Syracuse, N.Y. -- The wood-fired bagels have officially come to downtown.
Water Street Bagel Co. opened earlier today at 239 E. Water St.
The bagels are cooked in a wood-fired oven. The yeast dough rises slowly then is boiled before baking, owner Meg Dellas said today. The bagels are made in the New York City style, which means a softer and chewier texture. (Montreal has its own style that are harder and sweeter.)
Dellas and Luke Esposito have been working on the restaurant for about a year. They started with research, visiting bagel shops in Philadelphia and New Jersey. They took a bagel-making class in New York City and talked with other bagel shops across the country about their schmears and baking techniques.
At Water Street Bagel, the bagel varieties include plain, sesame seed, French toast, everything, multi-grain and rosemary salt.
The bagels start at $1.50 each. Plain cream cheese costs $1 more. The cafe also offers many house-made specialty cream cheeses: roasted garlic and herb, garden veggie, raspberry, strawberry, bacon horseradish and honey walnut.
The menu includes seven breakfast bagel sandwiches (which are served all-day) and 13 lunch sandwiches. The breakfast sandwiches range from a $4.50 classic with egg and cheese to a $12 bagel with smoked Nova salmon, tomato, red onion, capers, dill cream cheese on a sesame bagel.
Lunch sandwiches start at $3 for a cheese pizza bagel on 1/2 a plain bagel. Most items on the lunch menu are $8 to $9 and include a pastrami slaw, caprese turkey and "the Clark" -- thinly-sliced roast beef, sharp cheddar cheese, red onion and horseradish mayo on a Kimmelweck bagel.
The grab-n-go cooler includes salads and yogurt parfait. Recess Coffee and Saranac Root Beer are on the menu.
Water Street Bagel is open from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends. Hours may fluctuate slightly in the short term as the staff adjusts to demand.