Hey Lovers,

I hope 2014 is treating you well. I just wanted to take a minute to tell you about my new favorite thing. . .cragels. The cragel is the newest addition to the hybrid food craze. It’s part bagel, part croissant and all delicious. Cragels are the brainchild of self-proclaimed “bagel artist” Scott Rossillo of the Bagel Store. I still have not been able to get my hands on one of Dominique Ansel’s cronuts. I’m all about a hybrid food item but what I will not do is wait in line for 3 hours. I learned of the cragel through NY1’s Zagat report.  When I realized The Bagel Store has one location in Williamsburg and another location in Bushwick, I knew I could not rest until I got a cragel.

I visited the Williamsburg location at 349 Bedford Ave. There was no line and they still had cragels at approximately 8:15AM. It is not hyperbole when I say the cragel is the best I’ve ever eaten.

The cragel does not have the annoying get everywhere flakiness of a typical croissant but has more of the dough that every reasonable person loves. The cragel has such a rich glaze that it doesn’t even require butter or cream cheese (but those things are available at the Bagel Store). For those of you who don’t live in the neighborhood, the Bagel Store does deliver. 

After my first cragel, I was hooked. I had to have more. I couldn’t just eat cragels and jeopardize my Weight Watcher’s progress with impunity. Yesterday I became a woman with a mission. I had to try all the cragels and decide the best flavor.

 The cinnamon cragel is a threesome of cinnamon bun, bagel and croissant. The taste is amazing but the sweetness can be distracting.

The Chocolate Cragel puts the “a” in aggressive. The mix of chocolate and cragel dough does make for an interesting taste. I am not a chocolate lover so this taste was a bit overwhelming. If you are a lover of all things chocolate this may be for you. For me, I’m satisfied with the memory.  

The Vanilla Rainbow Cragel is a twist on the original cragel. The colors are just for decoration, the flavor is vanilla. This cragel is the closest to original cragel. It breaks apart with the same ease as the original cragel and vanilla flavor gives it an additional sweetness that is more refined than straight sugar.

 The Chocolate Chip Cragel is a nice marriage between the original cragel and a hint of chocolate. I’m not into melted chocolate so this cragel doesn’t score well with me but an occasional lover chocolate would enjoy it.

So, what’s my verdict for the best cragel? 

The Original Cragel. The Vanilla Rainbow Cragel is a close runner up.  

Have you tried cragels? Have you tried cronuts? Have you tried any other hybrid food item? What are your favorite hybrid foods? 

Comment below and let me know!