A small Sebastopol cafe has finally cracked the code on East Coast bagels in Sonoma County.
Bonnie Bagels opened in mid-August with kettle-cooked bagels — boiled and baked, as they should be — and a line out the door.
Yes, there are other good bagels in Sonoma County. But until now, I wouldn’t have called them East Coast great. Bonnie’s aren’t just East Coast great. They’re New York great: crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside and, best of all, available in salt.
“It’s a secret hint to a certain kind of person that we’re the real deal. It’s classic East Coast,” said executive chef Greg Kalergis.
Owner Michael Sousa, who grew up near Boston, knew it was time to open a shop about 18 months ago, when the stars aligned. The former Hippizzazz Pizza space across from HopMonk was vacant. He had friends from Bageltopia in Berkeley willing to mentor the fledgling venture. And he had recently met Kalergis, now his executive chef, at a family Thanksgiving.
After more than a year of planning and construction — and plenty of flak for opening a bagel shop within spitting distance of longtime Sebastopol favorite Grateful Bagel — Sousa soldiered on.
“I understand the awkwardness of it,” Sousa said. “But the benefits of bringing this to the community outweighed that. I’m hopeful that we can provide something different enough that we can coexist in harmony.”
Besides salt bagels, the cafe offers the usual lineup of plain, sesame, poppy seed, onion and everything, along with more California-leaning flavors such as cheddar jalapeño and Asiago. Schmears include caper dill, smoked salmon, scallion, green olive and chile crisp.
There are also gluten-free bagels and vegan cream cheese, plus breakfast sandwiches and open-faced lox, tuna salad and egg salad bagels. Espresso drinks and coffee round things out.
On opening day, the shop sold out within three hours. The same thing happened the next day. After two days to regroup, the team is back with more of everything — especially those brilliantly boiled-and-baked bagels.
As for the odd, half-finished sign that currently says “Bonnie Bag”? Painting was interrupted by permitting issues. The owners expect to finish it in the next couple of weeks.
Open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. 280 S. Main St., Sebastopol, bonniebagels.com