I may have mentioned one or 20 times (this week alone) that I’m not a morning person, and that includes lacking the cognitive skills and physical coordination to pull breakfast together. Non-dairy protein shakes have become a lifesaver for me to get my metabolism going. So imagine the joy, the utter euphoria I felt when I showed up at work on Wednesday — hump day! — and a colleague treated us to a veritable bagel buffet! There was plain, poppy, sesame, everything, and more! (Even pumpernickel, for the one guy in the office who’s exactly the type you’d expect to ask that there be pumpernickel.) With perfectly room temperature schmears: plain, salmon, scallion cream cheeses and what I beelined for, butter. It was a nosh I relished. Plus, we’re in NYC, the bagel capital of the world… Or IS it?! New York BagelFest 2025 just went down over the weekend, and who rose to the occasion to win the top prize in a blind taste test? A shop from Dallas! As in Texas! What is happening?!
Over the weekend, the experts gathered for New York BagelFest 2025, celebrating the best bagels from around the world. According to the festival, more than 2,000 people attended, including competitors from far-flung, bagel-loving places like Madrid, Honolulu, Montreal, Dallas, Seattle, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Chicago, who joined “local legends across New York City to compete for the industry’s highest honors.”
This year, after all the judging was complete, the overall Best Bagel winner of the blind test was announced. And the honor went to Starship Bagel out of Dallas.
It’s actually the second time the shop has won the prestigious award, taking the top prize in 2023 as well. As owner Oren Salomon shared with the Dallas Morning News, this year they upped their game by making the bagels using a new par-baking technique, then packing them in dry ice and finishing them off in New York City before presenting them to the judges.
“It was a huge risk, and it could have easily not worked, but I knew what we entered last year was only good for second place and that we had to do better,” Salomon told the outlet. “In a way, we kind of debuted this new approach to baking bagels, and the judges validated it.”
The shop must have something extra special going on, as it also won the Best New York Style category and Best Showmanship. It also took second in the Schmear of the Year and Most Creative categories. And while the competition is undoubtedly fun, it can also come with serious perks.
“BagelFest feels like a party, but for the makers, it’s a high-stakes moment,” BagelFest founder Sam Silverman shared in a statement. “Winning an award can propel a small regional shop into the national culinary conversation. Our 2 exhibitors were hand-selected because they are leading the bagel boom in their cities, and when they go head to head, the creativity and craftsmanship reach levels most people never imagined possible for a bagel.”
I guess this is why the blind taste test is the fairest of them all, so the best little bagel house in Texas can compete without prejudice. And from his comments, there’s no denying Starship Bagels owner and proprietor Oren Salomon approached the contest with the seriousness it deserves. For them to place in so many categories (four out of 10, including the top prize) proves that a Dallas bagel can bake with the best of the boroughs. And speaking of categories, I couldn’t believe Travel+Leisure mentioned Schmear of the Year without actually naming the winning flavors! So without further ado… In 3rd place was a joint effort between Oído from Mexico and Olmo from New Haven, CT for their Sikil Pak schmear. Starship Bagels was runner up for a Garam Masala schmear, and best in schmear was Fantzye Bagels of Kingston, NY for a Charred Leek & Lemon Caper schmear. Um, YUM! Scallion schmear is a classic, and scallions and leeks are kissing cousins. But a charred leek schmear?! That’s nothing short of divine inspiration. My only question is, how was the all-important spreading of the schmear handled? That’s where things can turn ugly…
Agreed, the winning schmear sounds divine!!
Dallas has a one of the largest Jewish communities in the state. Many Jews immigrated to Dallas in the mid 1800’s. The city’s first Jewish cemetery was established in 1854. JFK was actually in route to speak to a Jewish group in Dallas.
okay, now I’m sobbing in envy. I learned years ago celiac disease was causing my illness so I had to go gluten-free 😭 — I never missed cakes, cookies, or desserts [for which gf substitutions can actually be fairly made but idc] but BAGELS!!!! OMG I dream of bagels! Their delicious chewiness comes from the gluten. I have tried many gf “bagels” and they are just disgusting round pieces of blergghhh. nooooooooooooo.
When I used to nanny for kids that had NY bagels most mornings for breakfast, I almost used to cry as I served them. One of the kids helpfully said, “Maybe you’ll have a terminal disease someday! – then, couldn’t you eat as many bagels as you wanted before you die??” hahaha Yes, child, I would! lol, kids solving problems!
i haven’t had a good bagel in a long time……maybe this weekend I’ll go to our one good bagel place (funnily enough, named Kismet lol.)
Wow, when I saw the headline I was like shut up, I bet I know which shop won! I was wrong but I wasn’t totally surprised because we do have some tasty bagel shops here in Big D.
Now I want a bagel! The winning schmear sounds so good, I wonder if I can recreate it.
Lone Star Jews for the win! I haven’t been to Dallas in years and now I’ve envious of that bagel place. We had a good one here in Houston that closed a while back and I don’t think anything great has replaced it. I don’t really seek out bagels any more because I need protein at breakfast, but the winning bagel sounds incredible. I’d eat that topping by itself, sans bagel.
What! No honey walnut or jalapeño cream cheese? I’m a sucker for those
So…..”Find Your Way Back” to Starship Bagels?
Don’t worry NY – you just need to win a best Tex-Mex contest.
Reading about this BagelFest has prompted me to resume my search for the spinach bagels of my youth. It’s good to have goals, right? Yum.
Best bagels are from Montreal. IYKYK 😉
Am I the only one who finds it hilarious that a bagel from Dallas took four of ten categories? I hope the people who like to drone on about how the water in New Jersey/New York is the only one that produces a good bagel take a deep breath before giving that particular lecture again.
A bagel shop in my city in Virginia won People’s Choice at Bagelfest. It beat out NY, so TX isn’t the only southern state that beat NY. Great bagels available outside NY is great news.