"Ess-a-Bagel was established in 1976 by Florence and Gene Wilpon and Florence's brother Aaron Wenzelberg. Coming from an Austrian baking family, the art of baking or crafting the perfect bagel came naturally to them. Within two years of opening, Ess-a-Bagel was voted #1 in the Tri-State area, and had attracted a loyal following," reads the website.



The restaurant offers fresh hand-rolled bagels, coffee, pastries, and more. The bagels are the star, though. They are baked fresh daily with no artificial flavors or preservatives.



Big options include plain, poppy, garlic, multigrain, everything, pumpernickel, onion, sesame, salt, cinnamon raisin, whole wheat and whole wheat everything.



Flavored cream cheeses include: Scallion, Vegetable, Herb, Everything Herb, Jalapeno, Olive, Sun Dried Tomato, Avocado Garlic, Raisin Walnut, Banana Nut, Apple Cinnamon, Blueberry, Strawberry, Peach, Chocolate Chip, Red Velvet, Oreo, Rainbow Cookie and Lox Cream Cheese.



There are a number of specialty sandwiches available, and you can choose your bagel. Everything from a lox bagel to a Reuben to chicken parmesan.



I kept it fresh with a BLTA - or bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado. I had scallion cream cheese on an onion bagel.



This was like the fresh familiarity of a BLT, but with some added flavor punch of the onion, garlic and cream cheese. I could've done with less lettuce because it waters things down a bit for me. But very tasty overall.



Grade: A

The Lox Bagel Shop in Columbus, Ohio, hand-rolls, boils and then bakes their bagels - which has helped them earn spots on lists such as: Bon Appétit Magazine's "The Very Best Bagels in the US (yes, outside New York)" and Food & Wine Magazine's "The Best Bagels in America."



The trendy spot is a bit off the beaten path, but not far. They are known for their hybrid-style bagel - a beautiful blend between nice crunch exterior and soft interior. You can get them as plain, sesame, sea salt and herb, or everything. you can also add a spread or go for a bagel sandwich.



"Our bagels are a cross between a New York and Montreal style, boiled and fired in a live fire oven. We pride ourselves on sourcing the highest quality ingredients as well as sound technique to produce a delicious and enjoyable bagel or bagel sandwich," reads the website.



I had to try their namesake sandwich, the Lox, which has capers, onion, cucumber, and cream cheese. I made mine a sea salt and herb bagel with chive cream cheese.



I loved the sandwich so much. There was a perfect mixture of textures. There was some sweetness from the pickled red onion. There was lots of savory from the herbs and chives. Delicious.



Grade: A

I have found the best bagels outside of NYC. That's because Rosenberg's Bagels in Denver does just about everything it can to replicate the NYC classic right in Denver.



"We only use the highest quality ingredients. Our bacon is heritage-breed pork, processed by Denver’s premier bacon company. We use cage-free eggs that were farmed locally no more than a week before being served. We ‘recreate’ NYC’s water with a machine that we had custom-fabricated, in order to make our bagels as authentic and delicious as possible. And being in a landlocked state, it can be pricey to fly in fresh (never frozen) fish, of which we only use the highest quality and is sustainably sourced and every slice, masterfully hand sliced," reads their website regarding pricing.



I visited their Stanley Marketplace location, which is technically in Aurora, and the first thing I noticed was the smell. There are few things better than fresh baked bread.



I ordered The High Class: Specialty Smoked Fish, Caviar Cream Cheese, Tomato, Red Onion, Choice of Bagel (garlic). Plus a half sour pickle.



It's a little fancier than my standard lox bagel, so that made it a bit more fun. Slightly brinier and with some more interesting texture. Silky, smokey salmon, cream cheese, chewy bagel = it's a beautiful flavor combo.



Grade: A

A bagel bakery is a sight for sore eyes when you are from West Virginia. There aren't many bagel shops in the Mountain State, so I take full advantage of any bagel opportunity while out and about.



Bagel Bakery, a Hollister, CA, bagel shop was fairly nondescript from the outside. But, they do have a variety of bagels and donuts to choose from inside.



I ordered a salmon lox bagel, which comes with smoked salmon, cream cheese, tomato, capers, and red onion. All on a garlic bagel.



This is a flavor combination that I always enjoy, so it was pretty safe. I did enjoy each ingredient. I liked the flavor of the bagel; I wish that it had been a little less crispy. There were some burnt edges that flipped up it kind of created a not-so-great texture and bitterness.



Grade: B

Good bagel shops are few and far between in West Virginia, so I often seek them out while traveling. That's how I discovered Ripple Bagel & Deli.



The shop is known for its steamed bagel sandwiches, and it has a ton of options: 

I love, love, love a good bagel. And the cool college town of Athens, Ohio, had the perfect place for me: Bagel Street Deli.



This shop has an online ordering system, which made it super easy for me to take some time to look over the menu. It is quite extensive. From breakfast bagels and blts to bbq tofu and pizza bagels - there's a little bit of everything.



I opted for their Larry David bagel, which has lox, cream cheese, capers, onions, and tomato all on an onion bagel. After placing my order online, I picked it up at the shop and went on my way - super easy peasy. And the bagel was delicious. Sometimes a lox bagel has way too much cream cheese - or even way too much lox. Or not a good quality lox. This one checked all the boxes with the silky lox, the briney pop of the capers and the creaminess of the cheese all matched perfectly with a touch of sweetness from the onion. All in all, v good.

Grade: A 

Time for more bagels! When in New York, right?

Russ & Daughters is a family-owned shop specializing in high-end smoked fish, caviar and other foods since 1914.

Grab a ticket, get in line and figure out what you're getting. I keep wanting to try all these crazy things - like lox cream cheese - but I love the classic bagel and lox so much I have a hard time.

I once again went for a plain bagel, but this time I got scallion cream cheese, red onion, capers and belly lox. Belly lox is salt cured, which I didn't think much of. The guy making my sandwich asked me if I had had it before, and I said no. He warned me that it was salty. I said no problem, I'm sure it's fine.

After I received my sandwich, I noticed the famed black and white cookies. So, I grabbed one of those, too, before we headed outside to find a bench.

My first bite of my sandwich was good - I love scallion cream cheese. The bagel itself was good, too, and then once I got a mouthful of capers and the belly lox at the same time, and I puckered. It is SO salty.

Like, REALLY salty. I don't have an aversion to salt, but this was super salty. I'm pretty sure I got like a salt burn on the side of my mouth after eating this. My fault. I should have gotten a salmon that wasn't quite as salty - but I just didn't really know what I was getting myself into.

The cookie was good - crumbly, but tasty. And much welcomed after the salty sandwich.

Grade: B

My first morning in NYC had to start off with a bagel and lox (lox is a specific kind of smoked salmon). New York has a thing for bagels, and Murray's is one of the best bagel shops. We set on our way to the Chelsea location to sink our teeth in these delicacies.

Murray's had a line, and we waited for quite some time. I was OK with that, though, because I had to figure out how to order. First things first - they do not toast. These are fresh bagels; don't dare ask for it toasted.

Pick what kind of bagel - plain, garlic, everything, multigrain, onion, poppyseed and many more. Then there's a ton of cream cheese - scallion, sundried tomato, roasted garlic, strawberry, etc. Then, what kind of fish? Nova Scotia, Scottish salmon, belly lox, gravlax, Norwegian salmon. All sorts.



I ultimately decided on a Nova Scotia salmon on a plain bagel with plain cream cheese, capers and red onions. The original seemed like the way to go.

And, wow, this was the best version of a bagel and lox I've ever had. It's a bagel sandwich, and all the flavors together were perfect. I have dreams of recreating this exact sandwich, but I have not been able to find a bagel even near as good - the chew and density cannot be replicated.

Grade: A

Despite the wealth of restaurants Morgantown has to offer, there are a few voids in the culinary scene. A deli would be nice. Maybe a delicious pho place. But the lack of good, homemade bagels is about to be solved.

The West Virginia 00Bagel Company is a home-based operation currently without a storefront, but it can be found at the Bridgeport Farmers Market beginning May 17 and will be at the Health Sciences farmers market, as well. Also, they take Facebook orders and have scheduled pick-ups once a week in Morgantown.



Their Facebook said you pronounce the name as "Double Oh Bagel," and those are zeros - which refer to the flour used. And they boil their bagels, hand crank and hand roll them using a "unique" process they are proud of, according to the Facebook.



I saw a recent post saying to submit orders, and pick them up the next day. So, I was in. They have classic, everything, onion, roasted garlic, sriracha and and chocolate chocolate chip. They're $2 individually or 6 for $10. I put in an order for a garlic, onion and everything. Very simple - Facebook message what you want, and then they'll let you know what time and where they'll be for that week's pickup. I imagine this would get more difficult as they get more popular.

But I went and got cash (anticipating no Square would be available) and headed to the location at Knapp Hall after work. I didn't have much direction, other than they would be parked near the gravel lot. This is a little sketchy, and it's a little awkward. This will put people off. Unless there is a surefire location (like, I will be the car in front of Hodges Hall or I will be the only car right in front of X building), it's a little work for the customer. I ended up messaging her because I just wasn't sure which car she was, and I didn't see any clue. I luckily found her waving to me, handed off my bills and took my three brown paper bags full of bagels.

I had a friend who had some difficulty with having a $20 (you should probably be able to have cash on hand to break a $20 if you're dealing in cash only). So, the location and payment wasn't the smoothest. But, bring small bills and be on the lookout. I think I'm starting to sound like a drug dealer.

Anyway. The everything bagel was yummy - just know that all those little seeds and everything are going to fall straight down your shirt. Worth it. The garlic was good and actually had fresh garlic weaved throughout. The onion was also tasty, with bits of onion throughout. They're pretty dense, but they toast nicely. She even threw in an extra mini bagel! How kind.

So, I really dug my bagels. I'm not sure if you're supposed to refrigerate these? Anyway, ordering three bagels at once for me was a bit too many. I'll have to do less next time so they can remain fresh without me ODing on carbs. There's a whole bagel culture out there that I simply don't subscribe to - ask a New Yorker for the fine details on what constitutes a good bagel. But this is as good as we have here in town. I think with some ironing out with payments/location would help this go far.

Until then, check them out and getchu some bagels.

Grade: B