If you've happened to walk by 10th Street during the weekend hours, you've likely come upon a lively scene of people lining the sidewalk. It is all for Apollo Bagels, a buzzy, pandemic-era pop-up turned permanent shop whose bagels have reached such popularity that the landlord has already tried to evict them. The frenzy is warranted, as their sourdough-fermented bagels have already risen to four locations in NYC, including one in New Jersey, in just one year of business.
Yet once you've made it past the fanfare outside, you'll find yourself in a shop so minimal—the East Village shop is outfitted with a large marble counter, a glowing sign and a nondescript cold case—it almost seems like they moved in yesterday. The menu follows suit, as there are only three bagel types to choose from—plain, sesame and everything. The bagel itself? Following the ethos of a "new-school bagel shop rooted in old-school technique," the boiled bagels start with a naturally fermented dough, resulting in a crust that's pimpled like a teenager, bites like a baguette, and has a light and slightly tangy finish. The New York go-to order of bacon, egg and cheese? Non-existent. But what you can find here are open-faced, almost Nordic-style sandwiches donned with bright red and bagel-sized slices of tomatoes, cucumber rounds and lox showered in capers and dill.