The Great Chicago Bagel Crawl: 10 Bagel Shops Put to the Test

I have eaten bagels all my life. When I was young, eating a bagel accompanied certain holidays and places. A cinnamon raisin bagel was just a simple treat. If it came from anywhere other than the grocery store, it was even more delicious. There seems to be a bagel rage growing in Chicago. Between mom-and-pop bagel shops all over and new Chicago locations of multi-storefront companies, bagels are raising a lot of dough! How can they all prosper? What makes each unique?

After all a bagel is just “a dense, chewy bread roll shaped like a ring.” While bagels originated in 17^th century Poland, I think it is safe to say most people forget about the Poland connection. Instead, the emphasis is the desired crust and crumb with two main regional variations existing, sort of like pizza in Chicago, only fewer.

New York

These bagels can be boiled in water containing malt to produce a chewy interior and shiny blistered crust. Other times, the dough uses malt and is cold fermented before boiling in salt water and baking.

Montreal Bagels

These bagels are smaller, thinner and denser with a wide hole. The dough contains eggs and malt. The bagels are boiled in honey water and then baked in a wood-fired oven. The crust is thin and crispy from the wood firing. The interior is soft and dry.

I visited 10 bagel shops in and around the Chicago area and am sharing my thoughts on a basic bagel. To keep this simple, I opted for more traditional flavors, untoasted and unschmeared. While 10 might seem like a good amount, others that remain on my list include Zeitlins, Irene’s, Holy Bagel Co, Gotham Bagels, and The Bagelers. In alphabetical order, here are my first 10. The price listed is for one single bagel.

Bagel Miller

Just doors away from The Chopping Block, this lively and fun-looking spot serves more than just bagels, including some bagel sandwiches that sound delicious. Of course, that was not my motive when I went (I digress). Their bagels are crusty and chewy with a dense texture. My visit around 2pm suggested a profitable day as the traditional flavors were nearly absent. $3

Bro Bagel

Bro Bagel is a tiny shop in the Wicker Park neighborhood. They boil their bagels before baking them on redwood planks and finishing them on the hearth of their bagel oven. Their bagels had a nice crust and a good chew. The everything bagel was ripe with caraway seeds. The shop is somewhat dark and small, suggesting a “grab and go” establishment. $3.50

Call Your Mother

This deli around the corner from Bro Bagel is relativity new to Chicago, but has roots in Washington D.C. The bagel had a slightly chewy outside and a soft bready inside. The shop is bright and cheerful providing a relaxed atmosphere from which you might choose to "call your mother.” $2.75

Lefty’s Righteous Bagels

Lefty’s Bagels in south Evanston offers customers Montreal-style bagels in a variety of enticing flavors including a “bagel of the month” and schmear pairing. The bagels have a chewy outside and soft inside. The café is open, welcoming, and friendly. They don’t want you to “grab and go.”
$3.25

Pop-Up Bagels

This shop is also new to Chicago with other locations all over the country. They offer only whole bagels that you are supposed to “grip, rip, and dip” into cream cheese. Customers must purchase bagels in groups of three. Desiring mine without cream cheese, I was able to get a 4^th instead of the tub of cream cheese. This appeased me because the “buy 3” requirement was a slight turn-off until I tried the bagel. The bagel had a chewy crispy crust and a soft crumb highlighted by the fact that it was warm. It was good, and the other 3 bagels kept well two days later. Pop-Up Bagels offers 5 simple flavors (plain, salt, everything, sesame, poppyseed), making decisions easy. 3 bagels/$15 (in my case- 4 bagels/$15)

Once Upon a Bagel

These are the bagels I grew up eating. It was a treat when my mom brought home a baker’s dozen offered at half-price after 4pm. They do more than bagels at each location in many North Shore suburbs. I made a trip to the Hubbard Woods location to refresh my memory. Compared to the rest, Once Upon A Bagel bagels are the smallest and the cheapest. Their bagels have a soft crust and inside making them a fun alternative to bread. They have a fun variety of bagel flavors, spreads, and other menu items to please those needing a full meal. $1.29

R & A Sourdough

Nearly walking distance from The Chopping Block, this place had been on my list to check out for a while. They offer a nice variety of flavors and friendly atmosphere. I went around 1:30pm, just 30 minutes before closing, which impacted their selection. You can taste the sourdough tang, and I enjoyed the chewy crust more than the rosemary sea salt flavor I chose. $3

Steingold’s

Each location (Southport Corridor, Ukrainian Village, and Wrigleyville) has space for sitting down to enjoy the food and neighborhood. Steingold’s bagels date back to the owner’s love for traditional Jewish cuisine. Their options go beyond the usual and even include a four-cheese bagel and a cinnamon maple sugar bagel. The bagel was chewy inside and out with a tight crumb. The everything bagel I had was plentiful in the salt department. $3

Schneider Deli

There is a fun diner-like aesthetic to this place, and their recipes harken back to family recipes and Jewish deli classics. Late in the day on a Friday, you could see the eraser marks on the whiteboard menu showing what was gone. The onion bagel had a tinge of sweetness and a crumb-like challah. The crust was equally soft.
$2.50

Tilly Bagel Shop

The newest Lakeview location was bustling with business when I visited around noon on a Saturday. I paid for it in wait time. I waited outside and inside to order for about 20 minutes. After placing my simple order of 2 bagels, including one with cream cheese, it was another 11 minutes They make a big chewy, “Chicago Style Bagel” using sourdough starter, baked in small batches, that rise overnight in a cool temperature. Then the bagels are boiled, topped, and baked at a high temperature the next morning. The bagels are hefty in size. While the crust was not overly chewy, the interior had a good chew. Tilly’s offers many creative flavors including a “bagel of the week” flavor. $3.50

I will let you determine your favorite, but Lefty’s and Pop-Up rank highest for me. Economically speaking, the best way to enjoy a bagel is by making your own.

Try out Chef Lisa’s Cottage Cheese Bagels, Rainbow Bagels, or take a class like How to Bake Bread to hone your skills with yeast.