Delis, short for delicatessen, are a thoroughly New York experience. I don’t believe any other city in the world has as many or as wide a variety of delis as this crazy town.
This posting is the first of a four part series on the New York Deli Experience and the wonderful (or sometimes disturbing and questionable) food they have to offer.
The reason there are four parts is because I have carefully examined delis and classified them into four different types. There will be one post focusing on each type:
- Bagel deli/shop (i.e. Ess-a-Bagel, H&H, etc.)
- Corner deli/bodega
- Jewish fare deli (i.e. Katz’s, Carnegie)
- Generic business suit deli
“The Bagel Deli”
Just because a deli provides bagels does not mean that it is, what I call, a “bagel deli/shop.” The true bagel deli is a very specific beast. But before I get into all that, lemme give you a brief explanation of “the bagel.”
A bagel is a bread product that is usually about five inches in diameter with a hole in the middle. The outer crust, which is chewy and shiny, is achieved by first boiling the bagels and then baking them. The insides are left fluffy, yet also chewy in their own way. It is often sliced to form two circles and then some type of spread or meat (i.e. cream cheese or chicken salad) is placed in between the slices.
Sidenote: A bagel should not be confused with its lesser known counterpart, the bialy. A bialy is not boiled before baking, it’s just simply baked. And instead of having a hole in the middle, it has a deep indentation that does not go all the way through. Bialys can very frequently be found in authentic “bagel delis”.
Okay, now that that’s all out of the way…
While there are some very famous bagel shops in NYC, the whole concept behind delis primarily devoted to making bagels is that a good bagel place can be found anywhere, in your neighborhood, in your friend’s neighborhood, close enough that you could get a quick breakfast on a Sunday morning or on your way to work. The quality of bagel delis lies not in well-known names, but rather certain specific standards. The criteria that qualify a deli as a bagel shop are as follows:
- There is the word “bagel” in the title (i.e. “Pick-a-Bagel,” “Tal’s Bagels”)
- They do not sell pre-sliced bagels with cream cheese wrapped in plastic wrap that have been sitting in a basket/on the counter all week
- They have a wide variety of bagel spreads and toppings (i.e. scallion cream cheese, strawberry cream cheese, lox, walnut raisin cream cheese)
- They have a wide variety of bagel flavors (i.e. everything, salt, whole wheat, pumpernickel)
- At peak bagel-buying times (mornings), there are baskets of bagels sitting behind the counter that you see continuously being refilled by guys coming in from the back
Every single one of these criteria must be met or else it is not a bagel deli (except for the first one, I’ll bend on the first one, that might just be a sign that it’s a particularly good bagel deli). There may even be more criteria I’m not aware of, but these are the first things that come to mind. One criteria that is not necessary is that it only purveys bagels and nothing else. Bagel delis will often also sell regular sandwiches, salads, cookies, or muffins. Feel free to add a comment with some of your own criteria.
Therefore, if you enter a deli and any of these criteria are not met and you’re in the mood for the delicious, warm, chewy bagels that every New Yorker’s been bragging about, turn right around and leave. You are, undoubtedly, in the wrong place and will be disappointed.
If you just HAVE TO have a bagel, no matter where you are, fine, at least have them toast it to make it palatable.
i was wondering if a 14yr old student in england could go over to america to do 2 weeks of work experience in a deli?