This article has been edited since it first appeared in print.
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Baltik’s Bagel owner Yero Rudzinskas (Photo by Jay Paul)
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Baltik’s Bagel on Forest Hill Avenue (Photo by Jay Paul)
In recent years, bagels have strayed far from their beginnings. While ordering a bacon, egg and cheese bagel sandwich or touting New York as the bagel epicenter may be timeless standards, especially among purists, the circular carbs have been turned on their heads.
Sourdough styles and long ferments, local grains and other ingredients, rip-and-dip methods of consumption, wildly inventive schmears, and places like Los Angeles and Austin earning accolades as “best bagels” cities — we’ve entered a realm where everything is possible. That mentality helped inspire New York BagelFest founder Sam Silverman to create a venue to explore the world of bagels, no holds barred.
“What’s unique about bagels is that they can be consumed in an infinite number of ways,” says Silverman, who launched the first BagelFest in 2019. “My estimate is that there’s 168 million unique sandwich combinations in a standard bagel shop — and among those, there’s a perfect order for each and every one of us. Few foods allow for that level of personalization, which is part of why bagels inspire such strong opinions and such deep love.”
A scene from New York BagelFest 2024 (Photo by Lauren Ariel courtesy New York BagelFest)
The participants in the sixth annual BagelFest, held at Citi Field in Queens on Nov. 16, represent that diversity: a Queens-based shop open since 1981; wood-fired varieties from Montreal, Canada; James Beard Award finalist bakers; pandemic hobbies that became brick-and-mortar ventures; inventive riffs from New Orleans; a Hudson Valley hot spot. Also this year, there will be an inaugural competitor in the bunch: Richmond’s own Baltik’s Bagel, the first Virginia shop ever selected to participate.
The Forest Hill Avenue eatery, complete with drive-thru and known for its kettle-boiled and baked beauties, is one of 25 competitors, sourced through a combination of on-the-ground scouting, applications, referrals, media coverage and taste testing.
Silverman says, “We’re seeing a global renaissance; it’s important that BagelFest reflects that movement.”
Baltik’s Bagel owner Yero Rudzinskas is excited to be the standard-bearer for the commonwealth. “I feel like the approach we want to take is, we’re coming from a place that’s not known for bagels, but we are here to tell you that we should be taken seriously and be celebrated for our differences,” he says.
Previously working in Michelin-starred restaurant kitchens and crunching numbers on Wall Street, Rudzinskas is joining the ranks of New York City institution Ess-a-Bagel. “I ate there twice a week, [and] the idea that they’re going to be there, and we’ll be in the same space as them, is mind-blowing.”
Up for grabs are the titles of Best of the Fest, Best Bagel and Schmear of the Year. The event also features panel discussions with industry insiders, master classes and a dough-rolling contest.
The Smoke Show sandwich, with scrambled eggs, bacon, melted smoked Gouda, hot pepper cream cheese, chipotle mayo and hot honey, served on a softie bagel (Photo courtesy Baltik’s Bagel)
Year-old Baltik’s, the youngest shop on the BagelFest bill, plans to take a regional approach to the competition. “What we’ll be serving there is really a celebration of Virginia agriculture,” Rudzinskas explains. “We’re leaning into the coastal culture of the state; the bagel will be an ode to seafood, with a crab-centric cream cheese, crab salad, lamb’s lettuce and caviar.”
Baltik’s also plans to present the Smoke Show: scrambled eggs, bacon, melted smoked Gouda, hot pepper cream cheese, chipotle mayo and hot honey, served on the shop’s signature softie bagel. Softies are lighter and feature depressions meant to secure the ingredients, particularly eggs.
Eager to take his crew to New York, Rudzinskas says, “What we really want to walk away with is bringing a ton of respect to the Virginia bagel scene, especially the Richmond bagel scene, because — let’s be honest — it’s exploding. I’m really excited about what this could mean for the bagel ecosystem here.”
