A long time ago I gave up hope on finding a true bagel in Buenos Aires. I’d come across bread with holes in the middle, disguising themselves as the real deal, only to be severely disappointed by the lack of bagel goodness I hold so dear to my heart. Luckily, thanks to the Buenos Aires bagel man, Diego Macadar and his company QuieroBagel.com, my intense pseudo-pregnant food craving can now be satisfied in bulk. Conveniently delivered right to your doorstep, these New York style Jewish doughnuts come in a variety of flavors and sizes and are the perfect addition to any expat’s freezer.
Skeptical at first by the idea of having to reheat a frozen bagel, since one of my seven wonders of the world is eating it homemade, fresh out of the oven, Diego confidently assured me that these are the real deal. I’ve heard this line many times before, but since he had traveled far and wide, eating his way through my favorite food cities, I gave him the benefit of the doubt to try his bagel with an open mind.
Step One: Easily order your bagels online. I went for an assortment of plain, everything, sesame and poppy-seed – but combinations can be requested that don’t appear on the website. The bagels come in three different sizes as well: regular, medium and mini. My favorite order? Two dozen of the assorted medium-sized bagels (AR$75) – that comes to about AR$3.12 per bagel, fair price for BA standards (AHEM to the 8 peso greasy bagel at Oui Oui).
Step Two: Bagels are delivered to you, generally weekdays between 7pm-9pm or on weekends during the day. In the delivery car, there is actually a mini freezer compartment built into the back seat to make sure that no sad bagels suffer from premature defrost-ation.
Step Three: Pop the bagels in the oven for about 15 minutes.
Step Four: Eat it, toast it, smother it with cream cheese, make a breakfast sandwich, or do all of the above.
And this..
Sesame bagel BLT with no L and extra B.
Homemade chive cream cheese, aka Finlandia light with chopped ciboullette from my urban herb garden.
Smother it on top..
Add microwaved egg (yes, I said microwave…it comes out perfect every time), tomato and capers to create this..
While it is important to note that if I did a blind taste test I’d probably still be able to tell the difference between a bagel from the US and Quiero Bagel (blame it on the wheat?), this version gets my vote (along with La Crespo) as the leading contender in the Buenos Aires Bagel BASH.
To place your order, visit Quierobagel.com or email at info@quierobagel.com.
Xema2005 says
ordering some for my post new year’s eve brunch (even though by Jan 1st I should be dieting!!)
Wendy Lieberman Piccione says
WOW! Again, great writing and so great to see some food variety in BA! As a fellow Jew and food lover, I would have eaten them passionately in BA! BTW, there is a great Jewish bakery in Belgrano (its on the Jewish map of BA if you know it) that makes the best challah!!!!!
forkyou says
Oooo there are a few Jewish bakeries in Belgrano, which one is the best?? I need some good challah!
Nati says
I know you asked almost a year ago, but if you want REALLY good challah, you’ll find it at MANA (José Hernández 2537, between Ciudad de la Paz and Amenábar) Just make sure you don´t go late on Fridays since there probably won´t be any left! Enjoy!
forkyou says
It’s never too late for challah! thanks for the recommendation, i’ll definitely be checking it out
amyteiko says
CAPERS?!
forkyou says
CAPERS?!
Anonymous says
CAPERS?!
tesstravelling says
Jammie! These bagels look good, did make bagels a while ago following your recipe those were very good, but it took a fair amount of time. This the easy and fast solution! Although it will be nice to make them myself every now and then :)
Anonymous says
something I find funny — bagels are not considered Jewish food here in Buenos Aires! I came home one day to share the exciting news with my argie-jew bf and he looked at me and asked, “What’s so special about a bagel? Isn’t it just bread in the shape of a ring?”
Right then and there I youtubed the bagel making process and broke it down for him. May all the world know, there is much more to a bagel than the average loaf of bread, which of course, you are fully aware of :D
Thanks for sharing!
forkyou says
Once I saw a group of American girls on the street and there was a Peruvian selling chipa, these girls screamed in excitement, “OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGG BAGELZZZZZZZZZZZ”
i laughed.
Stephen Page (eudaimonia) says
I’m definitely ordering this place. Great photos. Delicious.