Bagel Bar: New Yorkers will never concede that the kettle-boiled bagels made fresh at this locally owned Durham shop are “NY style,” as advertised, but they’re closer to the mark than the round bread that passes for bagels in much of the Triangle.
Big Dom’s Bagel Shop: Big Dom’s, in Cary, is known for Montreal-style bagels, which are smaller, denser, and slightly sweeter than their New York counterparts. Here, they’re boiled with brown sugar and baked with a schmear of Crisco.
Monuts: With a crisp crust and soft-yet-sturdy structure, the rounds at this Durham donut shop are ideal for breakfast sandwiches. Try the summer-ready heirloom tomato with chevre and basil pesto.
NY Bagel & Deli and NYBD III: Native New Yorkers Bob and Tom Nurrito operate independent locations of NYBD (in Raleigh and Cary, respectively; another brother owns one in NY), but they’re united by a menu of more than two-dozen bagels baked fresh daily.
Weaver Street Market: Weaver Street Market—now in Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough—started making bagels in-house five years ago, aiming for an authentic New York style and delivering on the coveted tender-crumb-to-pleasant-chew ratio.
Related: See “You Don’t Have to Go to New York to Get a Good Bagel.” Contact us at food@indyweek.com.
