Pizza Quest: Bagel’s Are Back! Featuring The Owner’s of Kismet Bagels

Welcome Back to Pizza Quest!

Yes, bagels are back — with a vengeance! — as wonderful shops are bobbing up all over the country in much the same way as the proliferation of their “kissing cousin” –donut shops — seem to be everywhere (but rarely do we see a bagel and a donut shop combined in one operation — could this be the next big thing?) . The bagel cycle is fairly predictable, as bagels never really go out of fashion but the trend often spikes, every ten years or so, rejuvenating itself as bakers find more creative ways to make or market them. “Schmears” are sometimes part of the secret sauce of the bagel business, but other factors, whether advanced fermentation methods, or use of non-traditional flours or other ingredients can also play a role. Sometimes it just comes down to bagels being an idea whose time has come — again! In this episode, Jacob and Alex Cohen, the husband and wife owners of Kismet Bagels, located in Philadelphia’s food crazed Kensington/Fish Town neighborhood, share their story of growing Philly’s fastest growing bagel company as an intuitively driven outcome of the Covid pandemic. Bagels it would seem, like pizza, is a comfort food whose time has come yet again (and again, and again).