Kosher Food and Drink

As mentioned in my previous review of Saba’s Restaurant, my family was on a vacation in Houston and had a chance to try a number of kosher restaurants out in this fast-growing city.

The subject of this review is The Bagel Shop Bakery (5422 Bellaire Blvd, Bellaire, TX 77401; (713) 692-2435; bagelshopbakery.com; under HKA supervision). We had just gotten off the plane from DC, the kids were hungry, and waiting for lunch wasn’t going to happen. A quick brunch was in order, and some pre-trip research had put The Bagel Shop Bakery on our radar.

The BSB is in a decent section of town (note: I have no familiarity whatsoever with Houston geography) and wasn’t hard to find. Parking is easily available nearby. It is very attractive on the outside, with a nice-looking covered outdoor seating area with a lot of fans.

The ambience on the inside is simply not appealing. It’s very utilitarian, with very little attempt at decorating. There are four or five indoor tables, with additional seating at a bar on the wall. Our table was so close to the door that we got hot air blown on us every time it opened, which wasn’t a great experience.

The menu is mostly sandwiches, but also includes a large bakery selection. Given my previous article about pastrami salmon, ordering their pastrami salmon reuben was a no-brainer for me, on a challah (egg) bagel. My wife chose the breakfast bagel sandwich. The kids simply wanted plain bagels with cream cheese. The adult entrees were about $10-15 each; the kids’ entrees were more like $7. This is a couple bucks more than I’m used to, so I had high expectations.

The food came quickly, and so did the moment of truth.

The included home fries were very good; crispy and well-spiced, none of the soggy potato slices I’ve gotten used to. But the bagels were simply outstanding. Crispy on the outside, but with a nice bit of chew on the inside, and no big gap in the middle. We’re spoiled in the DC area by Goldberg’s bagels, which are amazing, but these compete with them easily.

The pastrami salmon sandwich made full use of this quality bagel medium to provide some strong acidic and fish flavors that didn’t overwhelm, but did taste delicious. The pastrami salmon was of the cured and cold-smoked variety. My wife’s breakfast bagel was similarly excellent and devoured quickly. Hunger provides its own spice, but make no mistake, these were well-executed sandwiches.

While I wasn’t thrilled with The Bagel Shop Bakery’s ambience, the food spoke for itself, and it was fantastic. I’d encourage them to do some minor renovations to make the experience a little nicer when it’s too hot or cold outside for comfortable outdoor eating. But if I were a Houston native, I suspect they’d be seeing a lot of my business.

(Update 6/20/2024: we returned, and I had a Misgas bagel. Basically an omlette bagel sandwich, but a good flavor profile between the eggs, cheese, and veggies. I suspect the near-downtown location is driving the higher pricing structure.)