How It's Used

"But what is a bagel, really? What makes it more than simply, as an article in The New York Times declared in 1960, 'an unsweetened doughnut with rigor mortis'? And, most important to anyone with even a passing interest in the subject, where can you find the best bagel in New York City?

“It was with these questions and more in mind that I set out, scarcely a month ago, to eat bagels in all five boroughs and to determine, to the best of my palate's ability, what makes a great and authentic New York bagel.”

—Ed Levine, “Was Life Better When Bagels Were Smaller?” The New York Times, 31 Dec 03.

“It’s a good thing, then, that neighborhoods all over New York have ignored such official efforts and simply built their own.  In a scale unprecedented since World War I, thousands of memorials have sprung up in parks, cemeteries, front yards, firehouses, schools and churches all over the five boroughs.”

—Julia Vitullo-Martin, “Local Heroes,” The Wall Street Journal, 11 Nov 05, p. W11.

Links

Related on eAlmanac
The Five Families
The Sixth Borough

Beyond eAlmanac
Wikipedia article on the Five Boroughs of New York City