National Bagel Day: Best and worst cities for bagel lovers

Nam Y. Huh, Associated Press

Bagels are a particularly delicious type of breakfast food. Made from the same ingredients as bread, the addition of boiling gives bagels their different texture. An egg wash over the top gives them that shiny crust.

Many people love bagels, but are you living in a city suited for bagel lovers?

Ahead of National Bagel Day on Jan. 15, Lawn Love released a list of the best and worst cities for bagel lovers. They measured this by looking at public reviews of bagel shops, the number of bagel shops in each city and other factors.

Lawn Love said, “For each of the 200 biggest U.S. cities, we gathered publicly available data on the factors listed in the table below. We then grouped those factors into three categories: Access, Quality, and Popularity. Next, we calculated weighted scores for each city in each category. Finally, we averaged the scores for each city across all categories.”

Utahns will be disappointed to note that West Valley City ranked as one of the worst cities for bagel lovers — ranking 190th in the country. Salt Lake City was 122nd. Unsurprisingly, the best city was New York City, which is famous for its bagels. Here’s a look at the best and worst cities for bagel lovers.

Best cities for bagel lovers:

1. New York, New York.
2. San Francisco, California.
3. Boston, Massachusetts.
4. Orlando, Florida.
5. Jersey City, New Jersey.

Worst cities for bagel lovers:

1. Shreveport, Louisiana.
2. Brownsville, Texas.
3. Rockford, Illinois.
4. Mesquite, Texas.
5. Olathe, Kansas.

What are some of the best ways to eat a bagel?

There are many ways to enjoy a bagel.

Sometimes eating a classic bagel with cream cheese is the way to go. You can try substituting the cream cheese with hummus for a twist. Consider drizzling honey butter on your bagel for a sweeter breakfast.

For a lunch option, try making a deli sandwich using a bagel or putting a DIY pizza on a bagel with sauce, cheese and vegetables.

Best bagels in Utah

After trying some bagel shops in Utah, here are some of the best bagel shops in Utah from which I’ve eaten a bagel.

1. Feldman’s Deli in Salt Lake City.
2. The Bagel Project in Salt Lake City.
3. Ryan’s Bagel Cafe in Sandy.
4. The Bagel Den in Provo or Heber City.
5. Park City Bread & Bagels in Park City.