Kossar's Bialys – Restaurant

Brick ovens on Grand Street have been turning out bialys since 1936, and Kossar's still bills itself as the oldest bialy bakery in the country — onion-flecked, chewy-edged, best eaten warm. Bagels are hand-rolled and kettle-boiled: plain, poppy, everything, pumpernickel. Build one into the Kossar's Classic with nova, everything cream cheese, tomato, red onion and capers, or take the hot pastrami reuben. Scallion and horseradish schmears travel well. What people come back for is the crust and the complete absence of ceremony. A Lower East Side fixture that still bakes like one.

Cuisine: Restaurant