Stuffed Bagels Have Arrived in NYC! Hype? Or Legit?

Stuffed bagels have officially hit New York City, and while I’ll forever be hesitant of any viral food, especially when it comes to messing with the perfection of a NYC Bagel, I was still intrigued. So trying to be unbiased, but with a raised eyebrow, I went to the brand new Moonrise Bagels in the Village to get a taste!

First look at Moonrise

Moonrise Bagels feels familiar at first glance: trays of bagels, the hum of a busy New York morning, people debating their orders with that particular urgency only New Yorkers bring to breakfast. The difference becomes clear when you spot what everyone is actually here for: bagels that aren’t just vehicles for fillings, but are literally baked with the sandwich sealed inside.​ Magic!

The stuffed bagel concept

Instead of slicing a bagel and building a classic bacon, egg, and cheese, Moonrise bakes the entire thing into the dough, so every bite has egg, cheese, and bacon already living in the center. Their reasoning for this actually makes sense, when you load up a bagel with bacon, egg, and cheese, it is very easy for the whole thing to fall apart, everything slipping out the back after that first bite, but here, its all nestled neatly inside.

The Menu

They have a number of different stuffed bagels on the menu: BEC, SEC, Pizza Stuffed, and even a pastrami rebuen! Since it was breakfast time, I went with the bacon, egg, and cheese stuffed into their everything bagel, along with their three sauce: the mooney house sauce, ranch, and the calabrian chili aioli. Biting into the bacon, egg, and cheese stuffed bagel, there is no slipping egg, no cheese oozing out the sides; instead, the richness is concentrated in the middle, surrounded by a ring of properly baked bagel that gives you structure and texture in every bite.​ I was impressed that they were still able to give me a chewy bagel interior, but would have liked to see a bit more of a crust on the outside. They have since told me that they are working to ensure every bagel has a better texture on the outside, and chalk my experience up to them still getting their systems in place at the new location.

As for the sauces, with this bagel in particular, I didn’t think any were necessary, not bad, but for a BEC, I would’ve loved to see a hotsauce/ketchup sauce instead!

How it feels as a New Yorker

As a New Yorker, messing with the bagel is dangerous territory, but I can appreciate innovation as long as it doesn’t mess with that real bagel experience too much, and that’s basically how i left feeling. It keeps the spirit of the classic bacon, egg, and cheese alive while solving the practical problem of eating it on the go, making it something that actually fits the pace of the city instead of slowing it down.​

Why it stuck with me

Walking out, it did not feel like I had just tried another viral food destined to disappear in a month. To me it goes into the "“other” bagel category ala Popup and Apollo. If I want that special NYC bagel experience, I’ll stick with the classics, if im looking for something specifically them, Ill be back! It does say something that a week later, and I am craving another!