When it comes to bread, (which is one of my favourite things and the main part of my diet as it is) the bagel is, along with crumpets, my stomach filler of choice. It’s chewy, it’s filling, the fun of eating it and avoiding a jet of filling spurting out the hole is probably on par with the minor everyday joys of poking that foam you put cut flowers in or peeling the cover off a new mobile phone (although I admit this is not extensive research I have conducted).

As both London and New York have large Jewish communities, they are both home to several fantastic bagel bakeries. Not For Tourists have created this great list of where to find the freshest, most authentic bagels both cities have to offer, but for the uninitiated, while there, why not pick up a large chunk of cheesecake or a huge cholla plait? Your flatmates will thank you…although your waistline may not!

Photo by stopdown used under a Creative Commons License