On top of trying some of the best local bagel spots, try these spreads too:
Smoked Salmon, Avocado & Poached Egg, Tuna Salad, Nutella, Onion & Chives, Peanut Butter & Granola, Caprese Egg Salad, Greek Yogurt & Fruit, Tomato Sauce & Mozzarella
New York and New Jersey expats have far less standing to gripe about bagels in Washington than they did just a few years ago. “Jew-ish” deli Call Your Mother burst onto the scene in 2018 and has expanded to sell them from Bethesda down to Capitol Hill. Pearl’s Bagels, one of the newest options on the latest update of this map, has its own faithful crop of regulars that would tell you it’s No. 1 in town. Bullfrog Bagels has been growing in reach and popularity for years, and Bethesda Bagels has been serving a respectable round since the late ’80s. In Alexandria, Bagel Uprising has emerged as another cheffed-up shop with farmers market roots. Here are 15 places to find standout bagels around town, including plenty of options for online ordering.
D.C. allows indoor dining at 25 percent capacity. Many restaurants offer outdoor seating, but this should not be taken as endorsement for dining out, as there are still safety concerns. The Washington Post is tracking coronavirus cases and deaths in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. More information can be found at coronavirus.dc.gov. Studies indicate that there is a lower exposure risk when outdoors, but the level of risk involved with patio dining is contingent on restaurants following strict social distancing and other safety guidelines.
1. Goldberg's New York Bagels (Multiple locations)
This local chain has been supplying D.C. diners with New York-style bagels and bagel sandwiches for nearly two decades. In addition to the Silver Spring location, right off Georgia Avenue NW, customers can find Goldberg’s shops in Rockville and Potomac. Order via phone or on-site.
2. Bagels 'n Grinds (Multiple locations)
Owner Adam Greenberg takes his bagels seriously, following a 10-step process that involves a proprietary water treatment facility and New York-style baking techniques. There’s also a location in Hanover, Maryland. Order online for pickup.
3. Bagel Place of College Park
This is not only a gathering spot for hordes of University of Maryland students, but also for locals devoted to boiled-then-baked bagels. In an especially Maryland move, Bagel Place has an Old Bay flavor of bagel. Order online or via phone for pickup, with limited dine-in service too.
4. Bethesda Bagels
As a homegrown chain that started in 1982, Bethesda Bagels has long been a go-to for New York-style bagels. It recently added a second shop in Bethesda and a first Virginia location, in Rosslyn. D.C. outposts are in Dupont and Navy Yard. Order online here. During the pandemic, the chain added a home delivery service for orders $25 and up.
5. Bread Furst
In addition to producing baguettes, croissants, and cookies, James Beard Award-winning baker Mark Furstenberg makes bagels at his Van Ness shop. Call ahead for bagels, or order online for pickup or delivery.
6. Ellē
The stellar all-day cafe and bakery in Mount Pleasant operates a pickup window from Thursday through Monday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. A limited run of bagels in familiar flavors (plain, sesame, everything) opens around 9 a.m., with options for cream cheese, a beet-cured salmon sandwich, or kimchi and XO sauce.
7. Call Your Mother (Multiple locations)
The hit “Jew-ish” deli selling wood-fired bagels from chef Daniela Moreira and her Timber Pizza Co. partners has expanded in a big way during the pandemic, opening locations in Capitol Hill, Bethesda, and Georgetown, with another en route to North Bethesda’s Pike & Rose complex. The Georgetown store drew national attention when it received a visit from President Joe Biden’s motorcade. Call Your Mother is known for its bacon (or pastrami) egg and cheese and funky combinations like mashed avocado and Fritos. Recent innovations include a nacho-jalapeno cream cheese and the addition of a cheddar bagel.
8. Bagels Etc
A tried and true breakfast option is the bacon, egg, and cheese on an everything bagel at this small, cash-only shop in Dupont. Call ahead.
9. Buffalo & Bergen (Multiple locations)
The bagel dough at this old-school soda counter is made with New York City water, then shipped down daily for proofing, dressing, and baking on-site. Bagels form the base of offbeat sandwiches like a “bayside rabbi” — lox and dill cream cheese on an Old Bay bagel — or a “body count” with ham, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, American cheese, and apricot jelly. A “lox’d and loaded” bloody mary comes garnished with an everything bagel filled with smoked fish and the works. Buffalo & Bergen now has a standalone shop near Union Station, too. Order online for takeout and delivery at both locales, with outdoor seating options too.
10. Pearl's Bagels
Chewy, plump bagels that rise with the assistance of sourdough starter come from this small shop in Mt. Vernon Triangle with roots in New Jersey. Doctor up classic bagel flavors with honey butter or a jalapeno cheddar spread. Cold brew and drip coffee come from beans supplied by Small World Coffee in Princeton. Order here for pickup through 1 p.m.
11. Bullfrog Bagels (Multiple locations)
Bullfrog has grown from a cramped bagel counter inside an H Street bar to a wholesale purveyor with multiple shops and a deep list of cafe clients. Founder Jeremiah Cohen’s soft rounds can be found at the Bullfrog Bagels by Eastern Market, a stall in the Tastemakers food hall in Brookland, and food truck in Tenleytown. Order online for same-day or future pickup or delivery orders. There’s window service in Eastern Market and the Atlas District, too.
12. GW Delicatessen
George Washington University students flock to 75-year-old GW Deli, aka Leo’s. Breakfast sandwiches are the move here, and New Jersey expats will be pleased to find Taylor pork roll bagels. Walk in to choose from 21 types of bagels.
13. Brooklyn Bagel Bakery
This Court House shop has a nice variety of flavors, from Asiago to French toast, and possesses the speed and gruff delivery of a New York bagel joint. Order here for pickup and delivery.
14. Yellow the Cafe
On weekends, the cafe and bakery attached to high-end Levantine restaurant Albi makes Jerusalem bagels in long, skinny rings and an “Urfa-thing” spice mix. Get them plain, with sumac-scallion labneh, or with feta. Bagels are also the base for two breakfast sandwiches: a smoked salmon with labneh and cucumber and a kefta with scrambled eggs, feta, and harissa. Order for pickup here.
15. Bagel Uprising
At various points a hit farmers market stall and a nomadic Del Ray pop-up, Bagel Uprising finally got its own space in 2019. Stomping Ground chef Nicole Jones partnered with lawyer-turned-bagel maker Chad Breckinridge on the project. He oversees classic rounds that, at about 4 ounces a piece, are smaller than the typical carb splurge. She concocts spreads like lingonberry jam or a smoked whitefish salad that comes with a bright ring of red roe. Order online for same-day pickups until 1 p.m.