The national food magazine Bon Appetit has named two coastal Maine bagel shops to its best in the United States list — outside of New York — and these bagels defy categorization.
But sorry, Bangor, Bagel Central didn’t make the cut. Nor did the creative, new Sand Hill Bagels in Augusta or the delightful boiled and brick oven-cooked bagels at Forage in Lewiston and Portland.
No, if you want to bite into one of the best bagels in the United States, you’ll want to head to Rose Foods in Portland or Rover Bagel in Biddeford, according to the magazine.
Published Tuesday online, the list included 24 bagel shops in 16 states. Only three were located in New England. In addition to the two in Maine, Bagelsaurus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, made the cut, too, in case you were looking for another top bagel to try.
And while both the New York bagel and the Montreal bagel are in a class all their own, these bagels all are a little different — taking some inspiration from those notable regional bagels but giving a fresh take, according to the magazine.
“You’ll find that some of these bagels do take inspiration from stalwarts like New York and Montreal, but mostly, they defy neat categorization. That’s part of what makes them so great,” Bon Appetit said in the story.
At Rose Foods, located at 428 Forest Ave., which was opened in 2017 by Chad Conley, it’s the unique yeast-sourdough combination that’s boiled in a lye solution like pretzels and is built for sandwiches that helps the bagels stand apart.
“The resulting bagel has a plushy and accommodating crumb for ample toppings, and a glossy crust that has a nice yield to it — while still tender enough to avoid sloppy bagel sandwich side-spill,” the magazine said.
Biddeford’s Rover Bagel, located in the Pepperell Mill development, offers takeout only from the 10 West Point Lane, Suite 10-204 location. It was opened in 2021 by Kim and Alec Rutter.
“The bagels here are wood-fired and combine the best of both worlds: the pleasant chew of a New York-style bagel, and the outer char and crunch of those favored in Montreal,” the Bon Appetit story said.
Have you tried these bagels? What do you think? Are they among the best in the nation outside New York?