Of the innumerable choices out there for baked breakfast items, one option stands out as the clear front runner for me. Bagels. I know a few eyebrows might be raised at that statement, and even an objection or two could sound from the purist in the corner muttering something about “boiled-then-baked”, but I believe the humble bagel is superior to all other breakfast competitors, be they baked or boiled. Yes, even the mighty croissant, in all its flaky Frenchy glory, pales in comparison to the stolid bagel: that embodiment of the simple everyman's meal, with its unpretentious caramel-colored exterior and no-nonsense chewy interior.
While bagels today may be seen as a common street food, at least two of its origin theories have more regal connotations. As Ari Weinzweig points out in his article The Secret History of Bagels, the 14th century Queen of Poland, Jadwiga was said to have enjoyed a bagel-like bread called an obwarzanek during Lent. Another Polish monarch, Jan Sobieski, was reputed to have received bagels as a form of tribute in the 17th century. While the bagel’s beginnings may never be conclusively determined, most people nowadays associate them with the Jewish immigrant communities found in New York City, and enjoy them despite their ignorance of its genesis.
Whatever its origins may be, the bagel, above all else, is versatile. It can be enjoyed by the most timid or intrepid of eaters alike. From the plain cream cheese schmear to gravlax, onions, and capers, or anywhere in between the bagel serves as a vessel for gastronomic creativity. My personal favorite way to eat one is with a fried egg (over-medium), butter, sliced avocado, sriracha, and a pinch of salt. And the choices for what bagel to use as a base are almost unlimited: plain, everything, blueberry, pumpernickel, cinnamon raisin, asiago, etc.
All this begs the question, why am I even writing about bagels? Am I just hungry and craving one? Possibly. Did the article I originally intend to write this week not pan out? Even more likely. But the real reason is I want to share where I think the best bagel in Georgia can be found.
In a plain and unassuming strip mall off Cobb Parkway in Acworth, Georgia, sandwiched between a Chinese buffet and spinal center, sits Art’s Bagels and More. Its no-frills facade could easily be overlooked, were it not for the long line snaking its way out of the front door. Art’s is open until 2:00pm, but if you come later than noon it’s rare you’ll find much of anything left. The inside is a perfect reflection of the outside - sparsely decorated, unadorned wood tables and chairs, and the photos of New York City you associate with homesick expats planting roots in the South: workers eating lunch on a steel beam hundreds of feet above the city streets, Grand Central Station, and the Brooklyn Bridge.
But don’t let its spartan appearance fool you. Art’s has been serving up traditional New York style bagels for breakfast and lunch to hungry customers since 1994, boiling and then baking them fresh every morning. If you get there early enough you’ll see wire baskets behind the glass counter filled to overflowing with bagels of all different varieties: rosemary and olive oil, marbled rye, salt, french toast, and poppy-seed to name a few. For breakfast I’d recommend a bacon, egg, and cheese on the super cinnamon bagel, and for lunch the hot pastrami and Swiss on marbled rye is my goto. The workers are no exception to the low-profile image Art’s presents. Wearing solid-colored t-shirts and a business-like expression they take your order on a plain notepad. No fancy touch screens or complicated registers for them. They even have a spike to impale tickets on after the order’s been completed.
It may seem old school and even a tad outdated, but I can think of no place more fitting to serve the unaffected bagel. That food item that has served kings and peasants, Wall Street suits and garbagemen, and everyone in between. Art’s knows who they’re serving and what they’re serving, and no one in Georgia does it better. So the next time you’re in the area and craving a baked good with an illustrious past Art’s Bagels and More has you covered; I’m certain they won’t disappoint.
Happy Reading,
Drew
I’ve said for a long time that replace bread with a bagel, no matter what the food is, and it makes it instantly better.