bagel schmear

[stuart_s]

What's absolutely the best bagel topping in the world?

What's the best cream cheese? How do Tuv Taam, Zingerman's, Philadelphia, Organic Valley, Russ and Daughter's compare to your favorite? This isn't an academic discussion. I'm interested in actually tasting your suggestions but I don't care if it's only available in New York. I'll get it the next time I'm there or maybe if I get really desperate I'll try to have some shipped. Or convince a local gourmet market to carry some. Let me worry about that.

What's the best dairy spread? Are any commercial creme fraiche good? Alouette? There are spreads made from all types of cheeses. Is Herkimer a good brand? Which belong on a bagel? Baked farmer cheese? There was something in the dairy case with jalepeno and adobe spices. I think it was called cabana?

What's the best non-dairy based bagel topping? Figgy? Honey? Nutty? Chocolatey?

Personally, I like a good jam. There's a brand called Miller County that's probably only available locally. I also like June Taylor which can be shipped anywhere. And Frog Hollow which can also be shipped anywhere. Sarabeth's is another good one but I'm not sure it's quite as good as the others. Unfortunately, my experience with good cream cheese is fairly limited. I had the good fortune to try some Tuv Taam when I was in New York a while ago. When I was searching for information about them earlier today I read a 2001 article about their shameful labor practices. I also like a nice chopped herring salad. And now I'm looking to expand my horizons bagel-wise.

Thank you.

[SheenaGreena]

not the best, but I enjoy cucumber dill cream cheese from rosie's in Newton, ma. I also like the horseradish cream cheese from either rosie's or kugels...I forget.

I also like lox, creem cheese, little bit of onion, and some dill

all spreads must go on a pumpernickel bagel

[Sararwelch]

I'm not sure I have a brand preference when it comes to cream cheese, but it has to be whipped!

[cyen]

I'm not sure I have a brand preference when it comes to cream cheese, but it has to be whipped!

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I second that and it has to be smeared thickly on the bagel so when you bite into it cheese oozes out of the bagel. I was a fan of the cream cheese (and the bagels) used in Collegetown Bagels in Ithaca, NY, but I'm really not much of a schmear connoisseur.

[jsmith]

Butter

[KarenSherwood]

I'll always love cream cheese and lox (preferably on an onion bagel), but I'm also fond of an egg bagel with apricot preserves (cream cheese entirely optional).

[mhjoseph]

A better question for me is where to get decent bagels by mail order and they don't charge an arm and a leg for shipping.

All I can find locally are bagel shaped pieces of bread and I looking for an old-fashioned water bagel. I need a place with kosher certification.

[ckruse]

What's absolutely the best bagel topping in the world?

What's the best cream cheese? How do Tuv Taam, Zingerman's, Philadelphia, Organic Valley, Russ and Daughter's compare to your favorite? This isn't an academic discussion. I'm interested in actually tasting your suggestions but I don't care if it's only available in New York. I'll get it the next time I'm there or maybe if I get really desperate I'll try to have some shipped. Or convince a local gourmet market to carry some. Let me worry about that.

What's the best dairy spread? Are any commercial creme fraiche good? Alouette? There are spreads made from all types of cheeses. Is Herkimer a good brand? Which belong on a bagel? Baked farmer cheese? There was something in the dairy case with jalepeno and adobe spices. I think it was called cabana?

What's the best non-dairy based bagel topping? Figgy? Honey? Nutty? Chocolatey?

Personally, I like a good jam. There's a brand called Miller County that's probably only available locally. I also like June Taylor which can be shipped anywhere. And Frog Hollow which can also be shipped anywhere. Sarabeth's is another good one but I'm not sure it's quite as good as the others. Unfortunately, my experience with good cream cheese is fairly limited. I had the good fortune to try some Tuv Taam when I was in New York a while ago. When I was searching for information about them earlier today I read a 2001 article about their shameful labor practices. I also like a nice chopped herring salad. And now I'm looking to expand my horizons bagel-wise.

Thank you.

←

this may not work on Michelin bagels (NYC) but on Montreal bagels nutella is very good. Balsamic/garlic vinaigrette is nice. Sometimes plain buttered bagel dipped in hot chocolate or cocoa will cure almost anything. Oh I forgot Tzatzik (sp) or cacik is also excellent.

[jackal10]

No schmear for me, just more Lox...on an onion bagel

[dvs]

salt bagel, butter, chive cream cheese & BACON!!

[cakewalk]

Butter

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Yes. My absolute favorite, I think because of its nostalgia value, is a toasted sesame bagel with Breakstone's sweet whipped butter. Heaven.

[LindsayAnn]

I am sure they do not stand up to the famous NY bagels, but here in Chicago the best I can get are at Einstein Bagel (and since I am stuck in the midwest, these taste good to me)....I were to taste a NY bagel I am sure I would start to dislike my normal Einstein bagels, but I am safe with them for now.

I enjoy sweet and savery bagels. When sweet I go with either a wild blueberry with plain cream cheese, or a cinnamon raison with plain CC. Einstein has GREAT creamcheese,much better than philledelphia.

I also like asiago cheese with plain CC, or everything with plain CC, or salt with plain CC/

I love Einstein's blueberry Cream Cheese, eaten plain outta the tub (HEHE) or with a plain bagel.

I too like a GENEROUS amount of cream cheese on my bagels, generous as in like half the tub!

If in the mood, a warm taosted bagel is great with creamy peanut butter, the peanut butter gets all oozy melty....

plain butter (lots), on a bagel is rather good too.

[merstar]

Toasted sesame bagel with cream cheese, sliced Campari tomatoes, and sliced red onion. (addition of some sliced black olives, optional).

[petite tête de chou]

My gent loves, adores even, Philadelphia cream cheese on toasted bagels- preferably the onion or "everything" varieties. Eh. I don't eat bagels nearly as often as he does so my preferred method to prepare them is more involved than a toaster oven, knife and cream cheese but not by much. Smash the bagel halves on a hot grill (lots of char please), drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice or vinegar, a thick slice of beefsteak tomato, s/p, fresh herbs (I love them all- summer savory, basils, rosemary, thymes, lovage, chives etc) and shaved parmesan. But I can always *settle* for tons of lox and sliced red onion.

[scubadoo97]

Mayo, lettuce and tomatoes

[scubadoo97]

Just kidding.

Cream cheese is a staple and is all I need. I weird thing I like is cream cheese and a slice of American cheese. Weird but some how satisfying

[shellfishfiend]

When I was a kid, i thought my mom was a genius for inventing a bagel turkey sandwich.

You toast the bagel halves, smear on lots of cream chees, pile on sliced cajun spiced turkey breast, a big slice of tomato and lots of black pepper. Smoosh it together and run back under the broiler just long enough for the edges of the turkey to get crispy.

[H. du Bois]

Whatever cream cheese the deli with the best coffee near my office is serving on a toasted everything bagel.

[Pam R]

A better question for me is where to get decent bagels by mail order and they don't charge an arm and a leg for shipping.

All I can find locally are bagel shaped pieces of bread and I looking for an old-fashioned water bagel. I need a place with kosher certification.

←

I don't know how they compare to other bagels in NY, but I liked the ones I picked up at H&H Bagels. Their website says they 'ship worldwide". Clicky. (Star-K and Pas Yisroel)

[Fat Guy]

Toasted sesame bagel with cream cheese, sliced Campari tomatoes, and sliced red onion.

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I've eaten several hundred of those in my lifetime, including one almost every day of high school. Well, I don't think those plastic boxes of Campari tomatoes existed at that time, and I don't actually think Campari tomatoes are all that great, but they're better than whatever crap tomatoes they had at the deli near school. These days, now that I actually buy the individual components, during tomato season this sandwich is a particular joy to eat. It's also good with capers and a little fresh ground pepper -- essentially everything you'd have on a fully loaded bagel-with-lox sandwich, but without the lox.

Also good in tomato season: sharp cheddar cheese, sliced tomato and mayo.

Out of season, in my opinion the best-tasting widely available tomatoes are so-called grape tomatoes from, for example, Splendido. The drawback is that it's kind of a pain to manage several of those little tomatoes onto a sandwich. But if you don't mind the labor and you have a good paring knife, you can take six of those little tomatoes, trim each so it has two flat sides the long way, then cut each in half also the long way, and you'll have twelve flat slices that will stay put in a substrate of cream cheese.

Another favorite is butter plus Swiss cheese, with a little salt. Try it before commenting.

At the deli I frequent these days (actually I go there maybe once a week, so it's hardly frequent) I've noticed that one of the most popular bagel orders is cream cheese and jelly.

Oh, in terms of the topic title, I'm not accustomed to using the term "schmear" to refer to anything other than cream cheese. Where I'm from, a "bagel with a schmear" is a bagel spread with a modest amount of cream cheese.

[merstar]

Toasted sesame bagel with cream cheese, sliced Campari tomatoes, and sliced red onion.

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Out of season, in my opinion the best-tasting widely available tomatoes are so-called grape tomatoes from, for example, Splendido. The drawback is that it's kind of a pain to manage several of those little tomatoes onto a sandwich. But if you don't mind the labor and you have a good paring knife, you can take six of those little tomatoes, trim each so it has two flat sides the long way, then cut each in half also the long way, and you'll have twelve flat slices that will stay put in a substrate of cream cheese.

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Love grape tomatoes - yes, they're a pain to use on sandwiches, so thanks for the slicing tip!

[BeeZee]

Agree that a fresh bagel with cream cheese and sweet tomato slices is sublime...and I do slice the little grape tomatoes crosswise and arrange on top so each bite has a tomato!

Steven, swiss cheese w/butter was one of my late grandfather's favorites (although I think he put it on rye bread). I also enjoy cream cheese w/preserves on my bagel (breakfast only).

One of my favorites is getting a really fresh bagel which is very slightly warm in the middle when you cut into it, and smearing a thick layer of sweet butter, so that your teeth leave marks in the butter when you take a bite! Better done at home, the butter at the bagel shop is too soft and melts into the surface (if they even use "real" butter).

[budrichard]

I've been shlepping around deli's since the 1950's. The best were on Long Island with large cases full of many different types of cream cheese.

At the present time, I order from Russ & Daughters, period. I can't get passable deli in the Mid West and certainly not in Chicago. Deli from Russ & Daughters is like Deli 50 years ago. The bagels are outstanding, the house cream cheeses to die for, the pickles, either sharp or half sharp, excellent and the selection of smoked salmon and lox is outstanding including old fashioned 'Belly Lox'.

The proper toppings are in order, toasted bagel, cream cheese, lox, tomatoe, then sweet onion. There is no variation allowed, I'm sure it is written somewhere on some tablet.-Dick

Edited December 21, 2006 by budrichard (log)