I am a bagel maven. They should be plain, sesame, poppy seed or everything. Plain cheese cake is the best spread. The bagels should be fresh but are pretty much OK if you freeze them fairly quickly.

If you want a hot bagel, put it, whole, in a preheated 350 degree oven. They should not be toasted.

These days it is difficult to get a good bagel unless you live in New York City. New Yorkers say it’s the water. Evidently Dunkin Donuts sells more bagels than anyone else. This tells me something.

When I go to New York, I bring home two dozen and freeze them. I am down to four. It is time for a trip.

Or maybe not. My friend Laurie Walker mentioned a place called Deke’s Bagels in Niantic. I drove there the next morning.

I ate a plain with just a schmear of cream cheese. It was as chewy and flavorful as a New York bagel. It was a little too puffy, but I’m not complaining. In order to eat it, you bite into the bagel and have to either pull the bagel with your teeth using both hands left and right or pull left and right with your jaw. This is an excellent bagel.

Deke’s Bagels

157 W. Main Street

Niantic, CT 06357

860-739-9509