Modern Bread & Bagel – The Best Gluten Free Bagel?
I ordered from Modern Bread & Bagel with the intention of reviewing their gluten free goods, but I think this is going to turn into the Best Gluten free Bagel review.
Bagels being a NYC staple, with me being newly diagnosed with Celiac and not able to have my everyday bagel was almost a mini tragedy every morning.
WHAT AM I GONNA EAT NOW???!!!
It is a very hard transition when you first get diagnosed. Breaking habits you never thought you had to. Bagels were well out of reach for me. You go to your corner food cart – they WILL NOT have a gluten free bagel.
They might think you’re joking when you ask for one.
This is my 3rd time encountering a gluten free bagel. I’ve been diagnosed for 4 years now. Only 3 gluten free bagels in 4 years?! That is a ridiculous ratio!
Modern Bread and Bagel
Modern Bread and Bagel is a dedicated Gluten Free facility, and kosher as well! Now, that is a rare combination! A great thing to encounter.
Everything is Gluten Free! They are a restaurant as well. So, you can enjoy way more than just some pastries!
They are inspired by cafes you might find on your travels internationally with the owner being inspired by her husband’s favorites from around the world including Sydney, Paris, and New York.
The owner wanted to re-create the classic feel good food that you would find everyday that people who are gluten free can still enjoy.
And that’s what I love about them. One thing I find is that a lot of gluten free goods are these very new, funky pastry combinations. But sometimes all you want is a good ol’ fashioned chocolate chip cookie.
You can find Modern Bread and Bagel at 472 Columbus Ave New York, NY 10024
I would encourage you to visit their shop if you are in New York City.
My Order
Half dozen Everything Bagels – Dozen Chocolate Rugelach – Half a Dozen Chocolate Chip Cookies.
I placed my order on a Sunday night – with a notification after I placed my order saying they only ship out orders Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (something to keep in mind when you order from them.) I received my order that following Wednesday.
Super quick!
On the website it’s easy to navigate. If you are in the area you can have it delivered that day, but nationwide shipping is limited in two ways.
1 – What is available to you. Which makes perfect sense because everything isn’t shippable.
2 – When you get your order. Like I said above they only ship orders out Tuesday – Thursday.
Price and Quantity
You are limited in what you can order and how little you can order. I had to order 6 bagels if I wanted those Everything Bagels. That is a draw back – but can’t blame them on a business stand point.
This quantity limitation bothers me only if I don’t like the goods. If I’m in love with what I ordered then – great! I have some gluten free bagels for awhile! I didn’t want it to be another Posh Pop Bakeshop mishap.
Because of the forced quantity you are paying a bit more. But all in all comparing to other places it wasn’t bad at all.
Shipping
I received my order the day after the first ship out day. I was surprised by the shipping. And not in a good way. In the box there was no confetti, no bubble wrap, or anything to take away the shock of any shipping mishap.
I did pay for shipping. $16.00 to be exact. Some places offer free shipping over a certain price. Which is great. Sadly, Modern Bread & Bagel does not.
As you can see in the picture above with no buffer in the box, I got some crumbly cookies. But not all of them thankfully.
I’m happy things were air sealed. The rugelach, and the cookies with cling wrap, and the bagels with a machine locked seal.
Chocolate Rugelach
It’s quite awhile since I had rugelach. I was skeptical when I ordered this because even the ones made with gluten can be pretty dry, and with some very bitter chocolate. Not exactly enjoyable for the most part.
But I looooved this. I couldn’t stop eating them!
If I didn’t know any better I would have thought they were made with lots of gluten. They did a really great job with these.
The pastry wasn’t dense. The chocolate had the right amount of sweetness to it, and the crunchy chocolate bits on the top were such a satisfying touch! Traditionally, I’ve had these with an egg wash finish on top to give it some color, but their topping is something to really beat, and way better!
They really took care in packaging these. And I’m glad they did because it really could have been a mess by the time I got them.
These guys were truly addicting. I was upset I only ordered a dozen! A must-try from Modern Bread & Bagel!
Chocolate Chip Cookies
I am very torn when it comes to these cookies. Here’s why – they tasted great. They had great texture. Smelled amazing.
But they were falling into bits! This makes me want to cry.
I really want to give Modern Bread and Bagel 5 out of 5 Croissants, but their chocolate chip cookies are going to stop them from getting that rating.
With gluten free goods it is very important when the baked goods can hold together. Who wants to eat just a bunch of crumbs? I don’t. And I’m sure everyone suffering from Celiac has had enough of that already.
Now, was it the recipe, or the shipping? I’ll never know.
If there was some stuffing in the box I might not have had this problem. Either way the packaging has to improve.
Would I order these again? Not through shipping. But would I have one if I was in their store. For sure! They still tasted great.
Everything Bagels
These were, by far, the highlight of my order. I loved those rugelach, but man I felt like I wasn’t this weird Celiac person for a minute! To have a gluten free bagel that makes you forget that you actually have a disease, is really something.
This bagel really impressed me. The smell was amazing as soon as I opened that bag!
Even some of my favorite places to get Everything Bagels don’t coat their bagels like this. They didn’t lack on that at all. And they coated BOTH SIDES!
WHAT?! Yes, Both sides!
Now, that is truly rare! And I wasn’t expecting this because this is NOT what you see on their site. The Everything Bagel isn’t even there. But the site photo doesn’t match the quality you actually receive. And the bagels in the picture look weirdly dry.
Other gluten free bagels I’ve had were very small, dry, or too chewy and dense. So, much so that I felt that my jaw muscles got a full on work out after eating one.
This bagel beats them all, and even contends among the regular bagels out there.
The texture, size, and moisture was perfect. I have ZERO complaints about their Everything Bagel!
I am glad I have 6 of these! I cut them all in half and put them in a freezer. Makes it easy when I want one. Just pop half a bagel in the toaster. 😀
I will most definitely be ordering more gluten free bagels from here. They have plain, super seed, and sesame seed bagels available as well that I want to try.
Overall
I was very impressed with Modern Bread & Bagel overall. At first I wasn’t too excited with what I ordered, but was really blown away once I tried everything!
I can truly say without a doubt they make the best Gluten Free Bagels in NYC!
Usually I order 4 items, but there being limited options for nationwide shipping nothing else appealed to me. I didn’t want an entire loaf of Banana Bread, or Chocolate Zuccini Loaf. Nothing else piqued my interest. I wish there were more options for the nationwide shipping. That’s a shame because they really have great products, but there’s something about their pictures that don’t interest me enough to order more for some reason.
But I’m willing to bet that anything you order from them will be amazing!
I give Modern Bread & Bagel 4.5 out of 5 Croissants! They lose a half a croissant because of those crumbly cookies.
If you want to order from Modern Bread & Bagel check out their ordering options.
Have a place you want me to review let me know! Feel free to contact me.