Looks very similar. No one does original I & Joy anymore.
Generous NYT piece covering the California bagel scene:
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Another great piece by the NYT of LA
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She’s the best food writer covering LA imo.
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“Compared with a New York bagel, our bagel’s not as dense and chewy,”
Code for “they suck”
H&H, imho, are way too soft. I think they’re only slightly better than Noah’s. My friend went to Boichik after I told him about them. He thought they were ok.
I need to try a few of these on the list.
Good to see LA getting some love!
So far, I think Belles Bagels are my favorite.
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In the SF Bay Area, Baron’s bagels are better than Boichik’s and half the price.
Courage is not worth the hype. Hank’s is really not getting the love and recognition it should be. Need to try Belle’s next time i am down in LA.
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I like Sam’s Bagels best because they have lots of whole grain options. Regular bagels don’t pass the perceived healthiness test for me these days.
On NY vs LA, I vote NY by a landslide. I like Ess-a-Bagel best.
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Compared with flour, literal whole grains such as wheat berries have a much lower glycemic index and take much longer to digest, so they don’t spike your blood sugar.
Whole grain flour and white flour are nutritionally almost identical. Whole grain flour has a little fiber and a little more vitamins and minerals, but not enough to be significant in a balanced diet.
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Har!
I do think, in all fairness, that a bagel can have a little (edit: less) density (not sure why you’d want less chew, though) and still be interesting. They’re not too far away, so I’ll probably give them a try…
Never been to Belle’s. Just Googled location. Argh! Too far for a bagel!!!
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The real answer is Scratch Baking in Portland, Maine 
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I went to Scratch, maybe based on your posts here. Better than Noah’s or the like, but as artisanal bagels go it didn’t seem like anything special to me.
Go to Galcos for soda or bang it with Triple Beam or Bang Bang Noodles or Masons Dumplings. 
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Few things I’ve disagreed with more in my life (though it has now been a distressingly long time… so maybe downhill alert?)
I have no idea. Went there in June 2019. Certainly still popular, bagels sold out early.
best bagels we’ve had in LA are from Hank’s Bagels, naturally leavened sourdough bagels.
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Other bangs to pair with Belle’s (which are good but have never stood out to my untrained palate): Mariscos El Faro (aguachile bagel!!!), magpie’s, Kumquat, Hermosillo…
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People have different ideas of what a bagel should be. Boichik’s are modeled after the H&H bagels she grew up with. Maybe that’s also Rao’s idea of good.
So, I was on the westside, early on a Sunday for once. Chance to hit up a bagel place I’ve been meaning to try. Also, they were just mentioned in Eater. Someone here at FTC mentioned them as well, I think for pletzels.
Bueller’s Bagels on Olympic at Westwood Blvd.
I typically judge based on a salt bagel, but I had to also try a bialy. And since I’m a fat ass, two others (No I didn’t eat them all — but I could). I think they were about $13 a dozen, so priced right.
Here they are, front and back.
The salt bagel was salted on both sides. Always nice to see considering the big thing here in hipster Los Angeles is to use a tweezers to surgically add three flecks of salt.
Outside was crusty, interior texture was OK. Slightly bready but overall it was chewy.
It certainly was not just bread like Western nor as bready as Bagel Nosh (which I actually like for some reason). This was closer to New York Bagel & Deli texture, but not as good.
The bialy was crusty like ciabatta with no crisp. This definitely needed the benefit of toasting…And butter.
The verdict. They’re not bad. Not close to my favorite. Other reviews, on Yelp or Google, mention the crispy exterior. Mine weren’t like that and that would have made these a bit better. Toasting is needed I think. If I lived near Bueller’s, I’d be happy to go there. Again, not my favorite, but serviceable.
The owner was there serving me. She was super nice!!! I’d go back just because of that
By the way, whomever was looking for the pletzel, these had a giant hole in the middle. Better served getting pletzels at New York Bagel & Deli. Theirs are larger with no hole.
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