new year, old me 🥯

boichik bagels, Los Feliz

It's a busy day back at work today, but I just wanted to post this photo of the 2026 bagels at boichik, and announce that I will not be giving up carbs as a new year's resolution.

I generally prefer a more classic bagel and am not a big fan of the super crusty outsides of a Courage or Mustard's here in LA that can tear up the roof of your mouth. My favorite LA bagel is Maury's which I wasn't able to find a photo of...but with that in mind, here are some other favorite pictures of bagels that I did find in my photo library throughout the years.

Frankel's in Greenpoint. Really good bagel.

WGA strike bagels at the picket line from Yeastie Boys courtesy of the Big Mouth cast

Lynn's hometown bagel shop. My condolences to her that she can no longer eat them. This is a big, fluffy, tasty bagel and I really like them.

Xmas bagel at Cresskill Hot Bagels. I have no problem with this. I'll take it over blueberry or cinnamon any day.

This gourmet bagel in West Cape May, NJ was honestly right up there with my all time faves. I'm sure purists would ex-communicate me from the culturally but not religious Jewish community for picking a bagel from a place called "Beach Plum Farm" , but the farm fresh eggs and artisanal cheese were absolutely perfect. And the location was gorgeous. I came back the next day to get it again.

considering this was vegan egg and cheese, and doesn't appear to even have a hole in the middle... this one from Mort & Betty's Vegan Jewish Deli at Smorgasburg LA was quite good. Examining it closely it looks like there's even a latke thrown on top of the "egg" there. Wild stuff!

But my absolute GOAT is Ess-A-Bagel on 1st Avenue and 19th street . My cousin Lucy and I used to take breaks at their old location from editing her wonderful, but often heavy documentary "Kings Park: Stories From An American Mental Institution." Also, the ratio of everything seasoning here is perfection, keeping the bottom half plain makes it less overwhelming and more convenient to grip. If I weren't opposed to the idea of Goldbelly I'd order one right now. I have a strong belief that a food shouldn't be separated from its geographic context, but I'll save that and other strongly held food theories for a future post.