Jason F.
Yelp
There's a new utopia rising at Bageltopia! Fun and unique combinations make up the bagel sandwiches being served up at Bageltopia. Located on the corner of University Avenue and Acton Street in the heart of Berkeley's business corridor leading to the campus of UC Berkeley, Bageltopia replaced The King's Feet and before that Pizza Moda and Fellini in the same space. It's only appropriate that the owner of those three concepts, Jeff Davis is now back with his fourth concept in this space with Bageltopia. Teaming up with Dan Graf, who has experience with making homemade bagels, after his own stint at nearby Saul's Delicatessen, thanks to an upbringing in his native New Jersey where with Bageltopia, Chef Garf is able to cold-proof his bagels for a full day to allow them to ferment, which along with a little lye in the boiled water in which their bagels are boiled gives their bagels an extra crunch on its exterior. The buzz with their uniquely textured bagels has gotten so big that publications such as the New York Times even hailed his creations. It only seemed natural that since Davis had the restaurant space available he would team up with Graf and Mike Daillak, owner of Albany brunch spot Sam's Log Cabin for a new venture that would be solely dedicated to creating some of the best bagels in the area. And why wouldn't they? Bagels are certainly having a moment, as there seems to be a new establishment opening every month or so that focuses on selling these chewy dense hollowed out specialties, and why not simply get on board?
One of the best things about Bageltopia is the ease of access, as they have a parking lot of their own. Ordering is fast casual at Bageltopia, as their counter area is in the rear of the restaurant adjacent to their kitchen space, and once your order is completed they give you a transponder to hold that once your order is complete, it buzzes so you know to pick it up. The menu at Bageltopia has sections such as Bagel Sandwiches; Vegan Sandwiches; Sweet Stuff, which focused on kettle-fried bagels; House-Smoked Lox, and Drip Coffee, which is sourced from their neighbors at Fellini Coffee. Of course, as any good bagel lover knows, I am always down to try their traditional bagel sandwich with lox and cream cheese, but I noticed on their menu that they have something called Sushinova, which is a bagel sandwich served on my choice of bagel, of which from eight choices I selected an onion flavored bagel and opted to get it toasted, served with wasabi-tamari cream cheese, house-smoked nova lox, cucumber, wasabi tobiko and nori. It would take about eight minutes for my bagel sandwich to be prepared, of which is served open-faced. I decided to wait until I got home to devour my bagel sandwich because upon its elegant presentation, I knew I was going to need a fork and knife to truly appreciate what I was about to enjoy.
Turns out, my bagel sandwich really does taste like a speciality Japanese sushi roll, no doubt thanks to all of that wasabi and tobiko flavoring, which was amazing. I have never enjoyed something so thoroughly unique and enjoyable at the same time. My total bill with tax and gratuity was approximately twenty dollars, which is quickly becoming the norm, and for the amount of food with this one dish and the overall quality of their bagel sandwiches, is well worth this price point. I cannot wait to return to Bageltopia for a future visit as their combinations are unique enough that each visit you can get something different and would encompass an entire meal. For example their Farmstand Bagel Sandwich with fried eggs, tomatoes and arugula sounds truly exceptional and I cannot wait to try this sandwich option. The team at Bageltopia knows what they are doing, as I came on a weekday afternoon and the place was pretty crowded even in the later part of the morning. Don't be surprised if more locations of Bageltopia open one day soon because I only see this venture exploding into additional cities where health and good tasting food are at a premium, and it is so exciting to see them get their start in Berkeley!