D.C.-based bagel chain Call Your Mother to open shop in Fishtown this year

Regional Dining Discussions DC, Mid-Atlantic
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Do any of our D.C. contingent have input on this chain?

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They make a chocolate babka muffin that is outrageous. I’ve only had a bagel once and didn’t think much of it. AFAIK, they rotate the flavors so maybe there’s some gold among the choices.

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I was underwhelmed by the bagel. But in sandwich form, they were an adequate vehicle. My then 9-year-old gobbled up his plain/plain which may speak volumes (he doesn’t possess a discerning palate).

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After a years-long pause, I finally went back for some bagels. The price of better bagels in the area have mostly, but not entirely, caught up with Call Your Mother.

I give very high marks to their za’atar bagels.

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@Steve We were just in your corner of the world for our kid’s February break. We had bagels only once on this trip, from Bullfrog (via a local restaurant), which we’ve had on previous trips. The guys loved theirs (plain/plain with bacon and everything/BEC). Mine was just ok (everything/lemon caper CC, which sounded good on paper but wasn’t as good as it sounds).

Next time, I’ll try zaatar from CYM.

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Good to know.

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I’m not a fan of bagel sandwiches. A good bagel is too chewy to make a good sandwich. And I feel the same about French baguettes. Maybe I ate too many as a starving artist when they were as cheap as dirt.

Had Bullfrog once a long time ago. I remember them as perfectly acceptable. There is a place in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria that is my current fave, Bagel Uprising.

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Goldberg’s has far and away the best bagels in the area. Bethesda Bagels is second in my book, especially if you get the mini bagels which are probably closer in size to the old-style NYC bagel. Bullfrog and CYM are fine.

If you walk out of the shop chewing on a warm bagel, where the skin crackles under your teeth without having to be toasted, that’s a good sign.

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I didn’t realize that Bethesda Bagels has mini-bagels. Good call. I’ll pick some up this week.

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I like Goldberg’s and Bethesda Bagel.

Mini bagels being old style NYC? I’m from there and the bagels around there were mostly huge. I guess it depends where in NYC you are located.