Tompkins Square Bagels.

Tompkins Square Bagels is the East Village’s answer to the bagel question, and the answer is “we do things a little differently here.” They have creative flavor combinations like the French toast bagel and the cheddar jalapeño, and somehow they all work. The bagels are hand-rolled and boiled and they have a slightly denser texture than some of the other top shops.

Their specialty cream cheeses are where they really shine. The cookie dough cream cheese sounds ridiculous and tastes incredible. The wasabi cream cheese on an everything bagel is a sleeper hit. If you’re the kind of person who likes to experiment with your food, this is your spot.

Tompkins Square Bagels is named for the park located a stone’s throw away. The hand rolled bagels churned out of this iconic bagel shop are kettle boiled and baked fresh daily until 1pm. The bagels are hefty but the air pockets makes them light, chewy and downright irresistible. I couldn’t put mine down. The bagels serve as the perfect canvas for an impressive selection of spreads but it’s hard to beat classic cream cheese with lox.