For many Baruch students, the variety of food choices provided by the many different carts and restaurants around the school is unable to beat the simplicity of the bagels from Bagel Express at the far corner of the plaza. Many students only have a short lunch break before they’re rushing to their next class once again. It’s inconvenient for them to wait on long lines for a lunch box or run over to the fast food restaurants near the subway station. Pizza is always a choice, but there are complaints that eating too much of it is only paving the path to freshman 15. With the lack of an actual bakery around the school, the bagels from the deli become an obvious choice. There’s fast service, large servings, and most of all, who can reject cream cheese looking like ice cream behind the counter.

The Bagel Tax Distortion 

Do you owe the government money if you get a bagel for yourself? Apparently you do if you get it sliced by the person behind the counter. And also if you eat it where you get, even if the knife did not touch it. Bread however does not have tax if it is sliced by the person behind the counter.

Writer Catherine Rampell claims that once people catch on to this, consumers will start buying bagels by the whole more than sliced bagels. This type of tax distortion might ultimately affect the government in a negative way.

Why is this tax distortion applied we might ask. Our assumption is that it is the highest selling type of bagel item. Most people buy bagels with butter/cream cheese which is taxed. We do not know if this is caused by the government trying to correct a behavior that they believe to be unhealthy or using the consumers as victims of their greed. Either way, our prediction is different from what the writer claims. We do not believe that sliced bagel sales will go down because of the sheer popularity of the item. Read the article here

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/the-bagel-tax-distortion/

Bagels vs. Doughnuts 

 “Be yourself. Do not try to change yourself to fit everyone’s needs. You can’t please everyone; the least you can do is be yourself and be authentic.” Such are the words of William Safire, the writer of “Bagels vs. Donuts.” He accuses bagels to be losing the character that made them the popular New York breakfast in the first place. The distinctive hole that seems to be disappearing for lack of cares while shaping the confection, the tendency to use it in a sandwich that it’s thick texture was meant to be, the decreasing chewiness of the exterior, and the overall likeliness to be appearing to a bigger market are some of the qualities that Safire mentions.

     Safire seems to be very critical about the idea of bagels becoming a “sell out” to be making more money. He claims it’s the lack of authenticity that is paving the way for other confection like croissants and bran muffins to take the lead. By trying to appear to the mass, it’s betraying the loyal lovers that appreciate the bagel for it really is. If the bagel does not realize the urgency to revive credibility for itself it will soon lose its leading position in the breakfasts for New Yorkers. Read the article here

 http://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/25/opinion/essay-bagels-vs-doughnuts.html

In New York, Try to Find a Genuine New York Bagel 

New Yorkers can’t deny that they don’t love the soft and chewy texture of a good bagel. In the article, “In New York, Try and Find A Genuine New York Bagel,” author Molly O’Neill tells her audience about the old European way world of preparing and making a bagel compared to the new Americanized way of making them. O’Neill also includes several bagel shops that stick to the old school way of creating a bagel.

As described in the article, the European and American ways are similar in concept but the main difference between the two is the lack of malt from the American bagels. Also, the production of the two types are different in that the old school bagels are rolled by hand, boiled and then baked, while the new way of preparing bagels is done by machines. To experience a traditional bagel, a list of bagel shops is included at the conclusion of the article. All of the shops listed are located within the five boroughs of New York. This article doesn’t only prove that New Yorkers love a good bagel, but that old world bagel culture still exists.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/29/us/new-york-2004-new-york-dining-new-york-try-find-genuine-new-york-bagel.html

NYC; Humble Bagel, Highly Priced But Worth It 

New York offers countless amounts of food options ranging from French and Italian to Indian and Greek, yet bagels seem to remain a New Yorkers go to food of choice. The article, “Humble Bagel, Highly Priced but Worth it,” captures the true essence of a New Yorker’s attitude towards quality and price. Here, author Clyde Haberman compares a high class Austrian-themed restaurant to local bagel shops in and around Manhattan.

The price of bagels has recently escalated to a pricey 95 cents per bagel at one favorite bagel shop, H & H, leaving customers outraged and demanding to know why the 10 cent increase was implemented. The regular customers all agreed that 95 cents for a plain bagel with nothing on it is too much. When employees were asked to explain why customers were paying so much, all they had to say was, “Ask my boss.” Even though there are limitless amounts of bagel shops with cheaper prices, New Yorkers can agree that they are willing to go the extra mile for what they want. H & H bagels prove to come out on top and hold the title for the best quality despite their high prices.

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/30/nyregion/nyc-humble-bagel-highly-priced-but-worth-it.html

Was Life Better When Bagels Were Smaller?

Bagels are to New York as cheese is to Wisconsin, as Baguettes are to France, and as Clam Chowder is to Boston. Bagels are tied into the history of New York. A bagel is more then just a delicious mixture of high gluten flour, water, yeast and malt, it is a symbol of the Jewish culture in New York, it stands for the rise of unions and the melting pot that New York still is. The bagels hard shiny exterior and its soft warm center is more then just a breakfast item, it is a metaphor for New York, and all of its varied residents.

In a city of varied cultures, ethnicities, and races the bagel unites them all. But bagel buyers beware, not all bagels are created with the same chutzpah. Before 1960 all bagels were made by hand, the dough would be shaped, boiled and then cooked into the golden delight weighing in at three ounces. Yes, three ounces, until the 1980’s, when bagels became one of the elements in a sandwich, bagels were traditionally much smaller. New Yorkers took their bagels so seriously that until bagel making machines were introduced in the 1960’s, a union was designed specifically for bagels. Local 338 was formed in the early 1900’s and consisted of almost 300 bagel men in New York City. Although the union mostly died off after the machines were invented, there are still a few small bagel shops that adhere to the old custom of making three ounce bagels by hand the way that they always were.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/31/dining/was-life-better-when-bagels-were-smaller.html