Florida
Where are the best bagels in South Florida? The readers have spoken and the winner is …
Who makes the crispiest, chewiest bagels in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties?
Well, we left the decision up to you after receiving hundreds of nominations earlier this month as part of our Best of South Florida Dining series.
With a half-dozen bagel spots to choose from (because of a tie), readers faced a tough decision on their plates. But they rose to the occasion to pick the best from this batch of finalists, in alphabetical order:
- Bagels & Co. (Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors)
- Bagel Snack (Pompano Beach)
- Brooklyn Water Bagels (multiple locations)
- Broadway Bagels (Plantation)
- Grampa’s (Dania Beach)
- Mo’s (Aventura, Hallandale Beach)
No matter which way you slice it, toast it or slather it with schmear, the top vote-getter was … Bagel Snack in Pompano Beach!
The details
Bagel Snack has been serving up New York-style deli cuisine to hungry diners since opening its doors 45 years ago. Husband-and-wife co-owners Jonathan and Thelma Simes took over running the restaurant and deli at 1237 S. Powerline Road in August 1992.
“We take pride in making a quality product,” Jonathan Simes said. “We want to thank our loyal and dedicated customers for making us No. 1.”
The bagels are prepared with high-quality ingredients, and then boiled and baked, which is why customers enjoy them so much, he said.
“We still make bagels the old-fashioned way,” he said, adding that they’re baked to a golden brown, “with a soft, chewy inside and a warm, crispy outside.”
In addition to bialys, their menu offers 13 traditional bagel flavors made from scratch: plain, pumpernickel, cinnamon raisin, sesame, marble, poppy seed, everything (egg and whole wheat), onion, whole wheat, garlic, rye and salt.
Which flavors are the most popular with customers? That would be plain, sesame and the everything bagel, he said
For schmear fans, Bagel Snack has six options: plain cream cheese, or with chives, vegetable, olives, raisin-walnut, and a nova spread.
Any of their overstuffed sandwiches, wraps and deli salads also can be ordered on a bagel.
While bagels may be the star, they share the spotlight with the restaurant’s large menu featuring a variety of comfort foods: smoked fish platters, burgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, tuna and patty melts, meatloaf with gravy, blintzes, knishes, hot pastrami sandwiches and soups, among other dishes. There are also vegetarian items.
Their bakery serves up cake, danishes, muffins, rice pudding, cookies and rugelach.
Side note: Bagel Snack made its small-screen debut last year when the restaurant was featured on episodes three, four and eight of the Netflix series “Jewish Matchmaking,” with co-owner Jonathan Simes and his brother-in-law, Mark Kloda, bantering with a customer about kissing on a first date.
What customers say
It must be said: Several readers heaped high praise on Bagel Snack’s bagels, deeming them as good, if not better, than those in New York.
“Not just the best bagels I’ve had south of New York, but the best deli all around,” said Pompano Beach resident Charlie Siegel. “Not only a local favorite, but the place all my out-of-town friends want to go when they visit.”
Coconut Creek resident Ellen Saslovsky called them “fabulous New York bagels. Slightly crisp on the outside and perfect on the inside!”
The freshness factor also was frequently mentioned in readers’ nominations.
“No nonsense silly flavors. Made fresh hourly. Excellent,” said Wilton Manors resident Daniel Distasio.
In her nomination form, Pompano Beach resident Christine Stolz called their bagels “by far the best.” And she offered this tip: “Come early, while they’re warm (or hot).”
Bagel Snack is at 1237 S. Powerline Road, Pompano Beach. They also offer catering, online ordering and delivery services. For more information, call 954-974-4564, email bagelsnack@yahoo.com, or visit bagelsnack.com.
Ready for next month’s Best of South Florida Dining feature? The topic for March is: best barbecue! Click here to nominate your favorite barbecue restaurant in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
Gulf system to bring downpours to Florida
FOX 13 Meteorologist Jim Weber is continuing to watch an area in the Gulf that is expected to bring much-needed rain to Florida this weekend. He said the system will likely drift to the north and northwest and will linger before heading to the northeast. He said to get a tropical depression, or a tropical storm there needs to be winds and a closed low and he is not seeing that in the models yet. Weber is also tracking a system off the coast of Africa that has a 10% chance of developing over the next week. He says it will likely enter a hostile environment and dissipate.
TAMPA, Fla. – Forecasters are tracking a broad disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast that could bring much-needed rain to parched communities this weekend.
Gulf tropical development potential
What we know:
Models continue to indicate there is a potential for an area of low pressure to form over the northeast Gulf off the west coast of Florida over the weekend.
The National Hurricane Center says an area in the Gulf has a 30% chance of tropical development over the next seven days.
Models a shifting away from the forecast of the system moving over the state and off the coast of the Carolinas. Models are now indicating a more likely scenario that it lingers in the Gulf over the weekend and may drift more to the northwest near the Florida Panhandle or Louisiana coast. Early next week conditions look like they will become less conducive and may prohibit much development. Regardless of whether it organizes, the system will bring tropical downpours and increased moisture across Florida and parts of the Southeast.
FOX 13 Meteorologist Jim Weber states we are close to 7.50″ below average on our rainfall in Tampa for the year. A weak area of low pressure or tropical system can be beneficial in helping to make up for the rainfall deficit we have been experiencing. Drought conditions continue over much of the state of Florida. If this system ends up drifting more westward, it would limit the total amount of rainfall and the highest totals would be along the immediate west coast.
Atlantic tropical development potential
A tropical wave southeast of the Cabo Verde Islands remains disorganized.
It is moving west-northwest and, according to the NHC, there is a chance for slow development over the next day or two. By the weekend it is expected to move into less conducive conditions and Saharan dust will begin to affect this wave, limiting its moisture. The time for this system to develop is very limited and will not develop after the weekend.
The NHC is giving it a 10% chance of developing.
Weather factors and storm names
What we don’t know:
Officials cannot yet confirm if the disturbance will overcome environmental hurdles like land interaction, wind shear and dry air. Computer models remain uncertain on how much this system will develop over the waters of the Gulf. If it stays over the warm waters of the Gulf longer, it may give it additional time to organize. Interactions with land and wind shear will likely pose obstacles in further development.
To become a tropical system, it must develop a defined circulation with organized thunderstorms. If it reaches maximum sustained winds of 39 mph, it will become a tropical storm and be named Bertha.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13Meteorologist Jim Weber, the National Hurricane Center tropical weather outlooks, as well as forecast computer models.
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How long does it take to save for a first home, Florida?
In Jacksonville, the answer could be less than a year.
In Miami, it could be more than 40.
A new report suggests homeownership is slipping further out of reach for many Florida workers — especially those in retail and restaurant jobs.
There’s a lot more going on across the Sunshine State:
License to blush: A South Florida retiree was taken aback by her new license plate. Her family thinks she should keep it. Would you?
Tiny terror: Florida is racing to stop a fuzzy new invasive pest that can wipe out a field in weeks. It has a taste for everything from grass to corn to sugarcane.
Small miracle: Black skimmer chicks are back on the Sanibel Causeway for the first time in 30 years. Photojournalist Andrew West got a close look at the comeback.
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VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – If you felt shaking along Florida’s east coast on Thursday, you’re not alone. But it wasn’t an earthquake.
A strong “experimental explosion” was reported in the waters off Central Florida on Thursday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The USGS website indicates that the explosion happened around 3:04 p.m., roughly 91 miles east-northeast of Ponce Inlet.
Per the agency, the event registered a preliminary magnitude of 3.9. However, few other details about what may have caused the explosion have been provided at this time.
“The recorded ground motions from this event are more typical of an explosion than a naturally occurring earthquake,” the USGS website reads. “The Navy has conducted Full Ship Shock Trials in this region in the past.”
[A LOOK BACK: U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford performs shock trials on an aircraft carrier in 2021]
News 6 has reached out to Navy officials for more information and is awaiting additional details.
Anyone who felt the impact of the explosion is urged to report their experience here.
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