Overview
You can already wrap your mitts around one of Al Brown's hand-rolled, wood-fired Montreal-style bagels down Swan Lane in Te Aro, or before jumping on a plane at Wellington Airport. But it just seems that the capital can't get enough of schmear-ed doughy goodness, as another Best Ugly bagel house opens on the corner of Featherston and Panama Streets.
The brand new store can be found at the base of the Ibis hotel. Seven days a week visitors can roll up for one of the crispy yet chewy creations, alongside Brown's own Good Joe coffee blend and deli goods to go.
What makes them so good? Best Ugly's Montreal-style bagels are slightly different from their world-famous New York cousins. They have an airy texture, exhibit a slightly sweet edge after being simmered in sweet honey water, and contain no salt.
Then you just need to decide whether to load it up with a simple lick of butter, a schmear of organic cream cheese, chocolate hazelnut spread, or the combo or cheese and Marmite. Heftier options include the 'TAB' — a winning mix of tomato, avocado, basil and lemon fennel olive oil — and the 'YODI' which serves up pastrami, habanero mustard, grilled swiss cheese and a pickle.
All accompaniments come from small New Zealand producers — the Fix & Fog peanut butter, Zany Zeus cream cheese, and Karl Campbell pastrami all arriving by way of Wellington.
Find Best Ugly's new bagel house on the corner of Featherston and Panama Streets. It's open 7am–3pm, Monday to Friday, and 9am–3pm, Saturday and Sunday.