Left rectangle ads redesigned
Robert Ripps book
History of Tribeca Buildings
First Impressions: Black Seed Bagels
I’m not sure I have the stamina to go deep on each of the 13 restaurants at Hudson Eats, so let’s make this more of a reader-participation situation. I’ll write about my experience with a Hudson Eats vendor, and you can weigh in with your own take. Together, maybe we’ll come to a consensus.
First up: Black Seed Bagels, selling hand-rolled, wood-fired Montreal-style bagels. The process was smooth, and people shift to the other side of the freestanding kiosk to pick up their orders, which helps maintain orderliness. I had an everything bagel, toasted, with horseradish cream cheese, smoked salmon, and capers. It was a winner. The bagel is small and dense, as expected; I didn’t have a problem with either, but I wouldn’t consider a sandwich made with a Black Seed bagel to be enough for lunch. At $9.75, my bagel cost about the same as it would’ve at Zucker’s (with tomato, onion, etc.), but if bulk is an important factor, Zucker’s is the better value.
I also bought four everything bagels to take home and freeze. (I know, but I’m not making the haul out to Brookfield Place every time I want a Montreal-style bagel.) With Zucker’s, a half a bagel is often enough for me for breakfast, but I imagine I’ll be eating the entire Black Seed bagel. Next time, I’ll have them slice the bagels for me, because I almost lost an inch of thumb. Also, I was kind of bummed not to be able to get cinnamon raisin bagels. I understand they might not be traditional, but they’re the only bagel I like with butter, and I don’t always have cream cheese at hand. The coffee is Stumptown but I didn’t find it notable. I do wonder why Brookfield didn’t woo one of the new wave of New York City coffee shops—did Starbucks and Financier object? This is a tangent, but Starbucks is now up there with McDonald’s in the category of brands I only turn to when traveling, and especially at airports—and the last time I was at a Starbucks, a Newark airport, I bought a doughnut that was truly inedible. I did not take more than one bite.
Please share your Black Seed experiences—good, bad, whatever—below! Next up: Num Pang Sandwich Shop.
P.S. A general thought on Hudson Eats: On a rainy day, the passageway from the World Trade Center PATH station is a godsend.
Recent New Kid on the Block/First Impressions articles:
• Tutto Il Giorno
• Union Bar + Kitchen
• Bâtard
• Il Principe
• Arcade Bakery
• Sweet Green
• Hotel Hugo
• El Vez
• Racines NY
• Juice Press
• Daruma-Ya
• By Suzette
Update: Comments have been turned off due to spam. To have them turned back on, email tribecacitizen@gmail.com.
20 Comments
Medium rectangle #1 (top)
Right column rectangle ads
Mega rectangle
Restaurant guide icon
On Saturday late afternoon when I was there, they sold out of bagels.
That’s like…a bagel shop, not having bagels!
@Jk … Happened to me when I went there on Tuesday last week. Shameful. I’ve had better Mont’l bagels. Meh.
They were also sold out of most bagels at 1 pm on Sunday. They clearly have inventory issues.
Also, I had juice from Tartinery, which was delicious, but their baguettes (I had ham and cheese) were stale and inedible.
Let’s keep this post dedicated to Black Seed. We’ll get to Tartinery (and the others in good time)….
i too have not been able to get one…always sold out…… been 3 times so far….my biggest issue is the tables are always dirty and chairs a mess….and no one seems to be watching for this…….. i have to wipe down my spot 2 dif. times going….this is a huge pet peve of mine
Can someone explain to me what the differences btw a montreal bagel and a “regular” bagel are supposed to be
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/02/montreal-bagels_n_5247880.html
There will always be bagel debate.
In New York, it’s New York vs. Montréal; in Toronto, it’s Toronto vs. Montréal;
in Montréal, it’s St-Viateur vs. Fairmont.
And for what it’s worth, when in Montréal our favorite breakfast is a sliced, toasted bagel with cream cheese, smoked salmon, tomatoes, onions and capers, with a side of fruit.
A pet peeve of mine, is people telling others that what they enjoy eating is all wrong. Aren’t we fortunate to have a choice?
Maybe once Black Seed has it’s act together, I’ll walk down and give them a try – it’s been a long time since we’ve been to Montréal.
Not important, but just for the record “everything bagel” is not traditional either. It is what my parents would have called a shonde, but they were hypersensitive about such things.
Went to black seed on Saturday morning – they had bagels but were out of tea and OJ…at 11 am.
My husband and I wait 30 for our 2 bagels with cream cheese. If I didn’t say anything to the cashier I probably would have waited another 15 minutes.
This place is not worth the schlep to Brookfield – I’ll stick to zuckers where I know I’m getting a bagel that will hold me over until dinner and I don’t have to wait forever!
I tried their beet cured lox sandwich which was delicious but I had to settle for a salt bagel cause that’s all they had left at around noon. It was definitely salty! The counter guys said that they sell out of alot of the flavors by 10:30 most days.
They don’t seem to be making the bagels onsite the way they do at the LES location. There is a HUGE difference between their just from the oven bagel and what they are selling at Brookfield Place.
Also, as to why they don’t have a good coffee place — I’m pretty sure Brookfield bought the Mercantile Exchange building (or whatever its called), which has Laughing Man in it. Obviously, not the same as being right there with the other restaurants, but they might have figured three coffee places in their complex is enough.
After another visit to Hudson Eats this morning, I also think it may be because several other kiosks offer coffee: Olives, Tartinery, and Sprinkles, to name three.
None of the coffee places compares to the 3:00 Flat White at Laughing Man. Definately worth the walk over to the Mercantile.
I had a horrible experience there on Saturday around 10:45-11:30. I only ordered two bagels — no spreads, no sandwich. Literally all someone had to do was grab two bagels out of the bin and hand them over. That took 35 minutes and two verbal complaints. Unacceptable. There should be an express line for people not ordering sandwiches or toasting, and then, one of the bagels was cold like it was fresh from the fridge, which it guess it was. I won’t be going again. They were also out of tea.
This place really needs to get their act together. We were there at 11:30 am on Sunday and all they had left was salt bagels. We ordered 2 bagels with cream cheese on the side (they didn’t even need to take the time to spread it for us) and had to wait 30 minutes for this. Everyone in line was complaining and totally confused how their simple bagel order hadn’t come up yet.
Just a comment about the passageway to the Brookfield Centre. On weekends, the PATH try to make it as difficult as possible to access the passageway by blocking off the entrance to the PATH Station on W. Broadway and leaving only a small gap which most people may not notice. Don’t you just love the Port Authority? Couldn’t they just post a notice that the PATH is closed at weekends but access to the Brookfield Center is open?
I think their bagels are delish and the size just right but no bagel is worth a 45′ wait. The key here is to go early before the crowds and you’ll have a great experience.
I stopped by for lunch today (12:10). The food court was packed and the only place with a short line was Black seed bagels. I ordered a toasted bagel with tuna fish. It was delicious. I like the smaller size of the bagels and texture as well. Tuna was very fresh with some interesting flavors and very little mayo, if any.
What i was thrilled with was the cost – $7!! The same sandwich at the dirty pick-a-bagel with lousy service is $10.