Bagels, Etc. - Bagelry and Breakfast-Lunch Counter on P Street in West Dupont

[DonRocks]

Okay, this is one of those mornings where I *have to have a bagel*.

Don't ask my why; I just do.

Bullfrog Bagels is closed on Monday (and yes I *would* have driven to H Street to get one).

I've heard good things about Bagels, Etc. on P Street in West Dupont. Can anyone vouch for them?

[Rieux]

Yes. This semi-New Yorker loves them.

[DonRocks]

Yes. This semi-New Yorker loves them.

I agree, Rieux, they were very good bagels.

I can't say I loved them because when it comes to bagels, "love" is an extremely strong word; I will say, however, that I liked them a lot, and that I'm surprised I'd never tried Bagels, Etc. before - it's because it looks like a little corner dump. How long has it been there? It looks well-worn.

And, in fact, it *is* a little corner dump, manned (or womanned) by two upper-middle-aged Asian females. Bagels ... Etc. (they use an ellipse on their sign rather than a comma) could be your typical Korean-owned dive lunch counter (and, in fact, it may well be).

But the bagels were really pretty very good - I got two Sesame Bagels with Cream Cheese, lightly toasted, and a large Diet Coke, handed them my Visa only to be politely rebuffed (it's cash only, which in this day and age is nothing more to me than a red flag), and my order was ready within a couple of minutes. I was warned about the size of the large soda (it's big - probably one quart), but I just save it for later in the day, and it's my one vice, so.

I'm skeptical about whether or not these bagels are made in-house - where would they make them? There were perhaps a dozen different varieties, and your typical breakfast-lunch flat-top grill behind the counter - there was a room off to the side which I suppose could contain a bagel boiler, or whatever they use, but I suspect these are made elsewhere. The question is: where?

These are not destination bagels, but they are worth getting if you're in the Dupont Circle area, and they're not merely a waste of calories, as most bagels are - toothsome (yes, that word is so trite that it's hip when used properly), fresh, and with that slight, barely detectable sourness that all great bagels should have - these had a good recipe and were well-executed.

So instead of going in the Rolls with Holes category, Bagels, Etc. merits a slight nod of respect. Anyone else concur? Disagree?

[Rieux]

Yeah, love was a strong word.  I should say that I "love" them because they are the closest thing to a decent bagel that you can get at a corner shop in NW.  Still, whenever I go home to the CT suburbs of NYC I bring back a dozen local bagels.  They are just better.  Also, can I just say that there is a major lack of good scallion cream cheese in most bagel shops in DC too.

That said, the Santa Cruz bagel I had at Tryst on Saturday (a bullfrog poppy bagel with cream cheese, parley, chives, sage, and cilantro) was also good.

[turbogrrl]

I've been getting their bialy sandwiches and homemade bagel chips for... 12 years now? (uh, maybe 14. eeek.) same folks. Yeah, the bialy's aren't authentic, either, but man they make a satisfying sandwich. If I go in I'll ask where they're made. I suspect that they make them themselves, just off-site.