Murray's Bagels, NYC

Bagels.  When in NY, you kinda must seek one out at some point.  Which of course I did, on several occasions.

"Our amazing selection of bagels are hand-rolled and made fresh everyday from just a few simple ingredients. However, through a time-honored process that's been passed down through generations those simple things become something a bit magical."

Murray's Bagels isn't particularly old in NY bagel shop terms, only started in 1996.  It also hasn't turned into a chain, like many others.  But I think that Murray's Bagels were the first NY bagels I ever had, many years ago. (Or maybe it was Ess-a-Bagel ...). Either way, Murray's is always a place I visit in NY, partially because it is right near my office, but also partially because I really *do* like their bagels, even though I know the locals have plenty of other places they rank more highly.

Storefront.

Murray's has a pretty standard menu: a lineup of bagels, along with cream cheeses, whitefish spreads or lox, and a few other spreads like Nutella.  No crazy flavors, just your classics.  The most novel bagels they offer are flats (available in several basic flavors) or gluten-free plain bagels.  No rainbow or cinnamon toast crunch bagels here.  If you want something more substantial, there are egg & cheese breakfast sandwiches, a few deli sandwich fillings, soups, and token salad.  But I had just the basics: bagel and cream cheese.

Pumpernickel Bagel. $2.15 (plain),
$4.75 (plain cream cheese), $5.75 (flavored cream cheese).

This visit, I went for a pumpernickel bagel, really craving something a bit more flavorful (after having a pretty plain tasting, but brilliant looking, rainbow bagel from Liberty Bagels a few days prior).  

I really quite liked it - it had a great chew, nice crust, lovely shine to it.  Exactly the deeper flavor I was looking for from the pumpernickel.  Didn't need toasting, was perfect to enjoy just as-is. The chew really set it apart. ****+.

I also had the Maple Raisin Walnut Cream Cheese, which was quite good. I loved how it had big hunks of walnuts, and the sweetness was just right.  Maple made it a bit more interesting than more common honey walnut or raisin flavors.  ****.

Overall, a great bagel experience, better than Liberty Bagels for me.