Brooklyn Bagel opened in September in The Colony, yet another new addition to the thankfully rapidly growing bagel scene in North Texas. It has an interesting pedigree: Owner-operator John Choi’s father has had a bagel shop in the Hudson Valley area of New York on the New Jersey border for over 20 years. Soon after relocating to North Texas the son decided to follow in the father’s footsteps.
Choi first set up shop at the Frisco Farmers Market, but after selling out almost every day for five months he decided to open his own storefront. He landed in The Colony, not too far from the Grandscape, in September. Always on the lookout for good bagels, we stopped by around lunchtime.
The small well-lit space offers breakfast and brunch sandwiches, muffins, several types of bagels and schmears.
Bagels, $2.50 each or a dozen for $24, come in plain, sesame, cinnamon raisin, everything, egg, egg everything, onion, and flavors of the day such as blueberry.
Cream cheese varieties available include savory varieties such as plain, lox, jalapeño, pesto, salami and scallion, as well as sweet schmears like honey mango cranberry, lemon dill and apple cinnamon.
We arrived a bit late in the day after lunch and several bagels were already sold out, but we ordered a savory (sesame bagel with jalapeño spread) and a sweet (blueberry bagel with honey and walnut schmear). Both were good, with that desirable chewy and soft combo that the legit bagels should always achieve from the boil-and-bake process.
The sweet bagel was not overly so, with just a bit more than a hint of blueberry. The spreads worked, too, providing the expected flavor profile without being overpowering.
We also ordered a couple of sandwiches: a bacon egg and cheese breakfast sandwich, and a Williamsburg brunch sandwich. The bacon egg and cheese on a sesame bagel was a nod to that bodega standby so popular in NYC and priced accordingly at around $6. It hit the spot.
This is Brooklyn Bagel, after all, so the brunch sandwiches all are named after iconic neighborhoods found in that borough: Dumbo, Flatbush, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst and Bushwick. Being a huge fan of The Honeymooners and Jackie Gleason, we almost went with the Bensonhurst (mortadella, pesto, tomato, mozzarella and arugula) but instead gave in to a lox craving and went with the Williamsburg on poppy seed.
This comes with 2.2 ounces of Nova lox, lemon-dill schmear, avocado, red onion, tomato, cucumber and capers. Really good, very fresh and a bit challenging to eat as most bagel sandwiches are, what with all the fillings and toppings oozing out whenever you take a bite. But that’s what a fork is for.
Choi offers muffins on the weekends and offered us a sample of the banana nut muffin that would be available the next day. Like the schmears and blueberry bagel, it was also understated, the banana flavor not overpowering, the sweetness tamed a bit, which is something we prefer.
We’re glad to be living during a bagel renaissance in the Dallas area, where our choice of these wonderful torus-baked goodies are not just available from the freezer section of Kroger or a major corporate chain like Einstein’s. Rather, they're lovingly produced by people who seem to take the art of the bagel seriously, whether or not they can claim a lineage from New York.
Choi first set up shop at the Frisco Farmers Market, but after selling out almost every day for five months he decided to open his own storefront. He landed in The Colony, not too far from the Grandscape, in September. Always on the lookout for good bagels, we stopped by around lunchtime.
John Choi grew up in his father's bagel shop in New York and has followed in his footsteps with Brooklyn Bagel in The Colony.
Hank Vaughn
Bagels, $2.50 each or a dozen for $24, come in plain, sesame, cinnamon raisin, everything, egg, egg everything, onion, and flavors of the day such as blueberry.
Cream cheese varieties available include savory varieties such as plain, lox, jalapeño, pesto, salami and scallion, as well as sweet schmears like honey mango cranberry, lemon dill and apple cinnamon.
We arrived a bit late in the day after lunch and several bagels were already sold out, but we ordered a savory (sesame bagel with jalapeño spread) and a sweet (blueberry bagel with honey and walnut schmear). Both were good, with that desirable chewy and soft combo that the legit bagels should always achieve from the boil-and-bake process.
The sweet bagel was not overly so, with just a bit more than a hint of blueberry. The spreads worked, too, providing the expected flavor profile without being overpowering.
We also ordered a couple of sandwiches: a bacon egg and cheese breakfast sandwich, and a Williamsburg brunch sandwich. The bacon egg and cheese on a sesame bagel was a nod to that bodega standby so popular in NYC and priced accordingly at around $6. It hit the spot.
This is Brooklyn Bagel, after all, so the brunch sandwiches all are named after iconic neighborhoods found in that borough: Dumbo, Flatbush, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst and Bushwick. Being a huge fan of The Honeymooners and Jackie Gleason, we almost went with the Bensonhurst (mortadella, pesto, tomato, mozzarella and arugula) but instead gave in to a lox craving and went with the Williamsburg on poppy seed.
This comes with 2.2 ounces of Nova lox, lemon-dill schmear, avocado, red onion, tomato, cucumber and capers. Really good, very fresh and a bit challenging to eat as most bagel sandwiches are, what with all the fillings and toppings oozing out whenever you take a bite. But that’s what a fork is for.
Choi offers muffins on the weekends and offered us a sample of the banana nut muffin that would be available the next day. Like the schmears and blueberry bagel, it was also understated, the banana flavor not overpowering, the sweetness tamed a bit, which is something we prefer.
We’re glad to be living during a bagel renaissance in the Dallas area, where our choice of these wonderful torus-baked goodies are not just available from the freezer section of Kroger or a major corporate chain like Einstein’s. Rather, they're lovingly produced by people who seem to take the art of the bagel seriously, whether or not they can claim a lineage from New York.
Brooklyn Bagel, 4940 Texas Highway 121, The Colony. Daily, 6 a.m. – 2 p.m.
