A true Jewish Bakery

One would think if any place is going to have a great bagel, its got to be a traditional, authentic Jewish Bakery.  So, I decided to make my first official destination [on my mission to find the best bagels in Philly] to Kaplan's Bakery in Northern Liberties.

A couple of notes on the bakery:
1- It is certainly unpretentious for being located in Northern Liberties.
2- They had a large range of baked goods to choose from besides their breads and bagels.
3- Their prices were pretty reasonable.

It doesn't seem like they have a website, but here is the link to their facebook page: Kaplan's New Model Bakery.

Back to the bagels; they were not really displayed so you couldn't see the different flavors or really them at all.  They were in plastic bags tied with twist ties in the case behind the counter.  So, it was sort of hard to tell how fresh they were.  Well, I decided to go for a poppy seed.  I take it to-go of course since this is a true bakery.

Here is how I would rate it, using my 1 - 5 poppy seed rating:

The Look - { 5 } It definitely had a deep honey color and beautiful sheen.  From my first look I could tell that it was a boiled bagel.

The Crust -  { 2 } Although it looked like it would have had a nice crunch, the crust was lacking the crisp I expected.  From personal experience with baking my own bagels, if they weren't kept in a plastic bag, it may have had a better crust.  Also, the fresher the better, I'm not quite sure if they were baked that day.

Inside Texture and Taste - { 3 } The inside was not too doughy, if anything a little on the dry side.  It did have nice crumb and the taste had a pleasant hint of salt.  However, this fell a little short on overall texture.  Again, it may have been best right out of the oven.

I made an egg and cheese sandwich with my poppy seed bagel.  In short, I would rate this bagel a 3.3 = above average.  So, the bagels were not "Out of this World", but they beat most grocery or convenience stores'.  And, if you're in the area and in the mood for a sweet treat, it would be worth the stop at Kaplan's.  I did pick up a yummy almond pastry, which was delicious.

Till next time...

-Jerr