H&H Bagels: Everything Bagel with Spicy Scallion Cream Cheese

H&H Bagels is a legendary New York bagel joint featured in both Seinfeld and Sex and the City. Last year, they expanded into Palm Beach County with a location in Boca Raton quickly followed up with a location in West Palm Beach’s newest (bougiest) shopping and entertainment district - NORA (North Of Railroad Ave).

The Spot: H&H Bagels- NORA District.

• Location: 890 N Railroad Ave, West Palm Beach, FL 33401

• Vibe: Bright modern bagel joint selling iconic NYC boiled and baked bagels with thick schmears.

 

The Bite: Toasted Everything Bagel with Spicy Scallion Cream Cheese

• Price: $6.00

• Vegetarian Status: Vegetarian

The Flavor Breakdown

Bagels and schmears are a family tradition - they’re the basis of every Easter brunch and for the last two years, we’ve catered my son’s birthday party with bagels, cream cheese and mimosas.

Everyone has their standard bagel order (Jalen Brunson’s is GOATED, Cynthia Nixon’s is…not) and mine is a pretty boring one - a double-toasted everything bagel with veggie cream cheese.

But, I saw a more interesting choice on the menu, so that’s what I went with - spicy scallion.

The bagel was chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside and perfectly serviceable but nothing to make a special trip for. It was also weirdly sweet - all of the bagels were. My son got a steaming, fresh-from-the-oven plain bagel and it had a flavor closer to brioche than bagel.

H&H does not shy away from the schmear and my bagel featured a solid half-inch thick slab of spicy scallion cream cheese atop my bagel.

I think I have a much higher spice tolerance than most so this was less spicy and more, “Someone walked the tub of cream cheese past a bottle of hot honey.” Not bad just not spicy. It probably could have benefited from more scallions and more freshly chopped jalapeños (and a freshly chopped serrano, to keep things interesting).

If you like your spice mild and your schmears thicker than Pam Poovey, you’ll probably love it.

The Beverage: Cold Brew with Half and Half

• Price: $5.20 for a small (14oz)

• Vegetarian Status: Vegetarian but they have alternative milks like oat and almond, so you could easily make this vegan.

Smooth with zero bitterness. It’s cold brew and welcome at every party. Especially at 9:00am when it’s already 90°

One Mouthy Sandwich Girl Rating:

• Flavor & Freshness:

  • 🥪 🥪 🥪

  • Bagels were sweet and the cream cheese wasn’t spicy as advertised. Definitely kid-friendly.

• Value for Buck:

  • 🥪 🥪 🥪

  • $6.00 for a bagel and cream cheese is about the standard in Palm Beach County.

• Vegetarian Variety:

  • 🥪 🥪 🥪 🥪

  • If bagels and schmears aren’t your thing, you can grab an egg and cheese, avocado, egg and cheese, egg white, avocado and tomato, the Gardener which features Vegetable CC, Tomato, Cucumber, Avocado as well as pastries like croissants and babka (chocolate, not cinnamon which we all know, takes a backseat to no babka).

• The Verdict:

  • 🥪 🥪 🥪

  • If you’re in NORA and need a bagel, grab one but I think I’ll stick to West Palm local Makeb’s. They’ve got more choices in terms of bagels, schmears and sandwiches and the bagels are more salty than sweet. Just like me.