The Press Herald convened a panel of judges to evaluate and rank Portland-area bagel options.
Southern Maine has more sources for good bagels than ever before. So much so that in October Saveur magazine gave one Maine bagel maker major props, calling the wood-fired sourdough bagel from Forage Market in Lewiston one of the best in the country, “good enough to melt the heart of the most hardened New York bagel snob.”
This explosion of bagel love made us wonder: Which local bakery is producing the best bagel? And what makes a bagel a good bagel, anyway?
Results: Bagels from Scratch Baking came out on top with ones from The Purple House, Maple’s, 158 Pickett Street Cafe, Rosemont and Union Bagel Co. in second through sixth place respectively.
I was actually planning to do a similar article for The Bollard but didn’t get my act together in time for the March issue. Probably a good thing in retrospect. In any case, I’m a fan of Maple’s, Union and the Purple House, not necessarily in that order. I’m surprised Scratch came out on top — they’re tasty, but so far removed from the traditional NY bagel that I don’t really see it belonging to the same category.
Union Bagel’s freshness has suffered lately, but they’re still the best. Scratch is fine bread, but it’s not a bagel–too sour, puffy, and dry.