I compared 6 local (to me) bagels over the last few days: Bagelsauraus (Mass Av, Cambridge), Forge Baking Company (in Somerville, bagel picked up at Diesel Cafe in Davis Sq.), Iggy’s (bagel picked up at Darwin’s on Cambridge St. in Cambridge), Mamaleh’s (Kendall Sq.), Mariposa (Central Sq.) and Somerville Bread Company (Somerville). Some notes:
- Prices: The Iggy's, Mariposa and Somerville bagels were $2 each (although Iggy's is cheaper at the source, I think), Mamaleh's was $2.15, and Bagelsaurus and Forge were $2.50.
- All were plain, except for Somerville, which only had salt and seeded. I got a salt bagel, then scraped off the salt.
Next, the mugshots. All bagels were placed on a 6 1/2" square napkin, so the relative sizes are fairly accurate:
Finally cut-outs. The lighting was different at different times and the angles differed, so the colors are misleading, especially the yellow look of the Mariposa bagel, as are the relative sizes, but you get a feeling for the crumb.
Observations:
- The Bagelsaurus bagel is neither as overly-expensive nor as big/hefty as it's been accused of being. It's slightly bigger than the others, but is not the weight champion.
- Both it and the Forge (even more so) had a sourdough taste and crackly crust. Although the two bagels looked different, they were similar in weight and taste.
- The Somerville bagel was very dense, and bready with a moist crumb. It was the heaviest.
- The Mariposa bagel has, as I've observed above, a pretzel-like taste, possibly from being boiled in water that's heavily dosed with baking soda, not lightly dosed with lye.
- Iggy's had the least distinctive taste.
- Mamaleh's probably comes closest to a "traditional NY bagel," but opinions on what that even is diverge.
- Somerville (strongly), Mariposa and Mamaleh's (possibly) gave evidence of having been formed traditionally from a rope of dough formed into a circle with the ends lightly twisted together. Iggy's looks as if it was cut into a ring by a machine.
