in my carefree youth, i used to patronize "bagels on the square" on carmine street with regularity--and my regular was a toasted cinnamon raisin bagel with raisin walnut cream cheese spread. everything was in proportion: jumbo bagel, generously slathered with cream cheese studded with fat raisins and big walnut pieces.
i don't eat bagels often these days. when i do, i enjoy them toasted with butter, or with cream cheese and lox or a good lox spread. pretty simple.
but i've been interested in a new place that opened up on my neighborhood: vic's bagel bar. there are now two bagel places on third avenue, about a block apart (daniel's is the other). i guess murray hill didn't get the memo about carbs being "bad" --or the 'hood is way more rebellious than i thought. either way, i sort of love it.
vic's bagel bar has been described as something of a "cold stone" for bagels: pick your bagel (all the usual suspects, but also gluten-free, low carb varieties, all hand-rolled); pick your spread ("real" and health-conscious cream cheese variations, hummus, nutella, peanut butter...); and, pick your mix-ins (this is where things get interesting--basil, sprinkles (!), maple syrup, kosher bacon bits, wasabi, bbq sauce...).
for my first visit, i surrendered to "the barista's" recommendation: the smashed potato. and even though i am inclined toward all my sandwiches being toasted and warm, i let them prepare it exactly as they deem "best."
there are some good things about this sandwich: the bagel is fresh, the dough slightly sweet. it's bigger, but lighter and airier than an h & h or an ess-a-bagel. i could tear through an unadulterated h&h or ess-a-bagel and it would feel like an indulgence; i would have to go back and try a vic's bagel without the spread or the fixins to see how it matches up.
the particular blend of smashed potato ingredients didn't seem successful: the bacon bits were too bitty, lost in the sea of fresh cream cheese and scallion. same with the potato chips--i don't know what brand they use, but this needs a more substantial chip, with crunch and salt, in order to have any sort of point here. the flavor combination is a good idea though; i kept re-imagining this sandwich in layers: cream cheese and scallion spread, piled with a strip or two of real bacon, and topped with a layer of crushed potato chips. that sounds like a winner to me.
i will confess, i de-nuded the sandwich, toasted the bagel, re-spread the fillings and enjoyed it much more.
next time i go, whether i go sweet or savory, i go toasted.
all photos © anita aguilar
