They have good food, but not good bagels. Nice folks.
I agree
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picked up 6 at R&D W34th yesterday. WW was kind of eh. Pumpernickel was very very good with onion rye flavor. Bialy for din tonite.
The only bad thing is that some of the counter help don’t pay attention to their own number system queue, when people cut ahead.
not sure if I’ve told this story here, my daughter turned down a job at ACME, they called and asked if there was anything they could do to change her mind. I told to say “a little lox every week for my dad wouldn’t hurt” 
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I produced one of their first infomercials, back in the day. And man, did they hook me up. I think your daughter made the wrong call!
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I guess after her second interview they knew they wanted to hire her, they sent her home with a ridiculous amount of stuff.
Costco sells a giant container of Acme’s whitefish salad for a great price, but it ‘s brutal from a calorie standpoint, so I’ve stopped buying it. Maybe her turning the job down was, after all, for the best.
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I knooooooow. Tragic.
We had Apollo bagels a couple times this spring and last fall when staying on the border of the East Village and the LES.
While they are not standard NYC bagels, they are much closer to NYC than to Montreal.
I quite enjoyed them, and they are arguably the best bagels in the vicinity, when eaten fresh. The flavor is excellent, and the crust legit.
Perhaps because of the holes, however, they do not freeze well at all. From frozen they were much worse than the typical NYC bagel after defrosting.
So, are you going to tell us where else you ate when you were in NYC (& why you didn’t call us for lunch)? 
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I was so excited when I found Absolute last fall. The best NYC bagel I’d ever found - certainly since H & H closed so long ago - and to me very close to the Platonic ideal of a bagel.
Then when I returned this spring, I was devastated to find out that they had closed. 
We actually went to very few “nice” sit-down restaurants.
A single special return lunch at Le Bernardin.
Tried Smithereens and Penny, and enjoyed them both.
And we went back to Momofuku Noodle Bar twice, as it was near our apartment and to us seems to have returned to its former glory.
Did try a number of pizza slices (L’Industrie tops for us in Manhattan), sandwiches (All’Antico Vinaio still my favorite; Katz’s pastrami being in a category of its own), breads (the cheese bread from the ex-Eric Kayser Bread Story folks tops) and pastries (Supermoon Bakehouse has good stuff). The spicy fried chicken sandwich from Pecking House was great.
I did try a bunch of smash burgers. Smashed was my clear favorite, with Gotham Burger Social Club a close second.
DIdn’t make it to Brooklyn this time. Apologies for not looking you up. Will do better next spring if/when we return.
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went to R&D 34th Street again yesterday. Picked up some pumps. Meh compared to the last time I was there. Consistency is so hard to find. Looking for bagels that are Breaking Bad.
I judge on neked pump and multigrain or ww. Anyone can turn out a decent white bagel with seeds.
Next - Apollo & Utopia 34 St.
Hmm, not really though.
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I was there yesterday, too, and I’m here to say that R&D on 34th can’t.
Oddly, I thought the bagels there – plumper, more tasteless – inferior to those at the OG. They can’t possibly be using different sources at different locations. Perhaps, the ones on Houston are worse now too.
The 34th St store – my first time there – was glitzier than the Houston one, with less emphasis on fish and more on spreads, all laid out with eye-catching, scalloped surfaces.
H&H at Penn. Another meh. Pump is round brown bread with a hole and caraway seeds
A company purchased the h&h name and ues location and, as you’ve discovered, turned it and subsequent locations into a tourist trap. Sadly, they’ve sullied NYers fond memories of the original.
Best,
ain’t it so. next week Utopia 34th St and Apollo LES if it ain’t too windy and cold.
Further to @vinouspleasure’s comments re H&H
Very solid, imo. I haven’t tried Apollo because Davidovitch & Kossars are closer and both good enough for me.
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have not heard of Davidovitch. Who do you like better for bagels, D or K? We’re particular to pumpernickel.
Both are in my walking purview.
Sometimes I head to Fournil for capp and canèle after Pad Kee Mao w/mock duck or ramen.
