No Holes in This Boston-Area Bagel Shop!

Article and photo by Eric H.

Every Thanksgiving, my uncle from Manhattan brings us the most delicious bagels from the legendary H&H Bagels. The rest of the year, we have wondered why the south of Boston area hasn't been able to produce a bagel that rivals those prototype New York City bagels.

It turns out I have been driving past a Dedham, MA, storefront for many years that serves a bagel worthy of New York City. We never tried Cafe Fresh Bagel until they recently opened a store in South Norwood, MA. Crowds have constantly been lining up to buy these terrific New York City-caliber bagels, perhaps after years of pent-up frustration of having few options locally besides the stale, market-brand bagels that taste as good as a brick.

Located in a former Dunkin' Donuts building, Cafe Fresh Bagel offers a great variety of bagels, including plain, sesame, pumpernickel, poppy, rye, marble, spinach, cinnamon raisin, and even chocolate chip. The difference is the bagels are warm upon purchase and perfectly crispy on the outside and memorably chewy on the inside when consumed at home. Cafe Fresh Bagels also serves coffee and breakfast sandwiches, but it's the bagels that attract customers from the local neighborhoods.

While New England is our home, sometimes a little bit of New York isn't all that bad, especially when it comes to bagels.

Cafe Fresh Bagel
1155 Washington St.
Norwood, MA 02062