Bagels are one of the best foods ever created. They work for breakfast, lunch, a snack, and even dinner. They are customizable, portable, and taste delicious both fresh or toasted.
When it comes to bagels, I am picky, perpetually on a quest to find the right bagel. To figure out which bagels deserve the top spot, I judge them on a few key categories: texture, flavor, price, convenience, and sandwich-ability.
A good bagel needs the right consistency, enough flavor to stand out on its own, and a flavor that pairs well with additions, and the structural integrity for a good sandwich.
Although it is nowhere near a comprehensive list of options, these are four local bagel options from worst to best.
#4. King Soopers Bakery Bagels
First, I am excluding the packaged bagels you can get at any supermarket chain, they are not worth your time. I want to discuss the King Soopers bakery bagels made in store.
All fresh, preservative free bagels will get stale more quickly, but I have found the King Soopers bagels do so even more quickly. My hypothesis is that the bagels are already a couple of days old when you buy them. Overall, they aren’t too bad–a little on the bland side, but cheap and easily accessible. You can get bagels for around a dollar, however that does not include cream cheese. Sometimes the consistency is too doughy, akin to normal bread. They work perfectly as something to pick up on a grocery trip, but there are better options.
#3. Einstein Bros. Bagels
Already moving up from King Sooper’s bagels, Einstein has the advantage of being a dedicated bagel establishment. However, I have found their bagels to always be a little less fresh than expected. The texture is too soft, and lacks the denseness that makes eating bagels satisfying.
Einstein beats grocery store options by a mile. They have a good variety and sandwich options. If you want a breakfast sandwich and you don’t have too much time, it is a great way to get the job done.
A regular Einstein bagel and cream cheese is about $4. 28. Sandwiches are around $7.50-$11.
#2. Costco Bagels
Costco Bagels are underrated. They have inexpensive, fresh bagels–and lots of them. They are easy to freeze, so you can keep some fresh and some for later. The bagels have a density and texture that feel like real, good bagels.
Their greatest advantage is their convenience. Although not number one in quality on my list, Costco frequently is my bagel of choice. It is really easy to inexpensively (around seventy cents per bagel) meal prep a week’s worth of breakfast or lunch bagels.
My personal favorite is a Costco Parmesan bagel with a pesto-ricotta spread, tomatoes, and some Trader Joe’s Everything But The Bagel Seasoning. Nothing beats it.
An 8-pack of Costco bagels sell for $4.99, but you’ll have to buy your own cream cheese or toppings.
#1. Gib’s Bagels
Okay, maybe there is something that beats a Costco bagel: a Gib’s bagel.
Gib’s easily takes the top spot. Their bagels are consistently the freshest, and they have a perfect balance of chewy on the inside and crisp on the outside. They have a wide variety of flavors, and I am yet to find one I don’t enjoy. Their sandwich options are worth ordering, instead of making your own at home.
The only real downside is price and accessibility. Compared to grocery store bagels, Gib’s is more expensive, a single bagel can cost up to a couple of dollars. For bagels, quality matters, and in my opinion it’s worth it.
A regular Gib’s bagel and cream cheese is about $3.99. Gib’s bagel sandwiches are also about $7.00-$11.
