In the spring of 2021, two articles from legacy New Yorkbased media outlets made lightning-speed rounds among Jewish food lovers and their friends. First came the accolade that landed in my text message queue multiple times within hours of hitting the internet. When New York Times food critic Tejal Rao declared “The Best Bagels Are in California (Sorry, New York)” in March, she roused the zombie that is the L.A.-vs-NYC conversation and helped soothe the West Coast inferiority complex.

Satire soon followed. In April, The New Yorker published a Daily Shouts column online by Joanna Bradley offering “A Guide to Purchasing Your Very Own Los Angeles Bagel,” poking fun at the comical scarcity that characterizes some artisanal bagel operations that are decidedly not about volume. “Half the charm of a Los Angeles bagel is the long, byzantine process of attempting to acquire one,” the piece states.

Like many caricatures, it contains a grain of truth. Do not rely on any of the bagel businesses mentioned in the Times story for your crowd’s Yom Kippur breakfast needs. And early birds get the worm.

L.A. doesn’t have a shortage of reliable bagel bakeries that operate on a large scale. Western Bagel, The Nosh of Beverly Hills, Bagel Broker, Brooklyn Bagel, and the Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. in Beverly Hills continue to feed hungry families and deliver heaping platters to large gatherings. But there’s a new movement on the rise.

Operations such as Courage, Pop’s, Belle’s, Hank’s, Maury’s, and Yeastie Boys appeal to a population that craves comfort and nostalgia. These customers are also likely to care about the ethics, history, and ingredients of what they eat — and what looks good on Instagram.

“There’s a demand in general for artisanal made [foods] and a focus on quality, and moving away from chain restaurants and moving towards local producers and family owned businesses,” says Trevor Faris, co-owner of Hank’s. In many cases, they are located outside the traditional geographical clusters of the Jewish community in Los Angeles, reflecting L.A.’s own internal diaspora that has a presence in neighborhoods like Silver Lake and Highland Park.

It’s no secret. People love bagels — and bialys! — more than ever, and this oldnew trend overall reflects a fascinating evolution of our food culture. Thankfully, we’ve got pros in town eager to satisfy the growing appetite with meticulous care. “The quality of every ingredient is important so if you have the proper filtration to make your water taste good, you use exquisite quality flour (we mill much of our own organic flour), exercise patience with slow, flavor-developing fermentation, use careful and measured handling of the dough, boil and bake using ages-old methods and bake fully with an artisan’s eye, then you should be able to make delicious, traditional bagels anywhere,” explains Brad Kent, food scientist and chef/baker.

So, clear your calendar and go get your very own Los Angeles bagel at the following shops and quasi-delis.