The bagels that wowed The New York Times arrive in Berkeley

A new bagel shop with bagels that reportedly rival New York’s has just opened in Berkeley.

Bageltopia debuted its first brick-and-mortar location Tuesday at 1401 University Ave., a mile west of the hungry student throngs of UC Berkeley. Cofounder Dan Graf grew up in New Jersey and worked at Saul’s Restaurant & Delicatessen in North Berkeley, where he perfected a homegrown formula for East Coast-style bagels. Part of his magic process: He lets the dough cold-proof and ferment for four days before boiling and baking. And he lines his baking trays with a special linen to form a crisp, glossy crust with a supremely chewy interior.

The other cofounders of Bageltopia are Jeff Davis, of Berkeley’s Fellini Coffeebar, and Mike Daillak of Sam’s Log Cabin in Albany.

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For several years, Graf had sold his bagels wholesale to restaurants and Peet’s and Philz coffee shops under the business name of Baron’s Baking. In 2012, The New York Times took note of his delectable products in a feature titled “In the Bay Area, Bagels as Good as Brooklyn’s.” Here’s part of that story by journalist and cookbook author Joan Nathan:

“Mr. Graf boils his bagels in a lye water sodium hydroxide solution, which makes the outside sticky, allowing toppings to adhere better… Rather than adding honey or malt to the water, which some purists think is the secret to a good bagel, Mr. Graf boils his bagels in heavily salted water. The result: perfectly seasoned, brown, crusty, chewy bagels.”

At Bageltopia, the bagels on offer include plain, poppy, sesame, onion, everything, salt, fennel and salt (one of a few seasonal specials) and a cinnamon-raisin hand roll ($2.50 each, plus $1 for cinnamon raisin). These can be slathered in nearly a dozen cream cheeses, such as caper and dill, lox, Calabrian chili, black garlic and double-date ($1.50 -$3.50). The add-on options range from basil butter to strawberry preserves to tuna salad, and there are plenty of vegan offerings, including vegan cream cheeses and a whole menu of vegan sandwiches from the $13.50 Farmstand (tofu scramble, roasted tomato, arugula) to the $13 Veganova (house-smoked carrot lox, capers, dill).

A new bagel shop called Bageltopia opened in Berkeley in April 2024. The New York Times has deemed its bagels “as good as Brooklyn’s.” (Photo courtesy of Bageltopia) 

Bageltopia brines and cures its salmon in a cold-smoker using cherrywood. The lox is served in bagel sandwiches like the Egg Supernova ($17.50) with scrambled eggs, Nova lox, cream cheese, red onion and capers, and the fusion-y Sushinova ($17.50) with wasabi-tamari cream cheese, Nova lox, nori, cucumber and tobiko. There are also sweet, kettle-fried treats like the French Toast Bagel ($9) with a fried cinnamon-raisin hand roll, lemon-zest ricotta cream, maple syrup and powdered sugar.

The bagels can be ordered individually or by the dozen at a discounted price ($27). House-smoked lox is sold by weight: $23 for half a pound of salmon and $8.50 for half a pound of vegan carrot. And for people who are going gluten-free, the shop is offering plain and everything bagels from Odd Bagel for $4 apiece.

Details: Open 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday (closed Monday) at 1401 University Ave., Berkeley; thebageltopia.com