I hold bagel recommendations in high esteem. In fact, if you’re looking for a belated Hannukah gift send me your favorite nosh spot with your favorite order. I hold an emphatic bagel recommendation in the highest regard and with almost equal suspicion. As we’ve covered before, bagels are a highly individualistic affair so one eater’s favorite might be the bagel I pass over at an oneg.

All this is to say that Bagel World came with high marks from folks who know their bagels, and with whom I share similar bagel values. Arriving at the Fort Greene location just after noon, we were informed that there were no more everything bagels. And the only way that sentence can end happily is with “but we’ve got another batch that should be coming out of the oven in just a few minutes. Would you mind waiting?”

Listen, kind bagel baker. I go out of my way to find bagels and I do not get along well with the early morning; we’re bitter enemies, in fact. So to stumble upon a freshly baked bagel at noon thirty is a rare and cherished occurrence. Here, take my money. All of it.

We placed our orders to lay claim to some of the first bagels out of the oven, and went to the back patio to wait. Pro tip: Bagel World has a back patio!

I will gleefully describe the crunch as perfect. The little onion and garlic bits were toasted to the point of beginning to char, but stopped just before they were burnt. The outer shell was crunchy, the inside was perfectly warmed, soft and chewy.

At first glance, the bagels looked a bit flat but ended up being about the perfect amount of dough in a single bagel. The schmear was applied liberally, but without so much as to promote slippage between the upper and lower halves. In fact, the sandwich didn’t really fall apart at all, and I was almost astonished the wrapper had no lost schmear at the end of the bagel.

My expectations were high but they were surpassed by the actual experience. Bagel World, you’re on my short list.

Photos are attributed to Jeremy Canfield