Photo courtesy of Bantam Bagels
Well, they — as in Bantam Bagels — calls them “mini bagel balls,” each filled with an exotic cream cheese or filling. Creator Nick Oleksak, who owns the shop with his wife Elyse, says the idea for the atypical snack came to him in a dream. He grabbed his phone, made a drowsy note to himself and the next day the first batch was made.
There are many flavors to choose from when it comes to Bantam Bagels. Some examples:
- French Toast: Cinnamon nutmeg egg bagel filled with a buttery, maple syrupy cream cheese
- The Bleecker Street: Pizza dough bagel topped with a thin slice of pepperoni. Filled with marinara mozzarella cream cheese
- Everybody’s Favorite: Everything bagel filled with freshly chopped vegetable cream cheese
- Cinnamonster: Cinnamon raisin bagel filled with sweet walnut cream cheese
- Grandma JoJo: talian spiced bagel topped with thinly sliced, marinated tomato filled with fresh basil pesto cream cheese
- The Hangover: Cheddar cheese and egg bagel topped with melted cheddar cheese filled with bacon cheddar cream cheese and a drizzle of maple syrup
And more! They’re constantly being made throughout the day, so these bagel balls are fresh and warm. Tip: Just make sure when you bite into the bagel ball you have the little hole where the filling is squeezed into inside your mouth, or prepare to have it splattered all over you.
Bantam Bagels is located at 283 Bleeker Street in Manhattan.
Jessica Festa is the editor of the travel sites Jessie on a Journey (http://jessieonajourney.com) and Epicure & Culture (http://epicureandculture.com). Along with blogging at We Blog The World, her byline has appeared in publications like Huffington Post, Gadling, Fodor’s, Travel + Escape, Matador, Viator, The Culture-Ist and many others. After getting her BA/MA in Communication from the State University of New York at Albany, she realized she wasn’t really to stop backpacking and made travel her full time job. Some of her most memorable experiences include studying abroad in Sydney, teaching English in Thailand, doing orphanage work in Ghana, hiking her way through South America and traveling solo through Europe. She has a passion for backpacking, adventure, hiking, wine and getting off the beaten path.
