I have no intention of returning to the NYC / northeast NJ area for a good bagel, but I sure do miss them.

It's hard enough to find a bagel, but when was the last time you had a bialy? I have to reach back to the 1990s for my last one. Even Tony Soprano appreciated them.

No wonder the country is going straight to hell.

I feel your pain. It's hard to find decent fried clams outside of New England.

And hard to find decent pork barbecue above the Mason-Dixon line & west of the Mississippi. (and barbequeing does not mean cooking outside on a grill)

Bagel, pizza, cheese steak. It's almost be worth visiting NJ 1 more time.

Dennis at Blazing Bagels here in the Seattle area does a good job. Probably the best in the area since Brenner Brothers Bakery closed.

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:
I feel your pain. It's hard to find decent fried clams outside of New England.

There was a really good little mom and pop fish place just south of Cocoa Beach in the Space Coast area of Central Florida. The Cape Codder. I think it was owned by folks from Massachusetts.

Unfortunately, the building was sold maybe six months ago, they lost their lease, and have not reopened in another location.

Good bagels are no problem here-abouts. We've a nearby city, named Oak Park, that is known by a great many as "Little Israel" Lived there for a while.

Just how Jewish is it? Completion of a big east-west freeway, I-696, was held up for ten years in part due to concerns by the Orthodox Jewish community in Oak Park. (It was planned to run right through the middle of their community.)

quote:

Originally posted by Anush:
And hard to find decent pork barbecue above the Mason-Dixon line & west of the Mississippi. (and barbequeing does not mean cooking outside on a grill)

Word up! Good hushpuppies and good sausage gravy are, likewise, difficult to find up here. (I've tried. Believe me. Over and over again. To repeated, and now, sadly, expected, disappointment.)

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:
I feel your pain. It's hard to find decent fried clams outside of New England.

I'm in New England - it's hard to find decent fried clams outside of Maine.

At the bottom of this page there are links to a recipe for making your own boiled bagels. Likely you can buy genuine Brooklyn water on Amazon.

https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...935/m/7250084524/p/3

There IS no such thing as a decent bagel. That's why God made donuts....

quote:

Originally posted by Anush:
And hard to find decent pork barbecue above the Mason-Dixon line & west of the Mississippi.

Negative, Ghost Rider.

Arkansas is west of the Mississippi, and offers excellent traditional Southern pork barbeque. As does Southeastern Missouri and Northeastern Texas.

Heck, Memphis (one of the Meccas of Southern pork BBQ) is as close to being in Arkansas as it can be, without actually being in Arkansas.

Having never been to New York, I can't really compare, but I really like Noah's Bagels' products.

Throwing this vid in here, since it's about three different bagel places in New York City:
https://youtu.be/rdeQT7KkqM8

There are some (not many) decent bagels here in Houston, but no really good ones.

quote:

Originally posted by MWC:

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:
I feel your pain. It's hard to find decent fried clams outside of New England.

I'm in New England - it's hard to find decent fried clams outside of Maine.

It ain't all THAT easy to find them IN Maine. And we live in the Downeast area which is Clam Central.

We've come to the conclusion that fried clams, steamed clams, lobsters in general and lobster rolls in particular are best when home made.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
There are some (not many) decent bagels here in Houston, but no really good ones.

Just had lunch with my Granddaughter and Grandson-in-law. They're hitting the road April 1st and wending their way to the NorthWest suburbs of Houston. Permanent move for them.

Try finding good fried chicken in Oklahoma! There isn’t much I miss about living in the south but fried chicken was one that I cannot replicate out here.

At least we finally got Boar's Head a few years ago but I still cannot find someone who can make a quality cuban sandwich.

Btw, I never understood pork barbecue, if it wasn’t 'moo'ing before you started cooking how do you get brisket?

Then you aint looking hard enough.

If you can't get a good bagel outside NY, then Russ & Daughter's is the next best thing:

https://russanddaughters.goldb...m/18787-dozen-bagels

I got my Mom the New York Brunch package for her birthday last year:

https://russanddaughters.goldb...8810-new-york-brunch

Good stuff!

quote:

Originally posted by DrewR:
Btw, I never understood pork barbecue, if it wasn’t 'moo'ing before you started cooking how do you get brisket?

Believe it or not, there's excellent BBQ outside of just brisket. (And I love brisket.)

I understand... As a native Texan, I was raised the same way, to believe that BBQ meant brisket and beef ribs. And no sauce. But I soon learned the error of my ways.

These days, I'll take Southern-style pork shoulder and pork ribs over Texas-style brisket and beef ribs. Though some of my Texan relatives think I've gone insane.

I'm still not as much of a fan of wet BBQ, though. Dry rub is the way to go, even with pork. That part of my Texan upbringing, at least, has stuck.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
There are some (not many) decent bagels here in Houston, but no really good ones.

Just had lunch with my Granddaughter and Grandson-in-law. They're hitting the road April 1st and wending their way to the NorthWest suburbs of Houston. Permanent move for them.

You can put them in touch with me if I can do anything for them. I will not be able to help them find a great bagel or fried clams.

Thanks, jhe.

He has friends there that will be putting them up while they get their feet under them.