The sins committed in the name of bagels on the West Coast are many and legion, but the most egregious sin is to have a weak crust. We were surprised, then, to find OC's best approximation of the official breakfast of New York in a set of North County self-serve bagelries. Bagels ought to take a little bit of work to eat, and these shine with the correct tension in the outer crust. Though Bagel Me! sells a wide range of neo-bagels such as jalapeño, chocolate chip and cinnamon sugar, stick with the traditional varieties. Sesame- and poppy-seed bagels are thoroughly coated; garlic and onion bagels are each topped with a generous helpings of large flakes. Those large onion flakes reappear in excellent bialys, a flatter, chewier bread with an indentation in place of a hole.
