New York Bagel N Bakery: Where Love Has a Taste, and a Home
While everyone's going social-media crazy in front of the big bagel over there, everyday people are making a side trip to this small mom 'n pop oasis way off-Strip
New York Bagel N Bakery was never supposed to happen. But serendipity stepped in and said, Hold on a minute…
My husband Ed and I planned our Vegas foodie itinerary for months, based mostly on the recommendations of many YouTube food and travel influencers we routinely watch, including Bill and Lisa, Gareth Eats, SayHiToMatthew, and Josh and Rachael.
They all clamored over Siegel’s Bagelmania, slightly northeast of the Strip on 252 Convention Center Dr. It’s such a trendy eatery, there’s a valet for dining and a huge bagel in front of the entrance, usually full of families taking pictures.
That’s where we were headed later in our eight-day trip — after Buddy V.’s Ristorante Sunday Brunch, Mon Ami Gabi’s baguette and crepe breakfast, and Lawry’s The Prime Rib for a lavish celebration of my birthday (Nov. 22/23) and our wedding anniversary (Dec. 1).
Ed looked up other bagel shops on Google, landing at #NYBNB working its magic out of a nondescript strip mall — one of hundreds in Vegas — based on the food descriptions, pictures, and reviews. It looked like the real deal. How would it taste?
We made room for Steven Montesano family’s small, mom ‘n pop bagel and bakery on a Tuesday morning before our Lawry’s prime rib and lobster dinner.
We needn’t have worried one bit.
NYBNB, 840 S. Rancho Dr., Rancho Towne & Country, is very much the real deal. If I closed my eyes, I could swear I was in Babylon, Long Island, not Vegas.
The second I bit into my Everything bagel ‘n lox, I knew we went to the right place. At first glance, especially looking at a few of the pale bagels behind the display case, I wasn’t sure. But the bagel fought back a little, then gave into several lovely layers of scallion cream cheese — not too much, just a schmear — thinly sliced tomato, chopped red onion, and a smattering of capers. Heaven.
It was the perfect bite, inviting many more.
Completely smitten, I ordered a small matzo ball soup, scoring the last bowl — much better than Junior’s at Resorts World Las Vegas, and less salty) — and my husband got his tender, salty, creamy, crunchy BEC (Bacon, Egg, and Cheese on a kaiser roll, bodega-style) on a plain bagel.
Even better.
By the time I finished the last sip of my coffee (cream and sugar added, remember, it’s NY style), chatted with owner Montesano about his current business (he once ran an Italian restaurant, “Our spaghetti and meatballs and pizza were great!”), and left a glowing Google review, I wasn’t sure I even wanted to go anywhere else, least of all Bagelmania.
But Ed insisted we try it the day before we leave, just to compare. Who knows, it may be better, or just as good.
Guess what? He was wrong.
NYBNB set such a high bar, Bagelmania didn’t stand a chance.
Their bagel ‘n lox? No comparison. The slightly toasted Everything bagel tasted stale, dry, and tough to chew. Their display case showed off textbook golden bagels, but their beauty was only skin — or dough — deep.
Bagelmania is a Times Square tourist destination, big, bold, flashy, and impressive, perhaps over-hyped.
New York Bagel N Bakery, on the other hand, was more our style, low-key, heart-felt, and real…it didn’t need to brag, the food did all the talking.
It felt like a beloved neighborhood hang, it felt like home.
For these two ex-pats (I lived in N.J., Ed’s from Long Island), that means a lot.
Of course we came back. The proprietor remembered us both and thanked me personally for my positive review, after spotting us waiting in line. He does that a lot on his social media, both Instagram and Facebook; his customers are the magic ingredient, he’s fond of saying.
Ed bought his favorite Italian cookies, threw in a giant Linzer (their bakery is just as awesome), and two toasted, scallion-schmeared Everything and Sesame bagels for the road, along with two bags of our NY dozen — the best souvenir for two diehard foodies.
As soon as we made the nine-hour drive back to Idaho, we made sure to slice those babies in half before freezing, just as we were instructed. Every time we eat one, we’ll remember #NYBNB — and Vegas — fondly.
If Ed and I lived anywhere close, we’d make a regular habit of coming in every morning for a bagel ‘n schmear, conversation, and community.
Y’know, that wouldn’t be so bad…
