rest in peace and come back soon.

On Friday morning, I ate my last H&H bagel. I didn't know that at the time, of course, or I would have savored it. I might have saved it for Saturday morning, when I would have had the time to toast it properly, and to eat it slowly. I might have saved it for weeks and weeks, until a day came when I really needed an H&H bagel. I might have just eaten half.

I would have done things differently, in any case.

Onion bagels are one of my favorite foods in the whole wide world, and H&H made my favorite ones of all. (I have not tried a great many New York bagels for comparison, but the H&H ones were so fantastic that I saw no reason to ever abandon them for something else.) Few things made me happier than making the trip back to Boston with bags full of bagels.

Last time I went to New York I decided to buy several bagels from Ess-a-Bagel. I'd heard impressive things, and while I was skeptical that there could be a bagel in the world that was more delicious than H&H, I decided that it wouldn't hurt anybody if I tried them out. I wasn't impressed.

I could see why some people might brand Ess-a-Bagel the superior bagel, but they were too big for me, and took too long to eat. And the onion bagel was only coated on one side, and I could only eat half a time, so every other day I ended up eating a plain bagel with a vague onion flavor.

H&H was just perfect. And I miss it already.

I was supposed to go to New York next week. I have things to do, but mostly I'd decided to go next Monday so that I could get bagels for my friend for his birthday. And also for me, because I love them. But now I don't know.

There are many, many bagelries in New York City. The prospect of finding a new source for onion bagels is overwhelming, to say the least. I keep reading reviews of the top rated ones, looking for bagels that are described similarly to H&H's. And so far I don't know.

Part of me just wants to sit around until Helmer Toro gets his act (and a million plus dollars) together and reopens. It might happen. It can happen.

I just hope it happens soon.