On Bagels in the Pacific Northwest Back to Journal →

Sunday, February 24, 2019

I knew moving West would expose a few cultural nuances, but it turns out I really had no idea. First there was the time I asked for a lobster roll and was told "we don’t serve sushi". Two months later, my search for fried dough led me to an elephant ear stand.

Well, today I came across another interesting one. Evidently, most of Canada and the Pacific Northwest region prefers Montreal-style bagels, which represent a departure from the larger, more doughy, New York-style bagels I grew up with in Western Connecticut (and prefer). Yes, Montreal-style bagels look and taste different, so it makes sense they’d have a unique name, but it still made me chuckle.

First pizza, now bagels. Who knew?