Matt Yglesias

38 Responses to “The Stuff that Matters”

1. Arun Says:
   November 28th, 2008 at 12:48 pm

   Yeah, I grew up in NYC, no longer live there, but miss the bagels, pizza, and especially the sesame Italian bread from the bakery. Amazing, and I always wonder why it can’t be recreated elsewhere. But every knowleagable NYer I’ve spoken to about this all say the same thing- it’s the water. That NYC’s municipal tap water is what gives the city’s bread (of all kinds) that distinctive, heavenly flavor.

2. Yossarian Says:
   November 28th, 2008 at 1:09 pm

   Christ, New Yorkers are annoying.

3. Petey Says:
   November 28th, 2008 at 1:15 pm

   “and the whole sad little fantasy universe I’ve constructed for myself in which DC’s bad bagels aren’t a big deal collapses.”

   You mean the sad little universe where you say things like:

   But I think that for anyone who seriously wants to maintain that he’s “one of those people who considers bagels to be a basic food group” the only serious answer to this question is to respect the multiple styles of people and a certain degree of incommensurability between them … diversity reigns.

   —–

   “That NYC’s municipal tap water is what gives the city’s bread (of all kinds) that distinctive, heavenly flavor.”

   Urban legend. Philly bagels are just as good as NYC bagels, and Philly water is fetid while NYC water is dewy clean.

   It’s the percentage of Jews among the population, not the water, that makes the difference.

4. RC Says:
   November 28th, 2008 at 1:17 pm

   On your bagel trek up to Rockville you might want to stop by The Bagelry in Silver Spring as well, and do a little compare and contrast. The bagels here are probably the best I’ve had in the DC area, though I’m no expert.

   http://www.thebagelrymd.com/

5. Arun Says:
   November 28th, 2008 at 1:18 pm

   Petey: then why are the Italian bakeries so good?

6. James Gary Says:
   November 28th, 2008 at 1:19 pm

   I’m not sure where Matt’s been buying his bagels since leaving New York. In most parts of the US, the only bagels available are ghastly, preservative-laden, tasteless doughy globs sold in the bakery section of the supermarket–so it’s hard, in my experience, to do a meaningful comparison.

   (The issue of why decent sourdough bread can’t be found anywhere outside of the Bay Area, however, is a topic that might merit some serious research.)

7. Petey Says:
   November 28th, 2008 at 1:29 pm

   “Petey: then why are the Italian bakeries so good?”

   Philly & NYC both have hefty Italian and Jewish populations. Thus good bagels and Italian rolls are easily available.

   I’d bet good French baguettes are easily available in Montreal…

8. Tom Says:
   November 28th, 2008 at 1:37 pm

   Man am I sick of that “it’s the water” myth. Various other industries have figured out how to use adjuncts to correct for the mineral content of the local water (breweries in particular). If this was really the problem, it would be easy to account for — it’s not as if we don’t know how to analyze the contents of municipal water. In fact, the city will send you a printout of such an analysis on request.

9. nick Says:
   November 28th, 2008 at 2:11 pm

   I don’t know from baguettes, but the Montreal bagel has no peer…

10. Mo Says:
    November 28th, 2008 at 2:24 pm

    It’s pretty lame to link to a post to yourself. Why not post the exact same post and say you cross-posted? Needless self-promotion?

11. Hampden Says:
    November 28th, 2008 at 5:44 pm

    Try Pumpernickels south of Chevy Chase Circle.

12. John Says:
    November 28th, 2008 at 6:37 pm

    Maybe it’s just because I grew up with them, but pace Mr. Bernstein, I’ve always liked Bagel City bagels. And is it too much to ask that Matt link us to the actual post, not to his post on another blog that links to the actual post?

13. Daniel Says:
    November 28th, 2008 at 6:38 pm

    So what makes New York bagels so good exactly?

14. Daniel Freedman Says:
    November 28th, 2008 at 7:56 pm

    Everyone knows that “real” bagels can be found only in Montreal.

    The New York versions are pallid imitations. And, yes, that include the greatly over-rated and over-priced H&H bagels.

    New York bagels? Feh!

15. MR Says:
    November 28th, 2008 at 8:00 pm

    Jesus! All bagels are GROSS. Give it up.

16. Daniel Freedman Says:
    November 28th, 2008 at 8:01 pm

    More on Montreal bagels from Wikipedia:

    Montreal bagels, like the similarly shaped New York bagel, were brought to North America by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe; the difference in texture and taste reflect the style of the particular area in Eastern Europe in which the immigrant bakers learned their trade. The bagel was introduced to Montreal by a baker named Isadore Shlafman in 1919. His descendants continue to make bagels today in the same neighborhood at the Fairmount Bagel Bakery. In many Montreal establishments bagels are produced by hand

    (snip)
    Montreal-style bagel shops have opened in Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Calgary, and other Canadian, and even US cities, such as Houston, Texas. However, this style of bagel is almost completely unknown in the northeastern U.S. despite its proximity to Montreal, mainly due to the proximity of the rival New York City bagel.[citation needed]

    In contrast to the New York-style bagel, the Montreal bagel is smaller, sweeter and denser, with a larger hole, and is always baked in a wood-fired oven. It contains malt, egg, and no salt and is boiled in honey-sweetened water before being baked in a wood-fired oven, whose irregular flames give it a dappled light-and-dark surface colour. There are two predominant varieties: black-seed (poppyseed), or white-seed (sesame seed).

    STS-124 passenger, and ISS Expedition 17 crewmember, Montrealer Canadian astronaut Gregory Chamitoff, brought the first bagels into space, 3 bags (18 sesame seed bagels) of Fairmount Bagels with him.

    Montreal-style bagels are, for the most part, manufactured by the same method used to produce a generic bagel. The Montreal-style method of making bagels builds on the basic traditional method in the following ways:
    - The bagel dough includes egg, and contains no added salt.
    - Honey is added to the water used for poaching the bagels before baking.
    - The bagels are baked in wood-fired oven.

17. Daniel Freedman Says:
    November 28th, 2008 at 8:07 pm

    And furthermore….

    …the only thing US “bagels” have in common with real bagels is that they are round and have a hole in the middle.

    American bagels don’t look like bagels or taste like bagels. And no wonder. They aren’t really bagels at all.

18. dunn Says:
    November 28th, 2008 at 9:46 pm

    There is no better bagel box on God’s green Earth than Super Duper Bagel in Livingston, NJ.

19. Gabriel Says:
    November 29th, 2008 at 9:38 am

    Dear New Yorkers:

    Nobody fucking cares how much you miss your fucking bagels. It’s bread. Get over it.

20. Mike Says:
    November 29th, 2008 at 1:42 pm

    H&H baby! With chive cream cheese, fresh OJ and coffee from Zabars — Fuhggedaboudit!

21. Mike Says:
    November 29th, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    Daniel–

    It’s the water. I’m from Madison, WI, and recently moved back after a stint in NYC (still haven’t adjusted). We have a place called Gotham Bagels that apparently ships in water from NYC, that’s what a big deal it is. Same story for pizza crust I guess.

22. gilead Says:
    November 29th, 2008 at 6:35 pm

    Well executed, bagels can be okay. Which is fine. But it’s also the sign of a distinctly inferior food source. And note that you really never see bagels on the menu of a great restaurant — the world’s greatest chefs can presumably pull off something pretty good for an occasion that requires bagels, but they have no confidence in the ingredient.

23. peachkfc Says:
    November 29th, 2008 at 11:53 pm

    As an American who has never been to Montreal, I don’t know anything about Montreal bagels. Great as they may be (I’d sure love to try them,)though, the relative merits of Montreal bagels vs. any American bagel is not really the point. What we’re talking about is a strictly American argument in two parts, that is, 1) are NYC bagels better than bagels from anyplace else in the US and 2) if that is so, why are they better? As a New York State native (Syracuse, not NYC) who spent a lot of time visiting relatives in the City, who traveled all over the country. and who later spent over 20 years living in Philadelphia, eating many bagels every step of the way, I feel confident in saying this: 1) NYC bagels are different from bagels anywhere else in the United States, 2) NYC bagels are vastly superior to bagels from anywhere else in the US, 3) Philly bagels from the right place are OK and certainly better than most other places, but they cannot compare with NYC bagels, and, 4) I haven’t the slightest idea why NYC bagels are better. The water argument makes sense, but I’m no kitchen scientist, so who knows? But there is one simple, objective fact here: NYC bagels taste like nothing else in the universe, they clearly are superior to all other US bagels, and they are fabulous!!!!

24. nj american water Says:
    December 10th, 2008 at 12:08 am

    A 60-inch water main break in Franklin Township had a ripple effect on residents in Somerset, Middlesex and Union counties today, prompting school closings and a boil water advisory. As a precaution, New Jersey American

25. syracuse basketball Says:
    December 10th, 2008 at 4:36 pm

    SYRACUSE — All it took was one half against Oakland of Michigan for Syracuse to show it’s ready for the first big test of the young season. Jonny Flynn had 18 points to lead five Syracuse players in double figures, and the Orange’s newfound

26. cialis Says:
    March 1st, 2009 at 7:03 pm

    cialis
    Very interesting site. Hope it will always be alive!

27. zyban Says:
    March 12th, 2009 at 11:49 pm

    Very interesting site. Hope it will always be alive!

28. tramadol Says:
    March 22nd, 2009 at 6:25 am

    tramadol
    Excellent site. It was pleasant to me.

29. viagra brand Says:
    April 3rd, 2009 at 4:21 am

    It is the coolest site,keep so!
    cheap brand pfizer viagra

30. cheap viagra Says:
    April 9th, 2009 at 7:01 am

    Great site, Good info viagra