Utopia Bagels

"An old-school bagel shop with long-standing roots, expanding from its original location in Whitestone, Queens." - Nadia Chaudhury

"This bagel shop has been a Queens staple since opening in 1981. To date, it serves some of our favorite bagels across the five boroughs. “It’s what you do with the water. It’s how much water you put in, it’s how much, when you proof, [when] you let in the air,” co-owner Scott Spellman told Eater. “Those are the things that are not talked enough about... It’s those techniques that make our bagels what they are.” A branch of the store has opened in Murray Hill, Manhattan, with another to come to Long Island City." - Robert Sietsema, Nadia Chaudhury

"You can’t come to Utopia in Whitestone and not get an everything with cream cheese and lox. The place has been around since 1980, with a carousel oven from 1947. Their Midtown sequel is just as good—with the bagels at both locations an exercise in balance. They’re slightly chewy but not too dense, well-inflated but not huge, and the seasoning on the everything doesn’t completely overpower the surface area. Their sandwiches also have the perfect cream cheese ratio, so there’s no spill-over from the sides when you take a bite with some salty, savory fish." - bryan kim, will hartman, willa moore, neha talreja, molly fitzpatrick, sonal shah

"In one of series’ most standout episodes, we meet Scott Spellman, co-owner of Utopia Bagels in Queens, New York. Spellman, a larger-than-life character and expert bagel maker, shares the process behind his 40-year-old bagel operation." - Eater Staff

"The wildly popular Queens, NY shop is famous for its fresh bagels with soft, airy dough and a crisp crust. Spellman attributes his shop’s notoriety to two things: Having skilled workers make bagels by hand, and keeping everything — from the ingredients, to the kettle, to the oven, to the baking techniques — the same as they were 40 years ago when the shop first opened." - Terri Ciccone