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You already know the best bagels in New York—out of the goodness of your stomachs, er, hearts, we ranked 'em for you—but do you know the zaniest bagels in New York? These shops are going beyond purist lox and schmear with oddball toppings like wasabi, beets and chocolate.
Guest-chef bagels at Black Seed
Noah Bernamoff and Matt Kliegman have been welcoming out-of-town chefs to their Nolita bagel shop for a six-week run this summer, resulting in creative collaborations like last week's Green Eggs & Jam (cumin-seed bagel with sorrel baked eggs, smoked Vidalia jam and creamed spinach; above) from Jessica Koslow of LA's Sqirl. This week, find a za'atar bagel topped with whipped Bulgarian feta, olive tapenade and sliced tomato from Philly chef Mike Solomonov (Zahav).
French-toast bagel with birthday-cake cream cheese at Tompkins Square Bagels
Talk about breakfast decadence—this Alphabet City bagelry jolts everyday cream cheese with Crayola-bright rainbow jimmies and then slathers it on a sticky-sweet French toast-inspired bagel round.
Super Heebster at Russ & Daughters
The Heebster is legendary among bagel cognoscenti and for good reason—it's a sinus-clearing spread of the appetizing store's lush smoked-whitefish salad, horseradish cream cheese and a spoonful of wasabi-flavored flying fish roe. Pro tip: get it on a pumpernickel bagel. You can thank us later.
The Pretty in Pink at Baz Bagels & Restaurant
This Baz beaut may just be the only bagel in New York named after a John Hughes movie. The horseradish-zapped schmear gets its nearly neon hue from beets, paired with bright-orange nova salmon and sprigs of dill.
Chocolate cragel with cannoli cream at the Bagel Store
The Williamsburg bagel shop is well-known for its modern flavors (spinach-parmesan, salted pretzel), but this dessert-worthy number may just take the cake. A Nutella-laced croissant-bagel hybrid (cragel, get it?) comes with a heaping of cannoli cream cheese studded with chocolate chips, naturally.