The line to my wife, Berkley, when she said she wanted to get bagels this morning was, "a bagel is just a bagel lets get something interesting instead". Needless to say I'm officially a convert. We went to Tal Bagel on 1st ave near 55th St in Manhattan. I ordered the Salt Bagel with scallion cream cheese and lox, with an iced coffee to help with the 100 degree heat. The outside of the bagel was crisp and the inside was pillowy but had a really toothsome bite. The salt on the top in retrospect was a little to salty, but at the time I was loving every bite. I'd go back to New York just to get another one of these.
