Of all the fiercely defended traditions in New York City–walk fast, stand to the right, don’t make eye contact on the subway–none is surrounded by more unhinged passion than the bagel. New Yorkers don’t just like bagels, we identify through them. Like, the mere suggestion that a bagel should be scooped out or the claim that California has better bagels than us is enough to literally end a friendship.
With that being said, there have been some attempts at zhuzhing up the bagel that had us, well, asking some questions–like when this shop sold no-hole bagels to ensure maximum schmear and that time someone tried to make chopped bagels a thing.
We even had a go at creating the next big bagel craze when we collabed with PopUp Bagels on a limited-edition Secret NYC schmear!
But there’s a new concept about to hit New York City that, dare we say, we’re quite intrigued by: the stuffed bagel.
Hailing from the Hudson Valley is reportedly the Catskills’ favorite bagel shop, Moonrise Bagels, makers of the original stuffed (yes, stuffed) bagel. And tomorrow, Friday, December 5th, they’re making their NYC debut.
Moonrise won over fans by introducing a completely original bagel concept: stuffing bagels to show that these chewy rounds of dough can–and should–be enjoyed well into the day, and not just at breakfast time.
The hand-rolled bagels are stuffed with scratch-made comfort foods and boiled and baked on site, ensuring each and every last bit of the bagel is meticulously made in-house. The menu is made up of stuffing flavors including:
- Buffalo Chicken
- Pastrami
- Bacon Egg & Cheese
- Eggplant Parm
- Cheese Pizza
And because each and every New Yorker deserves to enjoy a good bagel, there’s even a 100% vegan Sausage Egg & Cheese stuffed bagel!
Moonrise Bagels was born from the minds of husband and wife duo, Jeremy Rhodes and Ali Chetkof Rhodes, who, on New Year’s Eve 2020, had an idea: “What if we could put pizza inside a bagel?”
After months of relentless trial and error, that pandemic cooking and baking hobby resulted in the launch of Moonrise Bagels in 2021, with a Woodstock storefront opening in December of that same year.
Word spread quickly, and within weeks everyone in Woodstock wanted to try a stuffed bagel.
Now, Greenwich Village will officially get a taste of the Catskills’ favorite bagels, with Moonrise Bagels debuting its first NYC location at 58 West 8th Street on Friday, December 5th.
This will be Moonrise’s fourth location, with three other storefronts upstate in Kingston, Poughkeepsie, and its original home, Woodstock.
We’re not going to lie–we’re pretty damn excited to get our hands on this stuffed bagel. If you are too, you can learn more and check out the full menu on Moonrise’s website.