OT: Best Bagel in CT

[Guapo]

Subs and Grinders are interchangeable in CT. It's never a hoagie though

I was being facetious.

Though I will say that the closer you get to the South End of Hartford, the less interchangeable even "sub" is.

When I lived in Glastonbury, "grinder" was nearly ubiquitous even in Wethersfield and Glastonbury. We never called it a sub, unless for some insane reason you were going to Subway.

But, it's pushing 10 years since I lived there so maybe things have changed.

(note: I'm not even 30 and this post sounds makes it sound like I'm 80 smh)

 

[JMick]

I was being facetious.

Though I will say that the closer you get to the South End of Hartford, the less interchangeable even "sub" is.

When I lived in Glastonbury, "grinder" was nearly ubiquitous even in Wethersfield and Glastonbury. We never called it a sub, unless for some insane reason you were going to Subway.

But, it's pushing 10 years since I lived there so maybe things have changed.

(note: I'm not even 30 years old and this post sounds like 80 smh)

I typically say grinder. Probably 80% of the time. For some reason in my brain I associate something like eggplant/sausage/chicken parmesan as a grinder and deli meats as a sub

 

[Danzz]

Fancy Bagels in Southington (also Farmington I believe) is outstanding.

 

[Guapo]

I typically say grinder. Probably 80% of the time. For some reason in my brain I associate something like eggplant/sausage/chicken parmesan as a grinder and deli meats as a sub

I noticed that among kids at UConn who were from farther outside of Hartford (hot = grinder; cold = sub).

 

[coachcap]

Fancy Bagels in Southington (also Farmington I believe) is outstanding.

They are a goldmine in town. Always busy. Place is packed on Saturdays.

 

[JMick]

I noticed that among kids at UConn who were from farther outside of Hartford (hot = grinder; cold = sub).

That's actually pretty accurate with how I view it

 

[storrsroars]

I typically say grinder. Probably 80% of the time. For some reason in my brain I associate something like eggplant/sausage/chicken parmesan as a grinder and deli meats as a sub

I make same distinction. If it's heated up in a pizza oven it's a grinder. If it's cold, it's a sub.

I have zero idea if that's the way grinder vs sub works elsewhere in CT, but it was pretty much the convention in Serah Williams Fairfield County when I grew up there.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Go to Trader Joe's and get this stuff. Then you can order any kind of bagel you want and customize your "Everything" to your liking. Also, since you can put it inside a bagel sandwich or stuck to the cream cheese or butter when open faced, eating is a lot less messy of an endeavor. It's great. Looks like you can get it online at a few places if you don't have a Trader Joe's.

I put that stuff on EVERYTHING . Great on eggs, veggies, chicken, potatoes

 

[superjohn]

That's actually pretty accurate with how I view it

Growing up in Connecticut everything on long bread was called a grinder.

 

[storrsroars]

I'm always right.

The fact that you found something edible in New Jersey is just more evidence of that.

This from a guy who actually lives "The Accidental Tourist".

 

[8893]

Growing up in Connecticut everything on long bread was called a grinder.

Same here. Chicken parm grinder, cold cut grinder, etc.

Although the lingo may have differed if ordering at Subway.

When I lived in New Jersey briefly in middle school, it was all hoagies.

 

[storrsroars]

Jersey has the best bagels. If you ever find yourself in South Orange, NJ. Go to Sonny's bagels. Same bagel recipe for the past 80 years (Watson bagels in Newark.)

I have to agree - NJ has some good ones. Mostly just south/west of Newark, but also down Princeton way. Timmy's in Manalapan has good bagels, bialys and a highly addictive tuna spread.

We have a bakery here that does a reasonable facsimile of NY water bagels, but since I no longer travel regularly to NJ, for the real article I now have to wait till Christmas visit to SIL's and the annual visit to Ben's Kosher in Carle Place.

 

[huskyjawz]

I second the Bagel King nomination

Third.

It's all about the bubbly, crispy outside.

 

[Guapo]

Via Corner Grinder on Franklin Ave; everything is a grinder hot or cold:

Grinders – Corner Grinder

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Go to Trader Joe's and get this stuff. Then you can order any kind of bagel you want and customize your "Everything" to your liking. Also, since you can put it inside a bagel sandwich or stuck to the cream cheese or butter when open faced, eating is a lot less messy of an endeavor. It's great. Looks like you can get it online at a few places if you don't have a Trader Joe's.

Are you suggesting we become the kind of person that brings their own condiments (and seasoning) to a restaurant? No thank you, sir.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

I only get the everything bagel if I'm having it as an egg sandwich. Then it's just enough salt. On its own, though, I agree

I used to live in Danbury with my parents but I'm now in the city about a 10 minute walk from Ess-a-bagel, so to be honest, I now have absolutely zero desire to ever return to bagelman. They're not bad for CT though.

 

[huskyjawz]

It’s hard to find even great nyc bagels. They are there but not ubiquitous. Forget bialys which are the best thing ever, but practically extinct

Kossar's on Grand St., only real bialy on the planet.

 

[Chuck]

Are you suggesting we become the kind of person that brings their own condiments (and seasoning) to a restaurant? No thank you, sir.

Not sure I've eaten a bagel in a real bagel place in years. Wouldn't be the same if it wasn't wrapped in wax paper (foil if it's a hot sandwich) and eaten at home, my office (or in the car). That being said, I'm absolutely the kind of person who takes condiments from a restaurant for my office, so I wouldn't look down on bringing condiments either!

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Couldn't be further off base. Most bagels stink, there are even fewer places that truly do bagels right than there are pizza places that do it right. A true NJ bagel is nothing like the soft bready cr@p you get at most places.

Your first two sentences are on the money. Whether NJ bagels are superior to my favorites in Manhattan, Queens, and Nassau County, I don't know.

 

[JMick]

Growing up in Connecticut everything on long bread was called a grinder.

I grew up here too and have heard both used interchangeably, both in speech and on menus.

 

[August_West]

Celebrity Bagels in Tenafly is worth the trip

my hometown through elementary school

Brookside Bagels in Simsbury is very good.

my hometown through high school


So why is it that I live in the lower CT river valley Bagel wasteland now?

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Jersey has good bagels. Ramapo Valley bagels has a killer sandwich:

Ah, you feel the ol' arteries hardening just looking at it. Used to hit this place before AAU tournaments. Kept you going for a whole day of games.

Luckily for my diet, the gas line replacement along Ramapo Valley Road is keeping me away. Plus, there's no parking and its nearly impossible to take a left coming out.

 

[husky429]

Brookside Bagels in Simsbury is very good. Same with Bagel Chalet in Avon.

Brookside is exceptional when they are on point. Ive ordered the same thing there probably 100x growing up and now visiting my parents on weekends.

Quality of the exact same order varies greatly. Can be out of this world delicious, down to nearly inedible or somewhere in between on any given day.

 

[methodology]

Subs and Grinders are interchangeable in CT. It's never a hoagie though

What about a wedge?

It's always a grinder. Hot/ cold doesn't matter if it comes on Italian bread

 

[methodology]

Taylor Ham (not Pork Roll!), Egg and Cheese. Classic New Jersey. One of the places in my town puts a hashbrown on the bagel sandwich to add a bit more clogging power. I need to go back and look at the diet thread so I don't run over and get a sandwich now!

My go to breakfast sandwich is bacon/ egg/ cheese topped with home fries on a hard roll. It has to be legit home fries none of that bs potato wedges called home fries. Then some hot sauce