Get us in your inbox

Search

The stromboli bagel is the sandwich NYC needs right now

Written by
Richard Morgan
Advertising

Did you have the kind of parent who, when you asked for a Fruit Roll-Up, responded by making homemade versions? Emily and Black Seed have joined forces to produce a "stromboli bagel," which debuts today as this year's last of its epic limited-edition collaborations. We ate some yesterday. It was like if you asked your grandparents for a Hot Pocket and they made their own instead. 

Its boxiness (the bagel bride will be taking the Stromboli family name here) and the dense stripes of poppy seed and sesame had a distinct this-is-just-as-good-as-storebought sense of overcompensation. But then the seeds get everywhere and you're silenced by the acknowledgement that such a mess never happens with Hot Pockets.

The dough itself is supple—not too flaky, not too crisp, both of which were concerns among the Time Out Test-Eater Squad, an elite division here. We were happy with the filling as well: a little too meaty, but when is that really a bad thing? Not too cheesy, either. Spicy overall, but with that lingering tingle both amplified and complicated by apply-it-yourself spicy Brooklyn-made Mike's Hot Honey (its suggested uses on its packet read: "pizza, fried chicken, cheese, teas, salads, ice cream").

A key test: they're tasty hot or cold. And even a quarter of one — they're big — satisfies a snack craving.

Look, we were TOTES happy but not TOTES thrilled like the way we were with Black Seed's precious collaboration, the beloved [us making the sign of the cross] baogel, which we described with as much understatement as we could muster, calling it “our immigrant ancestors’ wildest dreams made real.”

The stromboli bagel is good. But, against the baogel, it’s the lesser of two goods. And it had us wishing Black Seed had tried a Trapizzino bagel. We TOTES wolfed it down, though. It's what good grandkids do.

Sign up to receive great Time Out deals in your inbox each day.

Popular on Time Out

    You may also like
    You may also like
    Advertising