"Any New Yorker who regularly swallows gluten in this city already has their own opinion about who makes the best bagels. That’s fine. But how many of the city’s excellent bagels are sold through a tiny window next to the above-ground 6 train? The answer is just one. Empire Bagels on Westchester Avenue in Pelham Bay makes massive, buoyant bagels with a shiny caramelized exterior and an extra fluffy inside. These things are puffier than the average New York City bagel, and we like to eat them with a slather of light scallion cream cheese for around $2.25 a pop. Empire Bagels is open from 5am to noon every day, and they only serve bagels, cream cheese, lox, coffee, juice, and a few pastries. Come early - if you show up later than 11am, they might be out of everything bagels (the superior variety, of course)." - hannah albertine
