Tuesday, September 8, 2015

[Updated] Bagel Seed bagels watch: Oven edition


[Photo by a reader from East 14th Street]

EVG readers have sent along exterior photos today showing the progress at Black Seed bagels, which is opening this month on First Avenue between East 10th Street and East 11th...

This shot offers a view of the oven...


[Photo by Vinny & O]

Right there...



According to a recent preview at New York magazine, Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite noted that the third Black Seed location (first in the East Village) will offer salads, bagel sandwiches and pastries ... including rugalach and rainbow cookies to honor the storefront's predecessor, DeRobertis bakery, which closed last December after 110 years in business.

Previously

Updated 9-9

Apparently the Black Seed owners do not want any passersby to take interior photos of how the space is shaping up…



EVG reader Lola Sáenz walked by this afternoon… when she stopped to take a photo from the sidewalk, the workers told her no photos… the woman in the chair was also on the scene. Per Lola: "I talked to her she was nice and explained that it was the owners' idea. I asked her who hired her, and she said the construction company."

We're not sure how many people are stopping to take photos. We received three photos yesterday from three different readers … who said they were curious about the space and/or looking forward to Black Seed opening…

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can't wait,'and unlike some other bagel places they will toast a bagel and not act like you asked to buy their wife.

Anonymous said...

I hated to see DeRobertis go, but I am glad it was their decision and that they made millions selling the building. I look forward to having a bagel at this place! At least it isn't a Starbucks or a bank branch!

Anonymous said...

I wish they'd stop talking about their shop until it actually opens. I'm generally interested in checking them out but it's coming soon coming soon coming never.

Anonymous said...

HA anonymous 3:14, so obnoxious at Tompkins Square Bagels - if that's who you're referring to. I stopped going because, besides the very "Connecticut" line, they were weird about a simple "toasted" bagel request, and the toasting never worked so I never got the crunchy outside like I like. It's like they bullshit you and don't actually toast it. Anyway, I hope they do the place justice like they said they would! Looks nice.

Anonymous said...

Begun, the bagel war has ...

Anonymous said...

I hope the new owners are also renovating the entrance so that everyone can experience what promises to be a great new addition to the neighborhood. Unfortunately, this location is currently completely inaccessible to wheelchair users and to anyone who has trouble with stairs.

Anonymous said...

Real question is do they have a scrubber which will prevent the local area from smelling smoke all the time?

Anonymous said...

BS gladly toasts those bagels because they know they're sub par. The BS bagel becomes hard as stone after an hour or so out of the oven. I've been to TSB many times. They will toast. They simply don't recommend toasting.

Giovanni said...

Glad to hear that Black Seed Bagels actually toasts bagels. This is not rocket science. You slice the bagel, you throw it in the toaster, and then you toast it. I never had a problem with TSB toasting a bagel. Just order it like you mean it and they won't give you any BS about toasting. For years Ess-a-Bagel and Murray's refused to toast and they got very rude with any customer who dared to ask for toasting, which must happen a few dozen of times a day. After years of arguing about bagel purity and then losing all those customers who want a toasted bagel, the Schmear Patrol at Murray's finally reversed their policy this summer and now, begrudgingly, toasts bagels. But who wants to order a toasted bagel from someone who has that "You don't really want to order that, do you?" kind of attitude? As for Ess-a-Bagel, they never learned how to toast, and now they're gone. Tal Bagels will soon be opening up shop in their old space on 1st Ave. Guess what? Tal toasts bagels without giving you any gratuitous New York attitude. All they give you is a nice warm toasted bagel, which is all we wanted in the first place.

Scuba Diva said...

At 9:10 PM, Anonymous spewed:

BS gladly toasts those bagels because they know they're sub par. The BS bagel becomes hard as stone after an hour or so out of the oven. I've been to TSB many times. They will toast. They simply don't recommend toasting.

If they're fresh out of the oven, I wouldn't toast them; when was the last time you had a fresh-out-of-the-oven bagel?

Anonymous said...

@10:15 ess-a-bagel still exists.

Anonymous said...

I stopped going to Tompkins after when they could never get an order right. three fuck ups in a row was enough for me...

Unknown said...

I thought BLACK SEED stated when they took the space, their intent was to preserve as much of the Atmosphere as possible from the previous Bakery .As far as I can see , all they saved was the
floor.The way they destroyed the previous facade makes me think it should be called BLACK HOLE
because thats what it looks like,before there was historical integrity .Now an UGLY BLACK SCARE
to remind me of whats gone forever .hope they are TOAST.

Anonymous said...

Has Ess-a-Bagel reopened???

Anonymous said...

I agree with Tom @ 4:29. It's an eye sore. It looks literally NOTHING like the last place. That's preservation? It's just a HUGE oven and I'm very concerned about the lack of a mention of whether or not they installed a scrubber. I live around the corner and I don't want to BE FORCED TO SMELL THEIR BUSINESS ALL DAY, ALL NIGHT like those poor folks on Elizabeth Street. DOWN WITH WHACK GREED BAGELS. And yes, enough about this place until is OPENS. YAWN. Toasted, not toasted...white people problems.

Anonymous said...

Folks, if it is not boiled and then baked, it is NOT a bagel. Remember that, if you can remember anything.

DrGecko said...

@ Giovanni - How do you know toasting bagels is not rocket science? My dad was a rocket scientist for decades, and I worked at NASA for three years. What the fuck do you know about rocket science?

Anonymous said...

i dont goto TSB anymore. i ordered one of their sammiches, and asked for a different type of cheese, and the girl literally rolled her eyes and said: "really?" and made a huge deal like a was a jerk for wanting cheddar instead of american cheese.

Giovanni said...

@DrGecko. Since you worked for NASA, when you toast a bagel there probably is some rocket science involved in the toasting process. However, I'm not a rocket scientist, but I have toasted many bagels, therefore I must conclude that toasting a bagel is not rocket science. But don't tell that to the geniuses who think bagels should never be toasted, because rocket science would probably seem much simpler to them than actually toasting a bagel.

Shawn said...

I'm glad people are passionate about their bagels, and want to make Tompkins Square Bagels even better. It's a tough business when you're doing both HIGH volume and QUALITY. The two are tough to reconcile, but they try their best.

It's still the best bagel store for the volume of customers they do in NYC. They could pre-make things to make the line go even faster, but then it wouldn't be Tompkins Square Bagels anymore; it'd be Starbucks Bagels.

I for one welcome the new bagel store. It's only going to benefit customers and the neighborhood to have more competition, but I don't think the Tompkins Square Bagels product and the Black Seed product are the same, and there is room for every type of want in this neighborhood!

And lastly, with Tompkins Square Bagels opening a 2nd location, there are now even more choices for residents, and this is a good thing!

Anonymous said...

"cash only" anything is annoying.

Shawn said...

Paying 3% fees to big banks we bail out is more annoying.

Anonymous said...

Such excitement over a bagel store!!! My what is going to happen if an NYU student dares to show his or her face in the Black Seed??? GEt real it is only a bagel!!!

Anonymous said...

What hypocrites some people are. The constant cry of many who post here is to denounce millenials and their obsessions (a decade ago it would have been die yuppie scum!). What hypocrites. The bagel, just the way I like it. You aren't far from those you are denoucing!!

Anonymous said...

Which came first the bagel or the donut and was the one who came next inspired by the first?

Anonymous said...

@7:48 am: i meant ess a bagel still exists in third avenue.

Anonymous said...

Cash Only places usually have an ATM with a $3.00 fee though. That's just as corrupt. I won't patronize cash only places even if I have a million bucks in my pocket.

NOTORIOUS said...

I'm waiting for Brooklyn Toast™ to open. They toast bread the authentic way: tossing artisanal bread - made in Brooklyn of course - up on a hot tar roof for 20 minutes on a 90º day. Bagels? Fuck bagels!

Anonymous said...

"No photos"? You're open to a PUBLIC SIDEWALK. Get a fucking tarp if your fee-fees are so hurt over the free publicity on the blogs. I just cannot anymore with these Canadian special snowflakes.

Let he who siphons the first gas light the first match ... said...

@Anon 9:15 PM : "no photos" during construction may be due to a perfectly innocent desire to avoid documenting illegal or off-code work in progress. Don't be so quick to judge. Oh, wait.

Anonymous said...

The fabulous Bob and Ray once did a routine about the House of Toast. Do you want your toast buttered on the far side or the near side?

Anonymous said...

There is no expectation of privacy on a public street. If they wanted it so they could keep it boarded up till the final reveal. Yep I agree with Anon 10:11 pn. Or maybe Alex Baldwin was inside omg omg omg omg omg omg...