There’s something almost spiritual about finding the bagel — the one that’s just the right balance of crispy crust and soft, chewy center. Bagels may seem simple: flour, water, yeast, a dash of salt and maybe a handful of seeds on top.
But in the hands of a master, that dough transforms into something transcendent, something that practically begs for a moment of silence before you take that first glorious bite. A bagel like this is rare. Because, let’s be honest, when it comes to bagels, “close enough” just doesn’t cut it.
A perfect bagel is like a little edible manifesto, and while we can romanticize it all we want, a great bagel is truly hard to get right. There’s more than a bit of heartbreak on the road to finding “the one.” When you finally stumble upon your favorite bagel, the one that just gets you, it’s no exaggeration to say it’s a life-changing experience. Maybe this sounds a little dramatic, but if you know, you know. In the world of bagels, finding the one isn’t just a quiet little victory. It’s a reminder that perfection exists.
Finding a true New York-style bagel around here has been virtually impossible. The iconic New York bagel is known for a thick crust, a compact, dense crumb and a smaller hole in the middle. Many bagel shops follow a long cold fermentation process, sometimes letting the dough rise for up to 24 hours. This enhances the flavor and keeps the interior dense. Unlike most bread, New York bagels are boiled before baking, which creates that chewy crust. They’re often boiled in water mixed with barley malt syrup, which gives a subtle sweetness and helps achieve the glossy exterior.
Since the turn of the century, the only decent bagels in town have come from Far North Dallas and Collin County. Cindi’s NY Deli, Benny’s Bagels and Deli News were the first bagel spots in the whole of North Texas. For the better part of the early 2000s, it seemed like the only new bagel places in town were national chains with bagels that more closely resembled hockey pucks than the one. The bagel boom kicked into high gear in early 2020 with Shug’s Bagels opening near SMU, and it has been a steady stream of openings ever since.
Benny’s Bagels
6911 Frankford Road, Dallas
www.bennys-bagels.com
One of the original bagel joints in Collin County is the only one serving up kosher bagels. Benny’s Bagels offers a taste of old-school, New York-style bagels with a Texas twist. Positioned at the edge of Collin County on Frankford Road, catty-corner to Levine Academy, this long-standing location has been a go-to for local bagel lovers for years. It’s a place where regulars chat with staff and newcomers are greeted with the irresistible aroma of freshly toasted bagels.
The bagels here are made the traditional way: hand-kneaded, boiled and baked fresh daily. They might just be the freshest bagels in the county. Behind the counter, you will see a massive steel cauldron and a hearthstone oven that hasn’t been replicated in decades. You can literally see the bagels being pulled out of the oven and put into a basket for sale. At a time when most small chains bake in a commissary kitchen and deliver their bagels, at Benny’s, you can see the process.
Classic varieties like everything, poppy and cinnamon raisin pair beautifully with a full range of cream cheese flavors, from savory garlic herb to sweet strawberry. But Benny’s isn’t afraid to get creative: their pizza bagel is a cult favorite, bringing together melted cheese and marinara on a chewy, crispy bagel for an unexpectedly satisfying twist. In addition to classic bagels, this Far North neighborhood location has broadened its menu to include kosher lunch sandwiches and even kosher pizzas that pair perfectly with a chocolate babka. Benny’s has become a go-to kosher purveyor in Collin County, but it’s not just about the bagels — it’s about being a part of the community, one bagel at a time.
Starship Bagel
Hillcrest Village, Dallas
www.starshipbagel.com
Oren Salomon grew up in the heart of Far North Dallas and attended Solomon Schechter Academy (now Ann and Nate Levine Academy) in Collin County. Salomon’s ultimate goal was to bring New York-style bagels to North Texas and to elevate them to unprecedented heights with an obsessive attention to detail.
Starship Bagels wasn’t some overnight vision. It started in his home kitchen when he made a few bagels for friends. Those early batches sparked something, but it took time — and a bit of risk — for Salomon to jump from home baker to storefront owner, carving out a unique space for Starship within the North Texas bagel scene. And with sandwiches like the supernova lox and the Millennium Falcon, the space being carved is certainly out there.
Initially, Salomon wasn’t sure about diving into the restaurant world. But his passion overpowered his doubts. The UC Berkley finance grad left his day job and apprenticed at San Francisco’s Boichik Bagels — ranked the top bagel shop by The New York Times — where he learned what it takes to meet high demand with artisanal quality. By the time he was back in North Texas, he was ready. Starship’s first location opened in 2021, sharing space with his dad’s Lewisville restaurant. But word spread fast, and so did Oren’s ambition. Now, with three North Texas locations, national recognition and awards like “Best Bagel — outside NYC” and “Schmear of the Year” for its basil schmear, Starship Bagels has become a force to be reckoned with.
What makes Starship Bagels different? Each bagel goes through a 24-hour fermentation before hitting the boil, giving it that perfect chewy interior and crisp crust. And then, there’s his signature move: “two-sided seeding.” Where most bagel places stop at a single sprinkle of seeds on top, every sesame or poppy seed bagel at Starship is double-sided, packed with flavor from every angle. “No other shop in town does that,” Salomon says. “It’s full coverage — so every bite’s loaded.”
Starship Bagel’s newest location is in the neighborhood where Salomon grew up. The Hillcrest Village shopping center in Far North Dallas was originally intended to be the first location of Starship, but the pandemic changed those plans and made Lewisville the more viable option. Currently, the Lewisville location bakes bagels all day, sending two to three deliveries a day to each auxiliary location. Starship Bagel is quickly bringing North Texas onto the national scene.
Bagelology
252 W. Stonebrook Parkway, Suite 600, Frisco
Luckily for us, the influence of the New York-style bagel scene doesn’t end there. When Ameira Olayan and Fadia Anani, two entrepreneurial moms with busy careers in nursing and higher education, couldn’t find a quality bagel in Frisco, they created one. The duo spent two years studying the art of bagel-making, including intensive training trips to New York City. Their journey inspired the name Bagelology, reflecting their deep dive into the craft and science behind the perfect bagel.
Bagelology serves up a wide variety of bagels, from traditional plain and everything bagels to creative flavors like za’atar, French toast and chocolate chip — and even gluten-free. The bagels are boiled and baked fresh daily, ensuring the chewy texture and satisfying crust that define a great New York-style bagel.
For Olayan and Anani, Bagelology is more than a business; it’s a new chapter and a community hub. “It’s never too late to start a whole new career,” says Olayan, adding that their goal is to serve the Frisco community the best bagels and coffee, as well as a bit of East Coast spirit. Bagel lovers and NYC transplants will feel right at home with Bagelology’s authentic approach, created with Frisco’s community in mind.
NYC Bagel & Deli
7001 S. Custer Road, Suite 400, McKinney
www.nycbagelsandwich.com
The latest contender on the North Texas bagel scene is NYC Bagel & Deli, helmed by husband-and-wife duo Srinivas Agniparthi and Deepthi Daddanala. After falling in love with bagels during their three-year stint in New York City, the couple made it their mission to bring the authentic taste of NYC bagels to North Texas. “When I lived in New York, I ate bagels every day for breakfast,” recalls Daddanala. “We always dreamed of having our own bagel shop, and now, we’re putting our best efforts into creating the finest bagels and deli-style sandwiches here in Texas.”
Since taking over the previous Bagel Cafe in McKinney in September 2024, they’ve made significant changes to the bagel production process to mirror their first location in Colleyville. “We’ve refined our techniques, using a traditional approach of proofing the dough for at least 24 hours, then boiling and baking the bagels to get that classic chewy texture,” explains Agniparthi. In addition to their bagels, NYC Bagel & Deli offers a limited selection of bialys, a beloved but often overlooked cousin of the bagel. A bialy differs from a bagel in that it is not boiled but instead baked directly, resulting in a softer, more tender bite. Rather than a hole, bialys feature a shallow indentation filled with ingredients like caramelized onions, garlic or poppy seeds.
For those with small humans who might be joining your bagel adventure, NYC Bagel & Deli also crafts rainbow bagels, which are as much a treat for the eyes as they are for the taste buds. The process involves making multiple batches of dough, each colored with a different vibrant, food-safe dye. These doughs are then layered, twisted and rolled together to achieve that iconic rainbow swirl. The result is a visually striking bagel that’s perfect for Instagram-worthy moments. And, as of writing, there are plans for a gluten-free bagel.
Currently, bialys and rainbow bagels are limited in quantity, so it’s always best to call ahead to secure yours before they sell out. But once your kiddo has had a rainbow bagel with strawberry cream cheese and you’ve tried the Reuben, you might be going back weekly.
Bagel Café 21
1920 N. Coit Road, Suite 211, Richardson
www.bagelcafe21.com
Serving 21 flavors daily, Bagel Café 21 is as unpretentious as they come. You are greeted with both Southern hospitality and East Coast efficiency. Owner Steven Jackson, who took over the cafe in September 2023, brings a wealth of experience to this charming little shop. With over 30 years in the restaurant industry, Jackson left the corporate world to focus on something closer to his heart. His mission? To do things “the old-school way” and make as much as possible from scratch. It was his wife, a Washington, D.C., native and self-proclaimed bagel connoisseur, who convinced him to take the plunge after she recognized Bagel Café 21 as her favorite place to get bagels in Texas.
Bagel Café 21 has mastered the art of mixing, boiling and baking bagels fresh on-site each morning. To Jackson, and most bagel enthusiasts, this traditional, labor-intensive process is essential to achieving that perfect chew and glossy, golden crust that defines a true New York-style bagel. But honestly, I’ve buried the lead here.
The community has warmly embraced Bagel Café 21, especially those with East Coast roots who have been on the hunt for an authentic bagel experience in Texas. Jackson has said the best compliment the cafe gets is when people say its bagels are the closest thing they’ve found to a New York bagel.
Cindi’s New York Deli
7522 Campbell Road, Suite 117, Dallas
cindisnydeli.com
This isn’t just a North Texas institution; it is and has always been the city’s sleeper hit on the bagel scene. Long before the current wave of artisanal bagel shops arrived, owner Anh Vo was quietly serving some of Dallas’ best bagels from behind her unassuming counters. Cindi’s bagels have a well-earned and fiercely loyal following.
In 1979, Vo became a refugee from Vietnam, fleeing the country with her newborn daughter and her husband, who had been just released from the prison camp where he was held for 3 1/2 years. After years of various jobs, Vo took a chance on Cindi’s in 1989. It was a former deli with a New York pedigree that had recently shuttered, but Vo saw potential. She threw herself into learning the art of New York-style cooking, taking advice from customers along the way.
“When we opened, I didn’t know what a bagel was,” Vo says. But she quickly mastered deli classics like matzo ball soup and the subtleties of bagel-making. “It’s about balance,” she says. The bagels here are a harmonious blend of chewy and crusty, boiled and baked to perfection with a consistency that rivals the best shops in New York. And Vo’s commitment to quality is evident in every bite: Nova salmon is flown in weekly from New York, and the meats are prepared in-house. The team at Cindi’s makes its bagels and rye bread from scratch daily, underscoring a commitment to authenticity.
The vast menu is packed with Jewish deli staples, from potato pancakes to stuffed cabbage to towering Reuben sandwiches, but the options go beyond the deli, including dishes like French toast, pancakes and cheese blintzes. Cindi’s also makes the best black-and-white cookie in town. If you know, you know. Cindi’s has never wavered from its commitment to offering an authentic deli experience. And for those looking for gluten-free bagels, you’ll need to head down to Cindi’s Central Expressway location because they’re not carried at the Far North Dallas outpost.
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The North Texas bagel scene isn’t just growing; it’s thriving with creativity and fierce competition, sparking a real shift in what locals expect from this once-hard-to-find breakfast staple. It seems that North Texas, with its award-winning bagels, is carving out its own identity in the bagel world. “Food connects people,” Salomon says. “It’s universal.” He’s right. There’s nothing like a good bagel, a good schmear and a good conversation.
This article originally appeared in Local Profile magazine. Check out the issue here.
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