Lubbies Bagels Offers Fresh Bagels and Schmears in East Dallas

20 Feet Seafood Joint may be no more, but the space in East Dallas has been taken over by the newest entry into the suddenly burgeoning bagel scene in Dallas, Lubbies Bagels. The brainchild of sisters Andrea and Jen Lubkin, this small shop had its soft opening on Aug. 2 with limited hours and a limited menu. Right now it's bagels, schmears and coffee, but plans are underway to expand the menu.
The Lubbies logo greets you upon arrival, a sort of hypnotic eye that appears to have a bagel as an iris. It’s a small space, uncluttered and bright, with a couple of tables outside and just a few more inside, which is fine. No one has time to eat a half-dozen bagels on-site, anyway, but if you did want to relax on a clement morning sipping a cup of joe while nibbling on a schmeared-up freshly baked bagel, well, you do have that option.
During the soft opening, there were several varieties of bagels, either singly, or by the half or baker’s dozen. Types include plain, sesame seed, everything, sun-dried tomato, garlic, onion, whole wheat, cinnamon raisin, poppy seed, pumpernickel and salt. Maybe one day they’ll add egg. Schmears, made in-house with cream cheese, are available in 4-ounce servings in flavors such as scallion, blueberry swirl, pimento cheese and jalapeño cheddar. Schmears, at $5 each, are a bit steep, but they are quite good and fresh.

The day we visited, bagel dogs were available at $9 each, so we grabbed one. The dog was more of a spicy sausage, a klobasnek by any other name, but wrapped in everything bagel dough. It had a lot more kick to it than we were expecting, and though perhaps a bit more expensive than the usual klobasnek, it was also much larger.


You get a half-dozen bagels for $15, so we went with six different varieties as well as a side of both blueberry swirl and scallion schmears. You can have them whole or sliced, toasted or not, and everyone has an opinion of the proper way to have them prepared. New York traditionalists eschew the toasting, tut-tutting about who knows what and usually getting overly emotional about the importance of the New York water source as well, but who has time for all that? Get them how you want them. Impatience in this case was the deciding factor: we went with untoasted and whole.


All the varieties we sampled were extremely good, and all brought to the table the all-important chew factor: slightly crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside and full of yeasty flavor and toppings that were not overpowering. Most were still warm, which, if Krispy Kreme doughnuts has taught us anything, always goes a long way toward elevating the eating pleasure of baked goods.


Both schmears were extremely good: light, fresh and spreadable while also being substantial and not overpowering. The scallion was not overly oniony, and the blueberry swirl not overly sweet — both deserving of a chef’s kiss.


Lubbies is a welcome addition to the Dallas bagel scene, which includes such spots as Starship Bagel and Shug's, and it's a worthy successor to 20 Feet Seafood. We look forward to whatever else the owners may decide to offer with their expanded menu. But if they just stick to bagels and schmears we’d be satisfied — at least until our next visit to Manhattan.

1160 Peavy Road. Daily, 6:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.; hours may be limited during soft opening.