Let’s play a game. Without thinking, what food comes to mind first when I say “New York City?” Odds are, you said bagels. And really, you’d be right. The delicious breakfast item has long been synonymous with the city that never sleeps. But, what if we told you that the best bagel you can devour tomorrow morning is actually some 1,500 miles away in Dallas?
Over the weekend, the experts gathered for New York BagelFest 2025, celebrating the best bagels from around the world. According to the festival, more than 2,000 people attended, including competitors from far-flung, bagel-loving places like Madrid, Honolulu, Montreal, Dallas, Seattle, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Chicago, who joined “local legends across New York City to compete for the industry’s highest honors.”
This year, after all the judging was complete, the overall Best Bagel winner of the blind taste test was announced. And the honor went to Starship Bagel out of Dallas.
It’s actually the second time the shop has won the prestigious award, taking the top prize in 2023 as well. As owner Oren Salomon shared with the Dallas Morning News, this year they upped their game by making the bagels using a new par-baking technique, then packing them in dry ice and finishing them off in New York City before presenting them to the judges.
Lauren Ariel/New York BagelFest
“It was a huge risk, and it could have easily not worked, but I knew what we entered last year was only good for second place and that we had to do better,” Salomon told the outlet. “In a way, we kind of debuted this new approach to baking bagels, and the judges validated it.”
The shop must have something extra special going on, as it also won the Best New York Style category and Best Showmanship. It also took second in the Schmear of the Year and Most Creative categories. And while the competition is undoubtedly fun, it can also come with serious perks.
“BagelFest feels like a party, but for the makers, it’s a high-stakes moment,” BagelFest founder Sam Silverman shared in a statement. “Winning an award can propel a small regional shop into the national culinary conversation. Our 25 exhibitors were hand-selected because they are leading the bagel boom in their cities, and when they go head to head, the creativity and craftsmanship reach levels most people never imagined possible for a bagel.”
Can’t make it to Dallas? You can always try Fantzye Bagels in Kingston, New York, which nabbed the runner-up spot for best bagel, or go to Potchke Bagel in Knoxville, Tennessee, which took third. Or, frankly, head to any bagel shop in New York, because you know they’ll be great.
