New York Bagels:

Anthony Bourdain called Russ & Daughters' bagel with cream cheese, nova, and smoked salon the best meal he's ever had in New York. The "appetizer" shop has had a lot of time to achieve perfection: it's been hand-whipping cream cheese, hand-rolling bagels, and hand-selecting smoked salmon for nearly 100 years.

There's no password to remember at Bagel Club. Thankfully, since your brain will be busy deciding between a bagel or its Polish cousin the bialy. Instead of a hole, the bialy has a slight depression, which is filled with sweet or savory ingredients before baking. The choices continue with a lineup of more than a dozen specialty spreads.

The best bagel in New York City by more than one opinion, including those of Serious Eats and Arthur Schwartz, Bagel Hole's crew learned its craft from a baker who started making bagels in Germany in the 1940s. These are small, chewy, and crispy, properly boiled-then-baked—for many, the definition of a classic New York bagel.

H&H Midtown Bagels East refuses to deny any bagel craving, even if it's 3 a.m. or you live 1,000 miles away. Those in the neighborhood can pop in 24/7, and the shop will even overnight their bagels, smoked fish, and spreads across the country to give displaced New Yorkers a taste of home.

New York Magazine called these hand-rolled, kosher bagels "one of the city's best", citing their "flavorful, gnaw-worthy" crusts and "pillow soft" insides. Of course, it helps when you come from a long line of Austrian bakers, as owners––and brother and sister team––Aaron Wenzelberg and Florence Wilpon do.

In addition to the usual flavor suspects, these bakers craft 100% organic spelt-flour bagels, as well as a whole-wheat oat-and-raisin variety. More than a dozen spreads include flavored butters, jelly, and cream cheeses such as baby dill, bacon scallion, and blueberry.