bagels in OKC....

[OUAndy1807]

is there anywhere in OKC area where you can get a decent bagel?

[Mongo]

Panera is usually pretty good

[Sooner_Bob]

Einstein Brothers in Albuquerque pwns Panera.

:D

[Mongo]

Einstein Brothers in Albuquerque pwns Panera.

:D

How would I know? I have never had Einstein Brothers.

[olevetonahill]

This ****ing hillbilly askes whats a bagel ?
Is that kinda like biscuits and gravy

[Rhino]

Didn't every bagel shop ever close down in 1997?

[TopDaugIn2000]

I like Panera's cinnamon crunch bagel


cinnamon.....snicker snicker

[Mongo]

I like Panera's cinnamon crunch bagel


cinnamon.....snicker snicker

Chocolate chip bagel with rasberry cream cheese=scrumptrulescence.

And I agree, Panera's cinnamon rings are excellent.

[King Crimson]

Einstein is not a bagel, it's baked not boiled.

[King Crimson]

Didn't every bagel shop ever close down in 1997?

I wish. give me two pieces of whole wheat toast anyday.

[Rhino]

I remember when New York/Brooklyn/otherNewYorkyname Bagel closed down and reopened about twenty times in Norman.

[King Crimson]

they say it's the water and humidity on the east coast that makes a good bagel.

[8timechamps]

I remember when New York/Brooklyn/otherNewYorkyname Bagel closed down and reopened about twenty times in Norman.

I first moved to Denver to open a franchise with 3 buddies. It was New York Bagel Shop, first started in Stillwater by three guys from NY.

It was the hardest work I've ever done, and I bailed 2 years in. The remaining guys sold it 3 years later for a whopping $5,000 each.

There is actually still one open here in Denver. At one point they had over 200 locations nationwide. I think they now have 1.

[yermom]

is there anywhere in OKC area where you can get a decent bagel?

find a chain, they are usually pretty good ;)

[Jimminy Crimson]

Go to SuperTarget, hope they still have Einstein Bagels from that day.

That's your best bet in the city. Panera's are decent, but don't measure up to Einstein.

That's a chain that we need. Great sammiches.

[Hamhock]

decent bagel = oxy, moron

[OUAndy1807]

so no real bagel places in OKC. wow.

[King Crimson]

so no real bagel places in OKC. wow.

it's like i said, a real bagel is boiled not baked.

Einstein bakes, no boil.

Einstein bagel is a english muffin with a hole in the middle. tasty, but not a real bagel. again, i prefer a couple slices of good whole wheat toast to a bagel...

[Jimminy Crimson]

it's like i said, a real bagel is boiled not baked.

Actually, a 'real' bagel is boiled and then baked. :cool:

[C&CDean]

If I want bagels I usually just pick them up when I'm travelling on the east coast. There's no really good bagels anywhere else.

[OUAndy1807]

Bagelsteins in Dallas used to have some good bagels.

You know what OKC's problem is (when it comes to bagels?):

Not Enough Jews.

[C&CDean]

Bagelsteins in Dallas used to have some good bagels.

You know what OKC's problem is (when it comes to bagels?):

Not Enough Jews.

Not true. The problem is not enough NYC water.

[Oldnslo]

It ain't just the water. Bagels are boiled before baking. Otherwise, as with Panera, you don't have a bagel; you've got a fancy round bread with a hole in the middle.

[OUAndy1807]

Could my prayers have been answered?
Old School' shop follows ‘New York way'

By Sara Ganus
Business Writer

After eight years in Denver, Danny Cowan returned to Oklahoma City in 2003 to get away from waking up in the middle of the night to boil bagels and manage two bagel shops.

For nearly 20 years, he had worked in the once popular New York Bagel shops, beginning in Stillwater as a college student, and went on to franchise two of its stores in Denver. He perfected the New York-style water boiling method but was ready for a change.

He worked as a sales representative and a Realtor in Oklahoma City, but he kept hearing the same thing over and over again.

"Everybody missed the New York Bagel shop, and said I should open one up,” said Cowan, 36. "This is what I know how to do. It's what I've done for 20 years, so I finally gave in and did it.”

How it all started

That's when he contacted Wayne Hansen, 35, and together, the two childhood friends decided to invest in an authentic New York-style bagel shop for Oklahoma City.

Cowan and Hansen opened Old School Bagel Cafe in July at 10946 N May Ave. in Quail Plaza, and business hasn't slowed.

"There's so many people that used to go to the New York Bagels, and (now they say) ‘Thank god, they're back,'” Cowan said. "We've been real impressed with our sales and our business, and it's been a month and a half — no advertising.”

Hansen added: "We've had people that have come in and tried us on the first and second week, and they've been in almost every day.”

Although Old School Bagel Cafe is not affiliated with the old New York Bagel franchise, it certainly has been a source of inspiration. Selling some of its signature bagel sandwiches like the Reuben, various clubs and the pizza bagel, Old School is giving Oklahoma City bagel lovers something to chew on again.

History

At one time, Oklahoma had about a dozen New York-style bagel shops under New York Bagel Enterprises Inc., a company that a couple of college-age New York natives in Stillwater founded. The bagel business did so well it became a publicly traded company in 1996 and opened more than 40 corporate and 30 franchise stores.

But by 2000, it filed for bankruptcy protection and sold. Many stores changed hands, operating under the name Manhattan Bagel, and in the process, many abandoned the painstaking bagel boiling process.

"I just wanted (Old School) to be the same as the New York Bagel, just with a different name, same menu,” Cowan said.

Now he and Hansen arrive at their bagel shop between 3 and 4 a.m. every day to water boil 1,500 to 2,000 bagels before baking them and opening the store.

"That's the way they do them in New York,” Cowan said. "Like Panera and Einstein (Bros. Bagels), they just steam their bagels, so it's just bread. The New Yorkers would understand and appreciate it, whereas Oklahomans, I don't know. They're supposed to be crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside.”

That philosophy has not only shaped Old School's bagels, it's been etched in the store's walls. Walking into the 3,500-square-foot bagel eatery it's hard not to notice the large slogan printed across one of its walls: "No New York in the name ... but the bagels are the same.”

That statement also represents the meaning behind their name.

"It's ‘Old School' because it's the old, real way to make bagels,” Hansen said. "It's really not a bagel if you don't water boil it. ... I don't know anyone else that's water boiling around here.”

‘ Worth all the trouble'

Some may ask whether waking up before dawn is worth the trouble, but customers, like Susie Moock of Edmond, say it makes all the difference in the world.

Moock, who used to frequent Edmond's New York Bagel before it closed around 2000, was introduced to Old School Bagel Cafe by a friend in late August and has since stopped by at least five times, meeting her husband for lunch or taking her daughter after school.

"I'm from California, and we don't have a good bagel place here,” she said. "The bagels are so much better, it's unbelievable. I mean, (Panera)'s the only other place I even know that you can buy a bagel.”

To help create the authentic New York neighborhood bagel deli, Cowan and Hansen also handpicked their deli meats from all the different carriers instead of choosing just one.

"We went with what we thought was the best, and it's really paid off for us because we've got a lot of very picky New Yorkers around here,” Hansen said.

"I was surprised how many New Yorkers live around here ... They're tough to get compliments from too, but we're happy that we're getting some.”

What's Next

Within the next six months, Hansen and Cowan said they hope to expand in the vacant space next door and possibly open a second store in Edmond.

"We just don't want to get too big, too fast,” Cowan said. "Even if it was just this store, if we're making enough money at this store, we'll just keep it simple.”

Old School Bagel Cafe is open from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

"It's ‘Old School' because it's the old, real way to make bagels.”

Wayne Hansen

http://static.newsok.biz/article/3123918/biz-s12theme1__09-12-2007_CJ4K45F.jpg
Old School Bagel Cafe owners Wayne Hansen, left, and Danny Cowan are shown at the cafe, 10946 N May Ave. in Quail Plaza. By Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman

[C&CDean]

You wanna know how I lost almost 40 pounds? Quit eating bagels. Plain bagels are #1 in the "foods to avoid at all costs" lists of healthy eating. I haven't had a bagel since May, and I feel great.

[Hot Rod]

I like Panera's cinnamon crunch bagel


cinnamon.....snicker snicker

Yeah, those are good. My fav is the Asiago Cheese bagel with the Honey Walnut spread.:cool:

[C&CDean]

Yeah, those are good. My fav is the Asiago Cheese bagel with the Honey Walnut spread.:cool:

I sure hope you wash your hands after touching that ****.

[Jimminy Crimson]

Andy, go check 'em out. They're just like 'New York Bagel Shop'.

Been going there since they opened up.

I go at least 4 times a week. :O

[GottaHavePride]

You wanna know how I lost almost 40 pounds? Quit eating bagels. Plain bagels are #1 in the "foods to avoid at all costs" lists of healthy eating. I haven't had a bagel since May, and I feel great.


Andy, go check 'em out. They're just like 'New York Bagel Shop'.

Been going there since they opened up.

I go at least 4 times a week. :O

Dude. I'm totally adding another bet onto the OU/Tulsa stuff.

[GottaHavePride]

Aw. Yeah.

[Jimminy Crimson]

Ha!

[Zbird]

Ingrids Bakery on NW 36th. Decent Deustch food as well.

[OUAndy1807]

Ingrids Bakery on NW 36th. Decent Deustch food as well.
I love Ingrids, but do they have REAL bagels?