Bagels are a food staple for many people all over the world. Their soft inside and crispy outer shell make them an easy, convenient and delicious breakfast food. But which bagel shop in Marin has the best bagel? To answer this question, I traveled to three of the best bagel places in Marin to find out which one truly has the best bagel.

I started my journey with a bagel place just a short 5-minute drive from Redwood, Noah’s New York Bagels.  I started by ordering two bagels from Noah’s, a classic bagel with cream cheese and the lox bagel. Presentation-wise, the bagels were quite disappointing. They were assembled in a very rushed manner, and it was not even cut in half. After taking a bite of the original, I was relieved. The bagel was warm and crispy on the outside with a soft inside. However, the ‘shmear’ was a little bit thick, making each bite harder to eat. After eating the original, I tried the lox bagel. I was not disappointed by the taste of the lox, the saltiness of the capers was cut perfectly by the tomatoes and cucumbers, giving the lox a sweet but salty taste. After eating both bagels, I would give my overall rating of the original bagel a 6/10 and the lox bagel an 8.5/10, giving Noah’s bagels an overall rating of 7.25/10.

Next, I traveled to New York Bagels in Strawberry. Feeling ready to try some more bagels, I walked in and ordered another Lox and original bagel.  The schmear on the original was creamy and flavorful, and in combination with the bagel, it tasted amazing. The bagel was soft and crunchy, and even though it was thin, the sweetness in the dough and the cream cheese made for a perfect taste. Next, I tried the lox bagel, and it did not have the same effect on me as the original. The lack of ingredients in the bagel made it taste incredibly fishy, making it hard to eat.  Overall, I would give the original a 9.5/10 and the lox a 6/10. This gives New York Bagels an overall rating of 7.75/10

Finally, I traveled to Barton’s Bagels in San Anselmo.  Barton’s is located in the center of the town and the large bagel hanging in front of the store makes it hard to miss.  The presentation was spectacular on these bagels, with the lox bagel having its own packaging which helped you get the perfect bite of the bagel.  The original bagel had a more savory than sweet taste, with a cream cheese that had a little bit of tang to it. However,the lox bagel was by far the best that I had tried. Barton’s uses lettuce as its special ingredient and it worked out great. For all of the other bagel places, it was hard to counter the taste of the fishiness of the lox bagel, but Barton’s did this well, adding extra tomato and lettuce to counter the taste. The overall rating I would give the original bagel at Barton’s is 8/10 and I would give the lox bagel a 10/10. This gives Barton’s the best rating of 9/10.

In conclusion, after visiting so many great bagel places, it is hard to give just one place the title of “Best Bagels In Marin.” On the whole, Barton’s Bagels had the best bagels and sandwiches, but places like Noah’s and New York Bagels still have tasty bagels that are  must-tries.