PopUp Bagels

PopUp Bagels' tagline is "Not famous but known." But with seven locations in New York, it seems as though their celebrity is certainly rising. A pandemic hobby turned viral bakery sensation from Adam Goldberg, the Connecticut-based bagel shop caused quite the stir when it made its way to New York in 2023. Because unlike most bagel shops in the city, PopUp Bagels doesn't do all that slicing, toasting and made-to-order business. Instead, you are given a bag of bagels, a container of butter or cream cheese of your choosing and instructions to “grip, rip, and dip.” Is dragging bread through schmear the most friendly on-the-go option? Hardly. But the PopUp's palm-sized bagels have certainly found their place in the conversation as far as good bagels go. Thanks to a combo of boiling before baking, the bagels here have a glossy shell that breaks more like a baguette, revealing fluffy, airy pockets of bread. The schmears also play outside of the standard, with salted maple banana cream cheese and za'atar butter. Keep in mind, you can only order bagels in bulk with the minimum being a three-pack. So prepare your appetite or plan to share with your closest office buddy.