allie Boy’s promises a Middle Eastern mashup with its fresh-baked, New York-style bagels (the owners grew up in NYC and the Middle East), topping them with creative options like a braised duck and tamago egg salad.
With reviewers raving about how “you can taste how fresh the bagels are,” hungry people in Jackson line up for this spot‘s baked goods and chai lattes.
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