New Yorkers Question Consumer Reports Top Bagel Picks
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Consumer Reports is a trusted source for recommendations on cars and appliances but when it comes to their assessment of bagels, their credibility is lost on a lot of New Yorkers.
The magazine favors Lender's Original bagels sold from supermarket freezers, and also rated those sold at Costco and Dunkin' Donuts as "very good."
Though Consumer Reports admits a local bagel shop near their headquarters in Yonkers set the bar pretty high, their tasters found Lender's, Costco, and Dunkin' came close to the real thing.
Their tasters tried eight plain bagels and four with everything and found that their top three choices met their standards for a good bagel which they said should have a "slightly crispy crust, notable "pull" when bitten into, chewy innards, and a freshly baked flavor."
Phil Romanzi, of the Bagel Hole in Park Slope, doesn't quite get it.
"I haven't had a Lender's Bagel since I was like eight," Romanzi said. "Dunkin' Donuts I never had."
Romanzi is shocked that Consumer Reports thinks frozen bagels could taste better than fresh-baked bagels.
"It changes the taste in my opinion; I don't know exactly what happens to it. Even my bagel once you freeze it, it loses something," Romanzi said. "There's moisture in the bread, you're freezing that water, and then you're heating it, the moisture is now evaporating."
Romanzi said there's only one way to make a bagel.
"We still do it the old-fashioned way," Romanzi said. "We use the best ingredients and we do it by hand. We don't add anything other than the flour, malt, salt and the yeast. There's no conditioners, no preservatives and we don't use sugar."
Last year, the Bagel Hole was voted "Best Bagel in New York" by seriouseats.com.
Where do you get your bagels? Would you ever pick frozen over your local bagel shop goods? Let us know below...
