Can a South Sound bagel shop out-compete NYC? Crew headed to BagelFest to find out

Since landing in Gig Harbor last year, Brittany Erwin’s bagel shop has attracted regular customers from around the Sound, some of them ex-East Coasters who, like she had, longed for the taste memory that only a boil in malt barley water can provide.

On Saturday, Sept. 28, she and the six-person staff of B’s Bagels and Butters will compete against three dozen peers at New York BagelFest, a self-proclaimed “celebration of bagel culture.”

Now in its fifth year, the event has risen from a 300-person event in Bushwick to a signature annual gathering for anyone who loves bagels and all those who make them. Thousands are expected to descend upon the festival’s new home at Citi Field in Queens this weekend.

Most of the competitors are from New York City and the Northeast, including Martha’s Vineyard, Philadelphia and Baltimore. B’s is one of just a couple that hail from west of the Mississippi, joining Starship Bagels from Dallas and Boil and Bake from Costa Mesa, California. Shops will also fly in from as far as Lisbon, Portugal, and Sydney, Australia.

They must offer three items to the crowd: two bagels and one sandwich, at least 300 of each cut into eighths. They are also tasked with serving a plain bagel — the ultimate, untoasted test — exclusively for the panel of 33 judges.

The experts join food writers and media personalities, many of them based in New York, as well as prominent cookbook authors, including Darra Goldstein, June Hersh and Leah Koenig. Chefs and cooks also dot the list, as well as leaders from the Bread Bakers Guild of America and Hot Bread Kitchen.

Categories range from Best of the Fest for top marks in both expert and crowd tallies to specific ones for creativity, showmanship and best schmear. B’s also could take home bragging rights for the Best Outside the Boroughs category or Best Newcomer.

Known in part for flavorful schmears and flavored butters, as well as weekly bagel flavors, B’s plans to serve its unique everything bagel — the seasoning mixed into the dough — with scallion cream cheese and its rosemary-salt bagel with “Northwest purple graze,” a goat-cheese spread laced with berry, lavender and honey. For the sandwich, they will go with the Gig Harbor shop’s signature burrata toast on a truffle-parmesan bagel.

GETTING WA BAGELS TO NYC

The logistics of making their Washington state bagels in New York are challenging, said Erwin.

They planned to fly out Wednesday night on a red-eye. Upon arrival, they will pick up the 15-seat van they rented to retrieve what they need for the event, plus a few dozen extra for ample testing in unfamiliar ovens. They will bring their specialty ingredients, such as truffle salt, local lavender and honey, but they will pick up bags of flour — 150 pounds of it.

That is perhaps the only question-mark on Erwin’s mind. They tried for months to secure their specific brand of flour, a high-gluten flour milled from northern hard red spring wheat, but they ultimately couldn’t get it shipped to NYC.

The chef, who spent years in full-service kitchens, including Tacoma’s Cooks Tavern, before pursuing her bagel venture, nonetheless feels confident about their chances.

“We definitely have a shot,” she said, recalling their prior experience — as attendees — at BagelFest.

She and her husband Ryan took their team of eight last year, largely for research.

“Being from the East Coast, I’ve been around bagels,” she told The News Tribune in between bagel-making last week. “I have all these people who really haven’t seen it.”

In addition to the festival, they made pilgrimages to various NYC bagel shops. After trying dozens, she continued, “I really feel like we have a really good product to throw in the ring. Like, wow, our bagels are really good!”

Erwin had stumbled upon BagelFest on Instagram as she was getting into the bagel game. She happened to meet with the event creator, Sam Silverman, and they kept in touch. Coincidentally they are both originally from Massachusetts, but his family also moved to Washington. He invited them to compete.

“It’s a really cool event to have the opportunity to be a part of,” said Erwin, one “we couldn’t pass up.”

She and Ryan are covering the costs of flights and lodging for their six employees, who will take a break from making upwards of 1,000 bagels, six days a week, for the trip to NYC. They bulked up on merch, recent sales of which have helped to defray expenses. You can also donate directly — details on B’s website.

The Gig Harbor shop will be closed Sept. 25-30. Follow the staff’s BagelFest journey on Instagram.

B’S BAGELS & BUTTERS

▪ 3308 Uddenberg Lane, Gig Harbor, bsbagelsgigharbor.com

▪ Tuesday-Friday 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 8 a.m.-2 p.m. (or sellout)

▪ Closed Sept. 25-30 as staff competes at BagelFest NYC on Sept. 28

This story was originally published September 23, 2024 at 5:00 AM.