B&B Empire 06-11-2011

Location: 200 Clinton St. BK

Time: 8am

Feelings: "Coming Soon! Empire Bagels and Bakery Cafe" was written on a sign that was hung at the former walk-in medical clinic for quite some time. Every morning on my way to work, I would see the progress of this soon to be opened Montreal style bagel shop. When I saw a giant wood burning oven in the window, I knew the time was soon.

We have Mile End in our neighborhood that features Montreal style bagels, but it is a bit far and often too crowded. B&B has a peachy warm neighborhood vibe without any hint of hipster pretension, which is rare for a new establishment in the area. The space almost reminds me of many bakeries in Queens--no nonsense, friendly service, and reliable food. It almost seems like B&B has been here for years.

The bagels are hand rolled and made fresh in a wood-fired oven at B&B, and they are more dense and sweeter than Brooklyn bagels due to eggs and honey in the dough. They have interesting whole wheat flavors like whole wheat oats and whole wheat sesame, and they also carry mini bagels for those of you who want to keep the carb consumption low. I often expect delis or bagel shops to serve terrible dish water coffee, but their coffee is actually quite tasty.

B&B Empire is a welcoming addition to the neighborhood, and I admire them for opening up a Montreal style bagel shop in the middle of Brooklyn! That's the thing about Brooklyn. We take culinary diversity seriously.