bagel market on 7th

Really, if the new place can make bagels 85% less doughy than LBD's I would welcome them to the neighborhood. That's the beauty of competition - there could be 10 bagel stores on one block, but they will have to rise to the occasion to get the most business. Pun intended. Competition = better products, IMO.

Sliced Bagels, Taxes on Top


What's the tax on a bagel? It depends how you slice it—or in the case of New York, if you slice it.

State tax officials, under orders from cash-strapped Albany to ramp up their audit and compliance efforts, have begun to enforce one of the more obscure distinctions within the state's sales tax law.

In New York, the sale of whole bagels isn't subject to sales tax. But the tax does apply to "sliced or prepared bagels (with cream cheese or other toppings)," according to the state Department of Taxation and Finance. And if the bagel is eaten in the store, even if it's never been touched by a knife, it's also taxed.

That was news to one New York bagel-store owner, who found out he was out of compliance with the policy this summer when the state audited his company.

Kenneth Greene, the owner of 33 Bruegger's Bagel franchises throughout New York, says the state demanded that he start charging taxes on all bagels, except for those that remain intact and are consumed off premises, and forced him to pay a "significant" sum in taxes that the state estimated he owed.

Mr. Greene says the extra charge, about eight cents a bagel, depending on the local rate, filled his customers with boiling rage. "They felt we were nickel-and-diming them. They thought we were charging them to slice a bagel," he said.

To clear things up, he posted signs at the cashier informing customers that it was Albany, not Bruegger's, to blame. "We apologize for this change and share in your frustration on this additional tax," the signs read.

It's unclear whether the state's crackdown will spread beyond Bruegger's, which operates nationally and in upstate New York.

"I hope they don't come after me for that," said Florence Wilpon, a founding owner of Ess-a-Bagel in Manhattan.

One source of confusion is that the rule isn't spelled out in the tax code. And while sliced bagels are subject to sales tax, a sliced loaf of bread at a bakery isn't, according to tax officials.

A spokesman for the tax department said the state "will provide additional guidance via our Web site and publications in the near future."


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704340504575448033463314628.html?mod=WSJ_NY_LEFTTopStories

A bagel with pastrami....how long do I have to wait?

It's up and running and open as of this past weekend. My intitial opinion is that the bagels are good; not perfect but much better than anything nearby(LBD).
The bagels were the bigger variety and had a nice crust with a soft and chewy dough inside.

i have to add to the above comment. today i had one of their sesames and it was superb -- coated in sesame seeds and just the right amount of chewiness. so i'll write off the mediocre pumpernickel as lack of a good pumpernickel recipe rather than an inability to make a great bagel, which they can clearly do.

Smokin' Joe wrote: so i'll write off the mediocre pumpernickel as lack of a good pumpernickel recipe

Yeah, I don't think pumpernickel is the best kind to use as a bagel litmus test, it seems to heavy for bagels. But I have to say I'm impressed that you went back after you said it was bad and gave it another try.

There are Park Slope restaurants I haven't been to in 10 years because of one bad or mediocre meal - mainly because there are too many places to eat to bother returning to the scene of a meal crime. But maybe I'm being too harsh and should give some of these places a second try. Particularly if they're still in business after all this time. I'm looking at you Rancho Allegre.

I used to live on Garfield too when I first moved here - right next door to Apple Tree. (Oh how I miss Sweet Mama's banana pudding with Nilla Wafers.)

Every time I walk by Rancho Allegre I'm always expecting to see something else there. How does it stay in business? Is it actually any good? I only ordered from there once and it was take out, and all I recall are soggy nachos and thinking I shouldn't go back.

However, I just went to Clemens tonight and I love that place so I think I'm set for Mexican.

Piano wrote: I have to say I'm impressed that you went back after you said it was bad and gave it another try.

apologies for the false impression. my wife brought back an assortment. i tried the pump first, then the sesame. otherwise, no, i wouldn't have gone back. life is too short for a mediocre bagel.

and i'm in complete agreement, and befuddlement, about rancho allegre.