THE HUNGRY HOURS

When did LA bagels get this good? | The LA bagel map 2026

New Yorkers used to say LA had no bagels; in 2026, New York bagel shops are moving to LA themselves. My LA bagel map: the stories, how to order, what time to go, and how New York, Montreal and soft Taiwanese bagels really differ.

Translated from Jasmine’s original Chinese. The illustrated slides are on the interactive reader.

Full text

1. 01 | From 'there aren't any' to lines out the door

   Brooklyn Bagel started in 1953, Maury's baked out of a home in 2014, Courage sold bagels by bike in 2016; in 2025, New York's H&H, the Bay Area's Boichik and Connecticut's PopUp all arrived.

2. 02 | Bagel ordering, translated

   Everything has everything, schmear is the spread, lox is salt-cured, nova is cold-smoked; scooped means the inside is hollowed out. 'If it's fresh out of the oven, don't toast it.'

3. 03 | New York, Montreal, Taiwan: what's the difference?

   New York-style is boiled in malt water, dense and chewy; Montreal-style is boiled in honey water and wood-fired, toasty and charred; Taiwanese soft bagels are actually boiled too, springy outside and soft inside. 'New York is chew, Montreal is char, Taiwan is bounce.'

4. 04 | Why go early?

   Courage, Mustard's and Boichik close at 2 p.m., Maury's at 1 on weekdays; Courage is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays and doesn't take online orders. 'Whichever one you want, make it your first stop of the morning.'

5. 05｜Courage Bagels

   The founder lost his job, sold bagels from a bike, and opened the shop in 2020. Sourdough fermented 72 hours, and the signature Burnt Everything comes topped with smoked salmon; waits of over an hour on weekends are common.

6. 06｜Maury's Bagels

   The owner got fed up with 'why doesn't LA have bagels' and in 2014 bought a mixer and baked twelve a day at home. The shop discourages toasting; straight out of the oven is when they're chewiest.

7. 07｜Belle's

   Grew from a takeout window into a deli and bar: bacon, egg & cheese in the morning, pastrami at lunch, a Pickle Martini at night. The cacio e pepe bagel is only here.

8. 08｜Brooklyn Bagel Bakery

   One of LA's oldest bagel shops, baking for seventy years; old delis like Canter's and Nate 'n Al use its bagels. Take a bag of plain home and toast them yourself.

9. 09｜Bagel Broker

   A Fairfax family shop since 1987, open at 6 a.m., and a dozen is 14. 'No line, no hype.' The one Angelenos have been eating since they were kids.

10. 10｜Layla Bagels

    Westside sourdough bagels the chef calls a mix of New York and Montreal, listed by Bon Appétit among the 'best bagels outside New York.' The signature Pre-Jam: cream cheese, honey and seasonal fruit.

11. 11 | The everyday one: Pop's, Hank's

    All four Pop's locations are 7am–3pm and take online orders ahead; Hank's started in Burbank, and its Number 3 features house-cured salmon. 'Not a destination. Just a very good Tuesday.'

12. 12 | New York and San Francisco moved here too

    New York's H&H came to Santa Monica in 2025 and opened in Echo Park in 2026; Boichik moved into the Bradbury Building; PopUp only sells whole hot bagels that you tear apart by hand and dip.

13. 13 | Asian flavors: Calic + Miopane

    Calic in Koreatown fills them with cream cheese and soaks them in garlic butter; Taiwanese soft-bagel shop Miopane opened its first US location in Pasadena on New Year's Day 2026; in Taiwan one is NT$70–80, here about $7.

14. 14 | Weekend-only, food trucks

    Mustard's is only open Friday to Sunday, and its chili oil miso scallion cream cheese was inspired by Din Tai Fung's cucumbers; Yeastie Boys is a bagel truck; some people swear by Gjusta's plain bagel too.

15. 15 | Four bagel routes

    The Eastside line route: Courage → Maury's → H&H; the old-school Beverly Blvd three, all in one morning; on the Westside, go along Montana Ave to Gjusta. 'Bagels are a morning thing; don't line up in the afternoon.'

16. 17 | Two-city mirror

    Taipei's bagels are soft and springy, with taro filling; LA's are hard and charred, and the shops close at 2 p.m. 'In Taipei, a bagel is a kind of bread; in LA, a bagel is a whole morning.'

Places in this story

• Gjusta

In this series

• The LA brunch map | An LA weekend starts with brunch
• The LA Taiwanese breakfast map | How far do you drive for shaobing youtiao in LA?
• The LA coffee map | Which kind of LA coffee do you want?
• The LA bakery map | Why do you have to get up early for bread in LA?
• The LA juice & smoothie map | Why does one smoothie cost that much in LA?
• The LA taco map | In LA, the taco is the real national dish
• Why does everyone's first meal in LA have to be In-N-Out? | The LA burger map 2026
• Why do people line up for seventy years for one pastrami sandwich? | The LA old-school deli map
• In LA, dessert is a mood | The LA ice cream & dessert map 2026
• The LA farmers market map 2026 | Which day, where, and which stall first
• Why drive to the San Gabriel Valley for dim sum in LA? | The SGV dim sum map
• The biggest Thai community outside Thailand, right next to Hollywood? | The LA Thai Town map
• Why does everyone hit Sawtelle for ramen in LA? | The Sawtelle Japantown map

Read it with the slides →

An original JSLALALAND field guide by Jasmine Chang (@jslalaland).