Happy February 9th! (?!)
It's important to note that I specifically mean New York style bagels and New York style pizza. That part is very important to me. While I can accept (and have VERY much enjoyed on occasion) that Chicago style pizza has an important share of the pizza-love pie chart, in my world, Chicago is known for it's popcorn and I'll take my pizza New York style.
My family is from New York and I was actually born in New York - on Long Island. Ah, Long Island, the land of the pizza and bagels of my childhood. Now, we moved to Ohio when I was just 3 years old, but for longer than my memories, we made trips back to Long Island every summer and our friends knew that soon after arriving in town, there would be pizza in the house! The biggest slice of pizza pie I would have seen since the last time we were visiting and eating pizza. So big, you'd fold it in half and sometimes, when you accidentally did it just right... you'd crack the crust and a little of the grease from the cooked pepperoni would find it's way through the crack and start to slowly make it's way down the back of your hand and drip down your arm. Now THAT is pizza.
And the next morning? You guessed it, bagels. I can so vividly remember the big brown grocery bag walking into the kitchen. (Well, it was being carried by a parent, but I couldn't tell you if it was a mom or dad or whose mom or dad it was, all I saw was that bag.) Rolled up at the top, keeping in the smell that would waft from it here in mere seconds. I would beeline for that bag and perch if I could, to get a look inside when the interior was unveiled. Piled up inside, one on top of the next, a PILE of bagels. I can still see it like it was yesterday, and smell it, oh that smell- garlic, onion, poppy, sesame, all mixed together (I wish I had candles all over my house that smelled like it) and somewhere, buried in that bag of goodness, a salt bagel, the king of all bagels. I know everyone has their favorites, and so you may disagree, but don't knock it until you've tried it - the salt reigns supreme in my mind. When I was able to stake my claim, then we sat, butter nearby, and tore into them, literally, tore into them, slapping a bit of butter on each bite and devoured them just like that, tear and eat, tear and eat. I honestly don't even know if there was cream cheese in the house when this was happening. My memory exists only of my own plate, with a salt bagel and nearby butter.
The sad part is that the pizza and bagels of my childhood existed only in New York. I mean, we ate them in Ohio, but it was never quite the same. Everywhere I have lived, I have searched for both these foods, sometimes with partial success, sometimes, not so much. In college, Millstreet Bagels was a good stop (now closed, but they did actually carry a salt bagel and this delicious peanut honey butter that I will always remember with fondness). For a long time it was Einstein only in Colorado, then finally NY Bagels, not too far from us in Littleton. Then we moved here to KC. Nothing. I mean there was nothing good for the longest time. The true test? Did they have a salt bagel? No? Not a real bagel shop then. Then, one day, at an event I almost didn't attend, I overhear a girl talking about a bagel shop and how her Jewish, east-coast boyfriend assured her that this was the best bagel he'd ever eaten in KC. Um, I'm sorry, that's an endorsement if I've ever heard one! I must try it. Within a couple days (quite possibly the next day...) I drove the 25/30 minutes to check it out. When I turned the doorknob and stepped in... First- that smell. Second- a glass case at the counter with mounds of poppy, sesame, garlic, onion, and there it was... salt. Salt bagel, side of butter and coffee. As soon as I broke it in half I could tell. This was the real deal. Crusty outer shell, soft in the middle. I am home.
I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed Meshuggah Bagels. They now have 4 KC area locations. If you like bagels, YOU MUST check them out. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT toast the bagel! Toasting is for day or 2 old bagels that need a little refresher. These bagels are perfection just as they are and are not to be toasted if you want to appreciate their brilliance. (If you still feel uncertain, then ask Jon. He was a toaster. He's not anymore. And he's not turning back.) After that, do it how you like- butter, cream cheese, jelly, peanut butter, or if you really want to do it right, bagel with salty lox. I'm not going to pressure you once you enter those doors, just... enter the doors, you won't be sorry.
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| Not as exciting as the big brown grocery bag of my childhood, but we're just 3 people! |
Ok, so... pizza? Well, we haven't yet found pizza perfection in KC. That's where you guys come in! We are about to embark on a journey. Jon and I must find good pizza in this town. It has to exist. We want your help. We've tried pizza here and there, but we aren't finding that perfect pizza perfection. We are looking for NY style, but will accept all nominations. We are going to bee bop all over this town trying any pizza we can, in search of the best. We found a place in Denver that we LOVED (shout out to Garlic Knot and The Alphabet City) and now we are ready to find that pizza love in KC. PLEASE comment here below, or if you found this blog post through social media, you can respond there too. We will add it to the list and give it a try. This is going to take some time. We can't afford (financially or calorically) to try them all this month. We're asking you to join us on this journey. We can't wait to try out your favorite spots and see if they just might be our favorite spot too. Ready, set, go!!!
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