It is possible that the food I am most passionate about is bagels. Some people see it as bread with a hole in it; I see it as bread with a purpose. Since literally no one has the time or money to go to the home of the bagel, New York City, every time they crave one, I thought it was high time we put the Dutch shops to the test. Hopefully this will help you decide where to go to get yourself a bagel and which shops to forgo.
Due to some weird, unfortunate event all shops in Middelburg have stopped selling bagels, looking at you Honeypie and Brooklyn, so for the real bagel experience you are going to have to travel outside Zeeland for this one. For our ultimate Battle of the Bagels I went to three different places: Bagels & Beans, Mockamore, and the supermarket. I judged all bagels on a variety of aspects: distance to bagel, assortment of bagel options, topping options, toasted versus untoasted, and overall taste. Obviously these rankings are highly subjective, but by the power invested in me by my best friend and bagel connoisseur Michaela – trust her she’s Jewish and lives in New York City – I present you the ultimate bagel ranking.
The first place I visited was Mockamore. This chain store can be found in major cities, which obviously means that they are not present in Middelburg, but the closest one is in Roosendaal. If the hazelnut lattes were one of the deciding factors, they’d take the crown, but we’re here for bagels so let’s examine those. There is a fair share of bagels you can choose from, but not as many toppings. I went for a sesame bagel with Brie, honey, walnuts, tomatoes, and chives. Sadly the bagel was not toasted, but the bagel was still fresh so it was not a breaking point. Overall, the Mockamore bagels are a great option if you are not a bagel snob, or you just want something simple. I still think the trip to Roosendaal is well worth it. Final score: 4/7 baegoals.
Secondly, I visited a store so confident in their product that it carries the name: Bagels & Beans. Much like Mockamore you can find them in most major cities in the Netherlands, the closest one to us is also in Roosendaal. Bagels & Beans is a cozy store that offers a wide variety of bagels and are very good at adapting to your food allergies or intolerances. They offer both sweet and savory toppings, warm or cold bagels and various other things that are one hundred percent delicious but sadly not relevant for this ranking. On my visit I ordered a Parmabella bagel: a toasted (sesame) bagel topped with mozzarella di bufala, prosciutto, sun dried tomatoes, pesto, pine nuts, and rocket. The bagel was still a little warm, had a perfect crunch, and the flavors just melted together perfectly. Overall, Bagels & Beans gets a solid 5/7 baegoals, a perfect score!
My last stop was at the supermarket, but I might as well have not stopped. There are many things to say about them, but none of them are very positive so I’ll keep it short. Supermarket bagels are tough, white, and leave a sour taste in your mouth. I’d make a comparison to Donald Trump, but not even these bagels deserve that. If you do try them and realize that they really are disgusting, you can always use them as Frisbees, doorstoppers, or gags. Never said they weren’t useful, they’re just not tasty. Final score: 1/7 baegoals.
Hopefully this article has served its purpose and helped you make up your mind about the bagels on offer. If you ever get the chance to eat a bagel in NYC, don’t let it slip through your fingers, but until that time why not try one of the bagels from the shops mentioned and see how they compare. And who knows, maybe they’ll reappear in Middelburg someday!
Yonna Kuipers is a History & Linguistics major from Schiedam, The Netherlands.
