Restaurant Diary is a biweekly series where food writer Clementine Hecker reviews restaurants that stand out among the millions of options in New York City’s restaurant scene.
Over spring break I was hosting two dear friends from home when they asked me if I had recommendations for a good New York City bagel. It sent me into a slight panic.
When friends and family visit New York, I often enter an obsessive state in order to provide them with the best culinary experience possible, meticulously balancing the factors of price, distance, and ambiance. I try to work both with and around what they think they want to eat — a balance of subtly steering towards better substitutions for touristy gimmicks without denying them the classic New York experience they’re searching for. Oftentimes I find myself taking on much more responsibility in this role than anyone expects of me (or that’s even necessary). I take my job as a host extremely and excruciatingly seriously.
So, when I was faced with a request for a good New York bagel, I felt unprepared. I have a bagel-shaped blind spot in my internal catalog of food. The popular bagel spots in the East and West Village make me uneasy; places like Murray’s and David’s taste as if a bagel were watered down, inflated, and bland.
I had the sense I just didn’t have a grasp on what New Yorkers liked in a bagel, but I was determined to provide my visitors a good experience, so I researched the options available to us. We could go to one of the classic shops like Ess-a Bagel or Russ & Daughters, both of which I had never been to and could not vouch for. The other option was venturing into the land of novelty foods in Soho and dropping $20 on a rainbow golden flake bagel or something similar. While this did not seem appealing to me, those new bagel iterations have become a version of a “New York bagel” in their own right, and could be fun (excluding the prices and lines).
I racked my brain for a single time I had eaten a bagel in New York and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Finally something clicked, and I remembered Simply Nova. I couldn’t recall the name at first, just that it was down the block from an apartment I toured about a year ago. A positive bagel memory — it rushed back, and I wondered how it had gotten so lost in my brain in the first place.
The first bagel I ate at Simply Nova, when I first discovered it, was everything toasted with plain cream cheese, Norwegian lox, onions, and capers. An all time classic order, it was the perfect balance of crispy and chewy, and the salmon was some of the best I’d had. It wasn’t slimy and lukewarm, but smokey and refreshing. I had shared it with my dad and as we finished we contemplated ordering a second. I remember filing that bagel under reasons I should live on the block.
Simply Nova reset my standards for a New York bagel shop. Waiting in long lines, staring at unappealing mounds of dry cream cheese, and dry, bland bagels had broken my trust of the well respected spots. Yet steps away from the Graham Avenue L stop in Williamsburg, Simply Nova had been there waiting with everything I could want in a bagel shop and more.
Simply Nova is a classic Jewish delicatessen owned by Sean Brownlee and Felix Placencia, who have both been part of the delicatessen scene in New York for many years. Their mission is to cater to a sense of nostalgia and provide a taste of home for their customers. The shop itself is quiet, and when I enter I feel calm, and I can take my time looking over the carefully curated selection of delicious foods they have to offer.
The main attraction (at least for me) is the fish, laid out quite beautifully in the display case: the deep orange and red filets layer over each other creating patterns like dark stained wood. At Simply Nova, there is an attention to good ingredients that is evident even in the beauty of how everything is arranged. Not only do they have a wide selection of smoked salmon from different regions, they also serve sturgeon, trout roe, and even caviar. Plus there’s a fridge filled with house-made bread pudding, rice pudding, latkes, cheeses, and a variety of pickled items.
Across from the fish is a full display of chocolates and pastries. For Jewish holidays like Purim, they make handmade treats including Hamantaschen, a triangular pastry pocket filled with jam, chocolate, nuts, or fruits. Much of their website is dedicated to catering for Jewish holidays with menus for Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur.
And we can’t forget the bagels and sandwiches, since that’s why you’re here after all. They are on the smaller side, but I’d sacrifice size for quality any day. Though I don’t feel qualified to rate them on authenticity, they fit into my personal criteria for the ideal bagel. I like my bagels on the denser side, with a crispy skin and dough that is not too pillowy. I also know that many people believe New York bagels are required to have a shine to them, which these do.
A fresh bagel with the cheapest nova lox they have to offer goes for $13, which is neither a bargain nor a shock. It’s hard to find smoked salmon for much less in the city, but at Simply Nova I’m at least comforted by the options and the clear quality of the fish.
As my friends and I enjoyed our breakfast, we sat on the outdoor benches in front of the shop. I ate my whitefish salad on an everything bagel with onions ($14). It was salty and creamy with a touch of sweetness, and the crunch of the onion was perfect. My friends gushed about how good the nova salmon was, and I felt triumphant. Simply Nova not only saved my ego and gave me a recommendation I’m excited about and can truly stand behind, but it also reminded me of my long lost love for bagels.
Simply Nova is open daily from 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m., and is located at 754 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211.