PopUpBagel takes home the people's choice award at BagelFest

A roving Westport-based bagel spot took home top prize, but the real winners were the borough's bagel lovers

Turns out the best bagel in Brooklyn is from … Westport, Connecticut. That’s what the fully-vaccinated crowd decided last Saturday, anyway: PopUpBagel, a roving outfit from that seaside town to the north, won the People’s Choice Trophy at the second annual Brooklyn BagelFest.

Held under the fluorescent lights in the abandoned Century 21 space at City Point, the raucous celebration attracted hundreds of hungry folks to Downtown Brooklyn, where, for a set admission price, you could sample unlimited bagels and toppings from more than a dozen top purveyors of New York’s favorite carb. There was lots of beer on hand as well, plus comical photo-op props and occasional loud live performances from the likes of Kosha Dillz adding to the rowdiness of the occasion.

In addition to the PopUpBagel booth—their sesame bagel with chili crunch butter and trout roe was extremely good—highlights on the day included Black Seed’s excellent rip-and-dip reuben bagel bomb, stuffed with housemade pastrami, swiss cheese, and sauerkraut; Baz Bagel’s beet-and-dill neon vegan spread; and Greenberg’s New York Nico-inspired pizza bagels, drizzled with Mike’s Hot Honey.

Chili crunch butter and trout roe on a sesame seed bagel from crowd favorite PopUp Bagels (Scott Lynch)

Baz’s bagels (Scott Lynch)

The Black Seed pastrami bagel (Scott Lynch)

Utopia Bagels made the trip from Whitestone, the fluffy monsters of Ess-a-Bagel were a definite presence, and for dessert Prospect Heights’s popular new ice cream parlor The Social rolled up with a terrific, custom-created new flavor, Cream Cheese and Jelly. Non-boozers could get amped on cold brew, the bagel-filled kiddie pool got pretty gross pretty quick (“Do Not Eat,” said the sign … which, yeah, don’t worry).

Here are a few more scenes from the day: