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Georgetown Bagelry, Mary Beall Adler's Authentic Bagel Shop on River Road in South Bethesda


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In business more than 30 years, Georgetown Bagelry is the best bagel provider in the greater DC area imho. They boil, which eliminates most of the chains and others around from real competition. Beyond that, the flour, technique and ingredients they use all reflect a business serious about creating a high quality, authentic product. Finally, Georgetown Bagelry (though not in Georgetown) is a small local business with good people and values. They deserve lots and lots of support.

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I guess I'm a purist on this one. Bagels are truly one of those things that I just do without if I can't get good ones. Georgetown Bagelry on River Road are the only ones I've found in our area that I think get close to what bagels are supposed to be. And, wow, don't think we have a topic for them either!

Georgetown Bagelry is my favorite (with full disclosure that i worked there one summer years ago when it was actually in Georgetown). I drop in two or three times a month. A close second is Capital Bagel Bakery at 3610 King Street, Alexandria, VA. Give them a try. Bruegger's; not so much.

Finally, Georgetown Bagelry (though not in Georgetown) is a small local business with good people and values. They deserve lots and lots of support.

It used to be in Georgetown. In the current Tackle Box space. (Full Dislcosure: I worked here <and the Bayou, and one other job> for one glorious summer years ago when it was actually in Georgetown. This was back in the early 1980s.) It was opened originally by Erik Koefoed <no longer the owner>, who I believe currently now runs Palisades Pizzeria and Clam Bar. As I recall, he used to work in a bagelry in Ithaca, NY, and brought the recipe to DC. We opened at 6am (they still do), and that made us tuff. The first real bagelry in DC proper. And yes, they deserve support.

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And yes, they deserve support, and are being initiated in Italic in the Dining Guide, making them and Goldberg's the only bagel bakeries that are (I tell you though, some other cases could be made, e.g., The Bagelry).

If you find yourself in the area try, Capital Bagel Bakery. 3610 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22302. Not a destination; but a mighty fine bagel.

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[if I could split the bloody quoted text, your other posts would be in here!]

And yes, they deserve support, and are being initiated in Italic in the Dining Guide, making them and Goldberg's the only bagel bakeries that are (I tell you though, some other cases could be made, e.g., The Bagelry).

Hey, this is donrockwell.com. If there are other good cases to make, we make 'em. Don't we?

But best on a bagel thread (which we kind of already have here but not really) versus on a specific named bagel shop topic? Sort of like the milkshake and other named 'type-of-food' threads?

Also, I'm a bit intrigued by The Bagelry and Capital Bagel suggestions made. I haven't tried either. But I'd ask this: do either of those shops boil the bagels? Do the respective advocates know? This purist believes any place that doesn't isn't so much worth trying. It's like a quality and expensive espresso machine in a coffee shop. If they don't make that investment, they're almost certainly not serious enough about the product's quality to do it well.

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Hey, this is donrockwell.com. If there are other good cases to make, we make 'em. Don't we?

But best on a bagel thread (which we kind of already have here but not really) versus on a specific named bagel shop topic? Sort of like the milkshake and other named 'type-of-food' threads?

No, that's the way Pho used to be, until I started splitting posts which talked *only* about individual restaurants, into individual restaurant threads. Posts that compare more than one can go into the Pho (or Bagels) thread. (To me, and my database-oriented mind, that's a very logical way of dividing things, especially if there are pointers to the posts which have been split off so we don't lose continuity of conversation. As an example, I went ahead and put the split-off posts into the very first post in the Pho thread here - even though it was shogun's post, I infiltrated it with my own edit for the greater good.) :)

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I'm intrigued. I think we'll have to check it out after Sunday School tomorrow and before we go to the farmers market in Bethesda. Is there seating?

Yes but it's limited. Maybe table seating for 6-8 people along with a 4-6 seat counter. On days like today (you know, the balmy 70s like we often have in mid January - huh?), sitting outside at one of the few tables there is fun. Decent cream cheese and smoked salmon. Disappointing Tropicana "Pure Premium" OJ but I won't get started on the evils of mass market American OJ.* :ph34r:

* This is an eye-opening book if at all interested in the OJ reference. I've read it and it really made me think differently about OJ. Anyone who cares about exploited workers and chemistry experiments posing as food should find it pretty interesting.

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For people at the level of our readership, i.e., highly educated, concerned about the origins of their food, etc., this is must-reading. I always had a "gut feeling" that Tropicana Frozen orange juice was somehow better than Tropicana Pure Premium Fresh-Squeezed orange juice, even before I figured out about the ultra-pasteurization issue and the long-term storage. I could just taste something was "thick and muted" with the Pure Premium brand, and never did like it. The marketing didn't fool me for a second, and I was young and naive enough not even to disbelieve in marketing at the time.

Absolutely. Like many others here on DR.com, I've read a lot of food books. This one was especially eye-opening more than most. You wouldn't believe how the American OJ industry has evolved over time, why it has become what it has and what exactly it is that you're drinking when you open a carton. That said, there's no real danger to drinking Tropicana. Just outrageous what industry (and the FDA, which has been egregiously complicit) is doing.

One other along the same line which I'd also strongly recommend about tomatoes. OMG x 100. This one is probably better known than the OJ book since the author was much more heavily promoted on NPR and elsewhere when it came out last year.

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We often get bagels here since it so close and are always pleased with the quality. Also, make some great egg sandwiches. Just wish they would work on their coffee - it is not good. The staff are great and have been there for years.

I get a Miami Burger here at least twice a month. Ask for capers.

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We arrived around 10:45. There was a moderately long line, some empty seats at the bar seating by the window and two unbussed tables as well. The line moved slowly but I'm suspicious of bagel places where the line moves quickly. I'm also a little suspicious of a bagel places where the staff isn't giving the guests a little bit of a hard time because they've known them for 20+ years. There was none of that at Georgetown Bagelery today.

We had one onion bagel (toasted twice) with veggie cream cheese for the boy and an onion bagel with whitefish for me (toasted only once...) It took four tries to convince them I wanted onion with whitefish instead of onion with light veggie and it was only when I paid and said that the whitefish bagel should be more than my total did the server finally get it. (I don't mumble, it wasn't loud, he did joke about needing more coffee...)

The bagels were quite good. I didn't ask the boy if it was better than Neal's as that was a sore subject as he had agitated for a trip there at 6 am with Mr. BLB. Mr. BLB declined without knowing of my plans so it worked out well. I thought it was on par with Neal's.

We agreed it was a nice treat after Sunday School and one we would try again but not every week. Total for the two bagels, no drinks, was $10.40.

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We arrived around 10:45. There was a moderately long line, some empty seats at the bar seating by the window and two unbussed tables as well. The line moved slowly but I'm suspicious of bagel places where the line moves quickly. I'm also a little suspicious of a bagel places where the staff isn't giving the guests a little bit of a hard time because they've known them for 20+ years. There was none of that at Georgetown Bagelery today.

We had one onion bagel (toasted twice) with veggie cream cheese for the boy and an onion bagel with whitefish for me (toasted only once...) It took four tries to convince them I wanted onion with whitefish instead of onion with light veggie and it was only when I paid and said that the whitefish bagel should be more than my total did the server finally get it. (I don't mumble, it wasn't loud, he did joke about needing more coffee...)

The bagels were quite good. I didn't ask the boy if it was better than Neal's as that was a sore subject as he had agitated for a trip there at 6 am with Mr. BLB. Mr. BLB declined without knowing of my plans so it worked out well. I thought it was on par with Neal's.

We agreed it was a nice treat after Sunday School and one we would try again but not every week. Total for the two bagels, no drinks, was $10.40.

Thanks much for this report, BLB! Couple of quick thoughts in response. Ridiculous bagel purists would probably encourage trying a bagel without toasting since the heat and char effects the chew, texture and flavor to some degree. I realize that doesn't freakin' matter though--given the "law" to which most of us subscribe: eat and drink what you bloody like! :D. As for the coffee, I have no opinion on that because I never order coffee there. As Joel (Qualia) and others have written on other threads, most restaurants or more narrowly focused food purveyors (like a bagel shop) serve bad coffee because they can't be bothered or don't think their customers know the difference or would reward them more for the extra investment they'd have to make.

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8 minutes ago, DaveO said:

BTW:  When recently discussing local bagel quality one of the participants, a Northern Virginia resident, who lives very close to Chain Bridge Road and has great access to Upper Northwest DC and Montgomery County was simply horrified by the idea of accessing Bethesda Bagels vs Northern Va alternatives.   Such are the weights applied to making "bagel trips".   I generally concur.

I find the Georgetown Bagelry is worth the drive from Arlington - either by car via Chain Bridge and Dalecarlia Pkwy to River Road or by bicycle across Key Bridge and up the Capital Crescent Trail to River Road.

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