The counterman's Expos cap wasn't only for show: An order of "one black, one white" duly scored two bagels ($1.50 each), one poppy, one sesame. Compared with most of their New York kin, bagels made in the Montreal style are crispier, a touch sweeter, and tend to have less heft and more hole. (Black Seed's are rolled by hand; your bagels may vary.) Next time I'll try one with toppings, but the mark of good bagels like these is that you can enjoy them unadorned.
Black Seed Bagels
170 Elizabeth St. (Spring-Kenmare Sts.), Manhattan
212-730-1950
www.Facebook.com/BlackSeedBagelsNYC
