It may not have been called a bagel in 1394 in Poland, but even when called by another name, obwarzanek, a bagel is still a bagel. Though it’s been around for centuries, the bagel didn’t come to the US until the late 19th century from Eastern Europe.
Despite the bagel not originating here, it didn’t take long before it gained strong roots, especially in New York. Now you can get delicious, New York style bagels wherever you are in the USA with a bagel of the month club.
New York receives its water from the Catskill Mountains, where the water is softer and contains less calcium and magnesium than water found in other regions. Due to the lower mineral content, the gluten protein in the dough isn’t as strong, creating the perfect soft texture found only in the New York bagel.
Bagels have been a long-time staple in Jewish culture. In Medieval Europe, the Catholic church banned the Jewish community from baking bread. To get around this law, the Jewish people boiled their bread instead. Finding that smaller bread and ones with holes in the middle cooked more evenly, the bagel was invented.
Of the clubs below, I think the best one is going to be Amazing Clubs Bagel of the Month Club. Amazing Clubs is well known for their legit, gourmet products shipped out consistently each month, and they’re getting really good reviews for their bagel club! I like this club because you get bagels shipped from a VARIETY of bagel makers in New York, rather than just one bakery.
Bagel of the Month Clubs
Amazing Clubs
Amazing Clubs offers a wide variety of club options, including foods, condiments, beverages, neckties, and Teddy bears. They have a club for just about anyone of any age.
Amazing Clubs started in 2003 when the founders realized the need for a great online company that offered an array of high-quality product subscriptions. Starting with just one club, they grew to a top-rated business that now offers 44 different clubs, including a bagel of the month club.
Though they are not in New York, they only select top authentic New York bagels. Every month the recipient receives 16 bagels. There are always 2 varieties of bagel in the shipment, so customers get 8 of each type. There’s also a Bagel Lovers Newsletter, which includes information about that month’s delivery, fun facts about bagels, and serving recommendations.
Amazing Clubs also offers a “They’ll Love It!” guarantee. This allows you to seek a refund if the subscription doesn’t match your hopes.
There are plenty of scheduling options, including 3-month, 6-month, 12-month, and seasonal memberships. You can also choose whether to pay in full or per shipment. The price per month varies from $55.95 to $57.95 depending on which you select.
New Yorker Bagels
New Yorker Bagels got its start fifty years ago under the name of The Bagel Buffet in Greenwich Village. The Bagel Buffet was started by two immigrants looking to capture the American dream.
Because of their great success with the Bagel Buffet, the family opened another bagel company, New Yorker Bagels. New Yorker Bagels only sells wholesale and has no storefront. Though they are still a family run business, they are now the world’s largest bakery for fresh bagels in the world.
If you are interested in sampling their hand-rolled bagels, they do offer free overnight delivery on all of their fresh bagels. If you’re already an enthusiast of the New Yorker Bagel, then you might like their bagel of the month club membership to receive your monthly bagel fix.
New Yorker Bagels offers 3 different subscription options.
The first is the Custom Bagel Club. This allows you to choose 2, 4, or 6 bagel flavors (depending on the size of the subscription) and change the flavors between subscriptions. As such, the subscription provides full control over your bagel flavors and room for variation. A 1 Dozen Custom Box costs $34.76 per month, while a 3 Dozen Custom Box costs $70.22 instead.
Then there’s the Specific Flavor Subscription. This allows you to choose a single flavor and receive a dozen of these bagels each month. This subscription costs $35.55, which is a 10% discount on the regular price of a dozen bagels.
Finally, there is the Bagel of the Month Gift. You choose 2 bagel flavors for this subscription, which are then set for the duration
The Custom and Specific Flavor clubs also allow you to change the frequency of your subscription, change the next delivery date, and pause your membership. Doing so isn’t possible on the gift membership.
Bagel Biz.Com
The Bagel Biz story begins in 1986 with their original bagel bakery, Dan’s Bagel Cafe in East Meadow, New York. Realizing that their bagels were in high demand and wanting to share their delicious round treats with more people, they opened a second bakery in 1995.
The Bagel Biz was that second bakery. This time they serviced the local commercial and residential area of Melville, New York. After successfully launching their second bakery, they learned that their bagels were ready to go nationwide, and they introduced the country to their online store.
The Bagel Biz now ships thousands of bagels all around the country every day. You can order bagels as a one-time shipment or set up a monthly bagel subscription.
There are 3 different subscription quantities, starting with 12 bagels for $39.98. You can also get 24 bagels for $44.98 and 36 bagels for $77.78. The subscriptions all include new favorites each month and are vacuum sealed for maximum freshness.
The listed prices don’t include delivery, which is calculated separately at checkout. Because of this, a 24-bagel subscription might end up costing $60 or above, rather than the listed $44.98.
Best New York Bagel.com
Best New York Bagel.com was inspired when a New York Firefighter spent time away from New York and realized the nation’s lack of a tasty traditional New York style bagel.
The owner and founder’s goal is to bring amazing bagels “…to your doorstep in a timely fashion, in a professional manner at a respectable price, all with a few clicks of the mouse!”. Best New York Bagel.com is strictly an online store specializing in sharing New York’s most delectable bagels with the country.
Their first subscription sends out bagels every week for $25.99 per shipment. You receive a dozen bagels per shipment and can choose up to 6 flavors for these. Most of the flavors are included in the price, but you need to pay $0.50 extra if you want French Toast or Blueberry bagels.
The monthly subscription is almost identical. It has the same pricing structure and same options for flavors. The main difference is that you’re getting the bagels once a month rather than every week.
Bagel Boss
Bagel Boss focuses on delivering bagels throughout the nation, so they clearly know what they’re doing. Their subscription sends out 13 bagels per shipment – and you can get them every month, 2 months, or 3 months.
These are authentic New York bagels, so they should be spot on in terms of flavor and texture. The subscription costs $54.95 per shipment and even allows you to choose which flavors you want. These selections probably carry over from one month to the next, but the company doesn’t clarify whether that’s the case.
There is also a mini bagel subscription on the site. This one costs $29.95 for a dozen mini bagels and is perfect if you don’t want to pay $50+ a month.
Stone’s Best Bagels
Stone’s Best Bagels also has a bagel subscription. Like many bagel clubs, this is mostly designed as a way to help you save money, rather than an exciting way to try new flavors.
The first version of the club allows you to select any combination of bagels, then get them delivered each month. You get 10% off the standard bagel price if you order a dozen, 12% off if you order 2 dozen, and 15% off for 3 dozen.
The second version allows you to select your favorite flavors. Stone’s doesn’t provide any more description than this, but hopefully they ship out a random selection of your chosen flavors each month.
The big limit here is that Stone’s Best Bagels doesn’t have a huge number of flavors. They only offer half a dozen or so, which could get boring after a few months.
The Greater Knead Subscription
The Greater Knead is a larger and more commercially-focused company than some of the others, but that’s not a bad thing. This approach does mean there are some interesting flavors and decent packaging too.
Also, the bagels are always gluten free, vegan, kosher, non-GMO, and free from the top 9 allergens. There are three main subscriptions: one for New York style bagels, one for soft pretzel nuggets, and one that combines bagels and soft pretzels.
The bagel subscription allows you to order 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12 packs of bagels (each pack contains 4 bagels). The price ranges from $58.22 to $140.45 per shipment, depending on the number of packs you’re ordering.
This might sound like an expensive subscription, but you are getting between 16 and 48 bagels in each shipment. That’s many more bagels than normal.
You also get to choose the bagel flavors featured in your box, including options like Cinnamon Raisin Bagels, Snickerdoodle Bagels, French Toast Bagels, and Everything Bagels. You can also add on pretzel nuggets, if desired, for an extra $13.60 per packet.
Bagel Point New York Bagels
Bagel Point is a Brooklyn-based bagel shop that ships hand rolled freshly baked bagels throughout the nation. They offer familiar and unusual bagels, including brightly colored seasonal ones, cragels, rainbow bagels, and flat ones.
Their monthly subscription focuses on regular bagels, providing you with a dozen of these for $53.95. That’s a 10% reduction on the normal price for 12 bagels.
The bagels come in packs of 3 and you can choose the flavor for each of these packs. Some options include Everything Bagels, Plain Bagels, Pumpernickel Everything Bagels, and Cinnamon Raisin Bagels.
Davidovich Bakery
Located in New Jersey, Davidovich Bakery is another one that gets creative with some of their bagel flavors. The bakery doesn’t stop with bagels either. They have plenty of other treats too, including decorated sugar cookies, linzer tart cookies, pound cakes, savory pastries, and more.
Their bagel subscriptions are fairly simple. You can choose between a 3-month subscription for $110 and a 12-month subscription for $599.99. Interestingly, the 3-month version ships out 20 bagels each month, while the 12-month provides 25 bagels instead.
The bagels always come in 5 packs and you get to choose which flavors are included. However, Davidovich Bakery doesn’t provide details about which flavors are available for their subscription. You might only have access to their relatively simple flavors, rather than their more exciting ones.
Nagel’s Bagels
Nagel’s Bagels operates out of Downtown Cartersville, Georgia and is a popular choice for fresh bagels. The relatively small company was started by Rich and Kelly Nagel, who have now become familiar faces in their local market.
Unfortunately, few details are provided for the bagel of the month club. The site says that you can get your bagels delivered weekly, once a month, or twice a month, and can choose the bagels you want. However, price details aren’t given and there’s no list of flavors to choose from.
Instead, you need to fill out a contact form on the site and they’ll get back to you. This style isn’t all bad news though, as it should mean that the bakery is more responsive and customizes their orders better than most others.
Omni Bagel & Schmear Subscription
As you might have guessed, the Omni Bagel & Schmear Subscription is a little unusual. Specifically, this subscription ships bagels plus what the company calls schmears, which are delicious spreads for the bagels.
Omni Bagels also thinks outside the box with flavors, giving you some varieties that you won’t find elsewhere. For example, their unique flavors include Pineapple Curry, Cherry Pie, Pesto, and Big Jim Green Chile bagels. They still have some of the classics as well, like Garlic, Blueberry, and Everything bagels.
The subscription program allows you to choose the flavors, quantities, and smears with your bagels, along with whether you want pickup or delivery. Delivery and pickup are only available in Durango, Colorado, so anyone further afield will need to pick a different company.
Pricing details aren’t provided, perhaps because there are so many subscription options. You’ll need to submit your full subscription order before finding out about the price. While the style is a bit of a pain, the unique bagels and schmears could easily be worth the effort.
Tomme Cheese Shop Montreal Bagel Subscription
Here’s an option for any Canadian readers. The subscription from Tomme Cheese Shop ships bagels from Montreal, every 1, 2, 3, or 4 weeks.
The subscription starts at $9.95 per month for half a dozen Sesame Seed or Poppy Seed bagels. For $10.59 per month, you can receive Everything or Rosemary and Sea Salt bagels instead.
There’s also the option to add whipped cheese to the subscription (either Madame Loik Herb & Garlic or Madame Loik Plain). Doing so increases it to either $16.45 or $17.00. Finally, there’s a discount if you order every week or every two weeks.
While there aren’t many flavors on offer, the inclusion of whipped cheese makes this subscription exciting. The Rosemary and Sea Salt bagels also sound amazing, don’t they?
Bagel Gift Baskets
Zabar’s
During the search for the best bagel of the month clubs, Zabar’s came up, and though they don’t offer a monthly membership, they are definitely worth noting for their fabulous bagel gift basket.
In 1934 Louis and Lillian started Zabar’s a small neighborhood deli style store, and they are now a third-generation family-run business. They offer a variety of goods, including freshly roasted coffee, smoked fish, caviar, artisanal cheeses, bread and baked goods, gift baskets and boxes, and housewares
What once started as a 22-foot-wide shop has now expanded to encompass almost a full block. But if you can’t make it to New York to check out their market, don’t worry, they can ship anything you would like from their online store.
There are a few different bagel gift options, including bagel boxes and bags. However, if you are looking for a gift that will impress the recipient, check out their Zabar’s Morning Basics Basket. The gift basket contains 6 original Zabar’s bagels, plain cream cheese, 1/2 pound of Nova Lox, cinnamon rugelach (it’s the family recipe, a coffee mug, a red checkered napkin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Are NYC Bagels Famous?
New York bagels are often seen as the absolute best. That’s why many of the clubs on this focus on bagels from New York City, rather than any other part of the nation.
There are other reasons for the fame too. For one thing, American bagels were first seen in New York, so they have strong ties to the city. Plus, because bagels have been made by so many New Yorkers for so long, the recipe and techniques have been refined – helping to create truly amazing bagels.
What’s The Difference Between A New York Bagel And A Regular Bagel?
New York bagels aren’t necessarily a different style than other bagels. The big difference is simply that these bagels are made in New York.
New York bagels may also be of higher quality than bagels from other parts of the country. This is partly because they’ve been made in New York for so long, so there are many excellent ovens, ingredients, and traditions that help to optimize the bagels.
Even the water in New York is thought to make the bagels better than those from elsewhere.
Can You Freeze Bagels?
Bagels can indeed be frozen. Some of the clubs on this list even provide instructions for freezing their products.
When you do so, it’s normally best to slice the bagel in half. This makes it easy to defrost the bagel in a toaster often and gives you a good texture.
What’s The Cheapest Bagel Of The Month Club?
Tomme Cheese Shop is the cheapest subscription on this list, costing from just $9.95 per month for half a dozen bagels. However, this is a Canadian subscription, so it won’t work for all readers.
The next best option is Best New York Bagel.com, which costs $25.99 for a shipment of a dozen. You even get to choose the flavors of your bagels.
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On its page, Bagel Biz advertises the $39.98 price you cite in the article for its monthly dozen, but if you actually try to subscribe, that price mysteriously jumps to $54.98 in the cart — even though the cart still says “Free Shipping.” It is bait-and-switch, and you should not cite their false price in your article.