Modern Bread and Bagel New York

Extreme gluten-free bagels

Geoffrey from New York

""Modern Bread and Bagel" in NYC has surfaced as exemplary, using criteria such as size and texture, seed and salt density. Here are some more top picks..."

I have a 'thing' about proclaiming something the 'best' which goes even further when such leans toward coffee, bagels, croissants, muffins and so forth.

Different, yes, but I ask, how great can they be?

About croissants, I have written that those at Epice are mighty fine, the closest to a Parisian croissant I have discovered locally but in Paris itself, there is no such thing as a 'best' croissant.

Onto bagels, where New York is considered the Paris of this gnosh, it is not so easy to find a really good bagel anymore. Not without guidance.

Modern Bread and Bagel has surfaced as exemplary, using criteria such as size and texture, seed and salt density, spread texture and store style.

Mike Varley included it in a list of fifty bagel joints by walking the equivalent of 3500 miles throughout the 5 boroughs in 13 months, and compiled a list—subject to change—that pretty much trumps anything anybody else has done to date.

There are three in my neighbourhood that rank up in the paint cards:

4.5 / 5 (#3 in NYC)  Modern Bread and Bagel Gluten-Free (no less)  A 'proper' bakery Cream Cheese: 'Impeccable'

4.25 / 5 (#25 in NYC) Broadway Bagel 'Fresh and temperant. Fantastic'

4.25 / 5 (#25 in NYC) Absolute Bagels 'standard taste and texture'

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New York Spotter Geoffrey

About me I travel to discover how people elsewhere live, how they manage living with low incomes in expensive cities, how they grapple with hard times and failing economies, how they deal with ageing or crumbling families and how they themselves age and adapt. Knowing and loving New York comes from having lived through many of its manifestations while witnessing its changes. Why New York I love New York because of its broad cultural spectrum realized in all forms of the arts, food, technology, politics and transportation, and its easy access to the beautif...

About this spot

472 Columbus Ave

Any bagel:

US$

Website

6467752985

Sep 21, 2025

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