This just reaffirms that I made the right choice cancelling my online subscription a few years back:

The best bagels taste tested:
There’s nothing quite like a New York bagel—or is there? Although a bagel from a shop near our headquarters in Yonkers, N.Y., set the bar high, a few big brands came close....

...Bottom line.
Dunkin’ Donuts, Lender’s Original, and Costco are the best choices...

[shopping.yahoo.com]

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JoeM

Not sure what relevance any of these findings are without a fresh NYC bagel in the lineup. The test should have taken place in NYC.

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MR/F Guestmap: [www.mapservices.org]

Really! And what about the Warranty Service Agreement and Customer Purchase Protection Guarantee? I fully expected CR to keep its readers informed on these topics as well!

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=TC
"Ye Olde Farte of Ye Internette"--a Wilted Tindmill® Production

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TheCaber
Customer Purchase Protection Guarantee

The Costco Bagels might actually have one.

I hate that CR spends time reviewing things they have no business reviewing. And yet: I have a subscription.*









*Given to me as a gift by my dad. Otherwise....

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[www.flickr.com] [picasaweb.google.com]

I, for one, love Costco bagels... However, I am not under any illusion that they fit into any particular food traditions idea of a "proper and traditional bagel"... Nor, quite frankly, do I care. If you have a local bagel shop you consider to be the home of The One True Bagel... More power to ya.

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
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Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--
Eureka, CA

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Black
Not sure what relevance any of these findings are without a fresh NYC bagel in the lineup. The test should have taken place in NYC.

They could have tested on the moon, it was limited to brands.

Don't care. I certainly would not plan a trip to NYC based around a bagel, but then I would do my best to stay out of NYC anyway.

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Bill
Flagler Beach, FL 32136

Carpe Vino!

Fermentation may have been a greater discovery than fire.
— David Rains Wallace

I see no reason to include anything that isn't available nationwide for the most part. Like Bill said what is one
suppose to do drive to NYC for a bagel? I also agree that CR shouldn't be reviewing stuff like bagels.

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Grateful11

The article's bagel image is a tip off of credibility. Where's the shine on the crust? Those are rolls with a hole in the center.

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3d
The article's bagel image is a tip off of credibility. Where's the shine on the crust? Those are rolls with a hole in the center.

That is exactly what my mother-in-law, who is from New York, says about Costco bagels, but my husband, her son, and I like them anyway and eat them every morning for breakfast. To each his own.

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Alpharetta, GA (Atlanta suburb)

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Uncle Wig
I hate that CR spends time reviewing things they have no business reviewing. And yet: I have a subscription.*

*Given to me as a gift by my dad. Otherwise....

Like computers?

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Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. — Oscar Wilde

Bagels are one of those subjective things that has more to do with regional pride than the specific quality of the product.

Vision,

Absolutely not. I've tried bagels from local shops in various parts of the country. The only place outside of NYC (and Long Island) that offered a _decent_ bagel was Brodsky's Bagels in San Diego back in 1989/1990. While Brodsky's offered a decent bagel, it was outclassed by the better bagel stores in NY. So, this is definitely not regional pride. It is a question of quality.

The national brands chosen by Consumer Reports aren't even in the same class as a typical bagel from my favorite local NY bagel shops. Instead of very good, they should have said mediocre at best. I know because I've performed taste tests. The brands they recommend lack the proper crust (and shine), consistency, chewiness and flavor. So, if you really want a proper bagel, yes, you do have to come to NY.

Unfortunately, I know that isn't feasible for many of you. So, the "bagels" from Dunkin' Donuts, Lenders, Costoco and other national brands are the best you're going to get under the circumstances. Since you're stuck with mediocre bagels (despite Consumer Reports's suggestion that they are very good), save yourself some $$$ and buy store brand frozen bagels. They are in the same class as those recommended by Consumer Reports. Mediocre but edible.

Robert



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/01/2012 10:30AM by Robert M.

I only say that because when I lived in New York and everyone would rave over the bagels and pizza it would just taste like bagels and pizza to me. Tasted great but I would not say so monumentally superior as to eclipse anything I could not get back in California.

Now, I could hardly find what I would consider great Chinese Food.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/01/2012 10:34AM by vision63.

Vison,

Our experiences differ by many margins. Whole living in CA (and visiting on many occasions after I returned to NY, I can say wholeheartedly, there is no comparison. Even the best that CA offered wasn't even in the same class. The sole exception was Brodsky's Bagels and, based on what've seen doing Internet searches, they are no longer in business. Too bad.

'course, I'm comparing the CA pizza and bagels to pizza and bagels from the five boroughs, nassau county and suffolk county. I can't speak for elsewhere in NY, though the same from upstate and western NY aren't as good as from the five boroughs and Long Island.

Robert

P.S. Forgot to say the fact that Consumer Reports chose a bagel from a store in Yonkers alone dictates that the entire test is flawed from the start. I've had bagels from various stores in Yonkers. Good but not on the same level as the local shops in various parts of the five boroughs and Long Island.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/01/2012 10:58AM by Robert M.

Lender’s Original: are they fsckn serious???

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Uncle Wig
I hate that CR spends time reviewing things they have no business reviewing....

like testing vacuum cleaners in a lab setting. No wonder a Chinese POS Hoover is top rated.
Be thankful CR doesn't review body armor

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Robert M
Vison,

Our experiences differ by many margins. Whole living in CA (and visiting on many occasions after I returned to NY, I can say wholeheartedly, there is no comparison. Even the best that CA offered wasn't even in the same class. The sole exception was Brodsky's Bagels and, based on what've seen doing Internet searches, they are no longer in business. Too bad.

'course, I'm comparing the CA pizza and bagels to pizza and bagels from the five boroughs, nassau county and suffolk county. I can't speak for elsewhere in NY, though the same from upstate and western NY aren't as good as from the five boroughs and Long Island.

Robert

P.S. Forgot to say the fact that Consumer Reports chose a bagel from a store in Yonkers alone dictates that the entire test is flawed from the start. I've had bagels from various stores in Yonkers. Good but not on the same level as the local shops in various parts of the five boroughs and Long Island.

Sounds like you've explored extensively Robert.

New Yorkers are very protective of their Bagel and Pizza culture.

[www.thedailyshow.com]

"Real" bagels are boiled. Mass produced bagels are steamed. And that's one of the major reasons for the difference.

Boiled bagels are nice and chewy, they way they should be. Steamed bagels are glorified Wonder Bread.

Bagels, frozen pizza, coffee makers, and steel cut oats are all controversial topics here.

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mspace
"Real" bagels are boiled. Mass produced bagels are steamed. And that's one of the major reasons for the difference.

Boiled bagels are nice and chewy, they way they should be. Steamed bagels are glorified Wonder Bread.

These are good points. For me, bagels like Costco's and any other commercial bagels, when you see the list their of ingredients you have to know that they are LOSERS!

They're full of artificial ingredients. Between that and the way they are made, there's no way that they can qualify as "best."

The staff at Consumer Reports that "tested" the bagels must be from some small town in the mid-west that has no Jews and no delis. Reminds me of a time, back in the late '50s, when I went out for brunch in the Village with several girls who were living in the dorm at NYU. When we were ordering, one of the girls said, and I quote, "I'm not very hungry. Can I have one lock?

I arrest my case.

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gl @ Dana Point, CA

Gene,

The home base of Consumer Reports is in Yonkers and they got their typical NY bagel from a local store. So, they made a little bit of an effort to get a real bagel. As Vision figured out, I've explored bagels extensively both in NY and elsewhere (in the U.S. and Europe!). It's actually one of the first things I do when I visit a place. I try and find bagels, pizza and chinese food. To say finding a good bagel outside the five boroughs and Long Island is difficult is an understatement.

Robert



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/02/2012 09:35AM by Robert M.