Flatiron Lunch: The Whitefish and Bagel Hunt Brings Us Out-Of-Bounds
Every Friday we go south of the ML boundaries in search of a delicious lunch. Sometimes it’s Murray Hill south or the Flatiron District, sometimes Gramercy and everything in between- but we just like to call it Flatiron Lunch.
Despite some complaints from FL’ers about this series, well one Fl’er in particular, the series marches on with a famous (but way out-of-bounds) shop and another centrally located. In case my hunt for the perfect whitefish salad bagel sandwich is boring to you, have no fear, this is the penultimate post.
Don’t be mad at me for picking Ess-a-Bagel which is so far away, blame FL’er pigiron who previously commented, “Two articles about whitefish on a bagel in Flatiron and still not a word about Ess-A-Bagel. At this point, the only possible conclusion is that Midtown Lunch is waging a deliberate vendetta against the greatest bagel store on earth.” But really, it was totally worth the trek to Ess-a-Bagel, I mean there is a reason they are often listed with the best. The bagel was outstanding with the right crust on the outside and the right chew on the inside.
I was interested to see that almost all of the “everythings” were on the bottom of the bagel. Perhaps this is their way of distinguishing themselves from others or maybe it is some sort of tradition. But as someone who eats their bagels, open-faced, one quarter at a time (instead of sandwich style), this type of bagel preparation meant certain bites were way better than others. The whitefish salad was outstanding with not too much mayo.
Ess-a-Bagel, 359 1st Avenue corner of East 21st Street, (212) 260-2252
Despite its name, Bagels & Schmear is really riding the line of being a bagel shop and a deli with a cooler of Boars Head, pancakes, burgers and speciality wraps (on the flip side, this also means you can get an egg and cheese on a bagel, a fact I wish I had known when I worked two blocks from here years ago.)
But their menu claims that all the baking done on premises, so that has to count for something.
When I ordered my whitefish salad on bagel ($6.95), I was asked if I wanted tomato or onion on it, which was something Ess-a-Bagel certainly didn’t do. (I’m not sure if this is a sign of an inferior bagel/salad, but it could be a result of many customers adding toppings to enhance the flavor.) The whitefish salad was serviceable, but was overly mayo-ed.
Bagels & Schmear, 114 East 28th Street btwn Park and Lexington Avenue, (212) 725-7873
Posted by Sarah Zilinski at 9:00 am, June 6th, 2014 under Flatiron Lunch.
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To my fellow readers: You’re welcome.
To Sarah: Thank you.
To Ess-a-Bagel: I miss you so much it hurts.
Pigiron