Breaking Bread with Tom Papa - Episode 57 - Nick Schreiber

Episode Date: June 8, 2021

Let’s break bagels in LA with Nick Schreiber from Belle’s Bagels and grab a quick bite with New York’s favorite son, Colin Quinn.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Hey, it's our goal. Hey, it's time for breaking bread with Papa. Hey, don't you know? Hey, it's also a show. Hey! Hey, everybody, welcome to another edition of Breaking Bread with Tom Papa. I'm Tom Papa. Thank you for joining us at the table.

Once again, I'm here in the booth here at our lovely studio because I'll be welcoming a very talented bagel entrepreneur. Yes. the great Nick Schreiber, who is co-founders with J.D. Rockio of Bell's Bagels here in Los Angeles. As a New Yorker, to find a good bagel in L.A. has been a quest of mine for a very long time. And through our good friends at Bubbing Grandmas, who we had on Andy Caden, who's this great baker, found my way to Bell's Bagels. And it was like running. into an old friend. It was like, wow, this is, this is as good as any bagel I've ever had on the East Coast. And I know I say that with hesitancy, because I don't want people to punch me in the

face. A New York Times article came out recently talking about how some of the best bagels in the country are in California, and people lost their minds. They even said in the headline, Sorry, New York. I wouldn't go that far. I wouldn't, I don't think you can claim that New York, bagels are failing in any way. There's amazing shops there. I mean, let's be real. But as far as Los Angeles, finally creating stuff that is as good and makes a transplanted New Yorker feel at home, Bell's Bagels is the spot. The great conversation with Nick and we actually find out that we have a lot of other food things in common. Then we're going to call. I gave her a quick bite to Colin Quinn because if you're talking about bagels and you're talking

about New York, we might as well have Colin Quinn weigh in and tell us that we're morons right off the bat. So bagels, joy, Nick is a great guy. You're going to love this conversation with him. You'll see not only is he a lover of food and of bagels, but a lover of. of this city. And there is a, as we, as I spoke to him, you start to see this thread of, he was born here in L.A. And you just see this thread of really creative, heartfelt purveyors. And he is quickly become a part of that line. And once I found it, it was a little before, like maybe a year

before the pandemic hit. And then when that hit, I was able to get there even even even. easier because there's no traffic. You can literally slide to another part of town. And the line never stops at Bell's Bagels. There is constantly a line outside of that place for a good reason. For they just make a great, great bagel and they just nail it. And once you do that in this town, you're never going to stop. You're never going to stop. It's so good. So enjoy this conversation. and then enjoy the quick bite with Colin Quinn where he's going to tell everything that Nick and I talk about,

he's going to shoot it down. I guarantee it. I'm not setting it up. I'm not going to hint anything to Colin. I'm just, as my listeners, we've had Colin on before, I think you know he will not stand for us saying anything good about L.A.

So this should be a really fun episode. All right, so right now, enjoy from Bell's Bagels, Nick Schreiber. Well, Cheers, Nick. This is great to meet you. It's great to meet you as well. This is hilarious on some level, but I'm a big fan of yours and your work,

and I know it's a showbiz thing to say, usually to an actor, but you as a bagel baker. Stop it. I'm like actually... I'm so happy when I found you. I'm actually kind of blushing. Thanks, dude. I mean, I'm also very show busy. I'm a fan of yours. Love.

What's it called all across America? Out in America. Out in America. Yeah. Well, that's what, yeah. So I'm actually just trying to piece it together on the ride here because I got turned on to you guys because of Bubbing Grandma's, Andy, who was on this show, who was like, you know, our bread guru.

Yeah. And he's such a cool guy. Incredible, dude. So great. And so I, you know, just doing the Instagram, who else, who do they follow, saw you guys. And it was just at the time where I, from New York, living here, was really coming down hard on bagels. And I, like, I'm going to try and make them myself. And I started making them. And I was like, this is, I'm not,

this isn't bad. Like, I'm, I'm, I'm okay at this. And then got turned on to you guys. And I was like, Oh, yeah. I mean, yeah. They're doing it. The thing about bagels is like they're not hard to make, but they're really hard to do very well. And at a larger scale, that's where the couple things comes in. Right.

I like, I commend all home bakers for getting into it because like, that's honestly how I started making bagels too. Oh, you did? Yeah. I have like a background in restaurants. I worked in restaurants in college, you know. Uh-huh. Where'd you go to school?

I went to Emerson College. Oh, nice. Yeah, I have a friend there now. Yeah, perfect. A student. A friend of my daughters, really. I hang out with all college kids. Which is actually a philosophy I'm trying to kind of adapt right now.

Because especially during the pandemic, it was like, you could see like where your parents like head and they're like, every one of their friends is like, they just get together and complain about who's dying and all that stuff. And I feel like I'm like, I'm not there when I'm coming over the hill. towards that. Right. And I'm like, I'm going to get younger friends who don't care about their colonoscopies. Listen, man, I'm 34 years old.

I care about my colonoscopy too. You have to go way younger. Yeah, way younger, exactly. But yeah, I mean, I just worked in restaurants all throughout college. And then when I came back home, I started as like a craft service guy. Uh-huh. So I worked as a union crafty guy for quite a few years. So you grew up here?

I grew up here. So when you went to Emerson, because that's usually, that's usually the path is usually film. Film, yeah, and take TV. Yeah. So, but you got a little food bug so you're like, I'll go into. Well, you know, the thing, the thing was, I still think it's like idiotic that people make someone decide what they want to be for the rest of their life when they're 18 years old.

Yeah. And don't trust us with other important decisions. Right, exactly. So it's like, I went to study film because I knew I wanted to do something where I could you know, coax emotion out of people. Right. I love that idea. But film wasn't really the medium that, like, I really felt that comfortable in.

Food was always this thing that was just there for me. And, like, I started cooking at a very young age, recreationally, and then I started working in restaurants when I went to college. Was it your family? Yeah. Was it around? Well, my dad's a really good cook. My mom's a good cook.

But also part of it was when I was about... 12 years old, my parents divorced. So I moved in with my mom, and my mom was an elementary school teacher. Right. So we pretty much had the same schedule. Yeah. And the chance for her to be able to cook for us, like, I commend her for working every day. The last thing she needs to do when she gets home is cook.

So my sister and I were like, we got this. We can cook for ourselves. Oh, nice. So, you know, at a very young age, we both just started kind of like cooking, you know, lunch or breakfast for ourselves. Right. Sorry, lunch or dinner. Yeah. And like, you know, that was it.

it was just, it was like second nature. Right. So there's a little bit of a cooking bug in my family. Everyone is an unnaturally good home cook. Oh, it's awesome. So what is the, what is the types of food? What's your family food? What's your background?

Well, I mean, background, my family's food is like Americana. Right. My dad has, my dad makes, I mean, every Jewish boy will say this. My dad makes the best biscuit I've ever had in my entire life. Oh, really? Yeah. It is a funny thing. I, because I grew up in the New York area, and, you know, I knew brisket from going to my

friends' satyrs or whatever. And then you, then I learned later on, like, you go, like, to Texas, and people are, like, hauling brisket as, like, the main barbecue thing. And I was like, is this the same? I didn't learn that until I was much older. Right? There were, like, two different, like, distinct styles of brisket, you know? Yeah.

The traditional Jewish braised one, and then the New York, oh, sorry, the Texas Smok. one and like I love them both dearly but sure nothing will be in my dad's brisk no I'm sure the lipton soup mix yeah like the old school just right a little kifilta fish on the side actually I don't know about that I have harsh feelings about kathletfish yeah but that was really that was a mind vendor for me it was like wait are these barbecue guys with the skull tattoos making the same meat that they were making in New York. I love seeing nowadays there's this like interesting middle ground that people are hitting between, you know, the various ways people cook meat. So like, you know, pastrami, for example, is smoked brisket as well or naval, you know, kind of depends on what you're doing.

But you have places like RC provisions in Burbank. They make the pastrami we use. and they're doing more of a hardwood barbecue style pastrami now, you know, which was originally made pretty popular by that company, Ugly Drum. Right. And it is just out of this world good. I love that meshing of the two worlds. Right.

It's just. Yeah. I've heard that RC provisions. Yeah, RC provisions are the best in the city. They make pastrami for langers. They make pastrami for pretty much every deli in LA, the hat. Amazing. They do it.

all. I once had a meeting with them when we first started using them. And I was talking to them and I was like, it like blew my mind that they were making Langres pastrami because Langres was such like a nostalgic place for me as a kid. Right. And so I was like, and they're like, oh yeah, we also make like the chili for Tommy's. And I was like, oh my God. Oh, really? Guys, you got to shut up. You're like destroying my like childhood perception of food. And they're like, I was like, next thing you're going to tell me you make like the mustard for Philippe's. And they're like, no. no, no, no, we don't do that. That's mustard international and city of industry. And it's like, stop

it. No one's on their own thing. They make Tommy's Chili? Yeah, they make Tommy's Chili. Wow. Yeah, that does completely. I know. Right. Yeah, because you see it and you're like, oh, they're just, what are they doing back there? Yeah, exactly. They're just pulling it off a truck? Yeah, they're just pulling it off. It comes in a, it comes in a tube. Oh my God. It's so good. It's good. I love that stuff. I only go to one Tommy's, though. I will only go to the original Tommy's. That's the one in Burbank?

No, the original one is on. Alvarado and either Temple or third near downtown. That's the original one. That's when my dad went to. Right. That's one we would go to before Dodgers games. Oh, nice. For me, it's like, it's only that one.

I live right next to one and I still won't go to it. That's hilarious. I get it. I totally get it. It's all that other stuff is the attachment to it. Yeah, exactly. We were talking off air before we started about where your folks would go and stuff and there was a great teaky place.

What was the teaky place? They would go to Trader Vicks. Trader Vicks, right. I believe that was in Beverly Hills at the time. Right, right. I could be wrong. You know, it's before my time. Yeah.

And then, and I brought up at the, in my dentist's office is this great book that has all the old menus from like the 50s and 60s or probably 40s even. Yeah, it goes back away. Yeah. And all the restaurants in L.A. look so magical.

Like they just, I'm sure some were dumps, but. They had like a theme. Yeah. And they were like ornate and they just seemed like, oh, it must have been fun back then. I know. That's, I think that's why as like a human being, I'm so attracted to the old L.A. restaurants. Yeah.

It's just like, you know, obviously L.A. was different back then. But there's also something to say about those restaurants that survive like so long without really changing that much. Yeah. Mousseau and Franks. Yeah, Mousone Franks. Yeah, Mousso and Franks, Lourries. Right. Damans.

Right. There's also this incredible, so there's a, there's this place in Glendale called Mori's, which is a tepaniaki place like Benihana. And the story I've been able to deduce is that Mori was one of the original Benihanna chefs. Oh, really? And then as time went on in like the 70s or 80s, he kind of split ways with the company Benihanna and opened up his own Teppaniaki place. And it is just like,

you don't really see many Ma and Pa tepaniaki places that exist outside of the Benihana's bubble. Right. But it is so wonderful and he's there every day. Still? Still answering the phone or working the bar or hosting. And it's just like, I live for that shit.

Wow, it's the best. It's also like, you know, these old institutional places are just like the type of places where, you know, almost everyone feels welcome. And it's a comfortable place. for everyone to dine. And I think as like a native Angelino, that's just like so important to me in food. Completely. And all right, so you're a native Angelino. So this is the, this is the, the puzzle for me coming from New York. Like now, like looking through that menu book and seeing all these, like,

this teaky place and this crazy, the derby and like all these crazy things. And now there's still great food. I mean, L.A. is so inventive and so many. different neighborhoods, but they're like tucked in a strip mall. Yeah. Or they're like, they're kind of faceless. You know, the food's amazing. The talent is off the charts. But there's not that thing.

And maybe it doesn't exist in New York as new places either. Like maybe it's just an era. Yeah. Yeah, it might be. I mean, I feel like as L.A. has changed, especially in the last like 10 to 15 years, you know, as it's become less and less affordable, you know, the, what I would say, like, the real talent is, like, you know, all they can really afford to do is, like, go faceless, you know? Right.

You know, it's like, where else can you set up, if not, like, in a strip mall, you know? True. Yeah, you're not spending all your money on the... I also, personally, I believe, uh, to some degree, you know, design is kind of a bandaid, you know? For poor food? Like, well, for bad food, yeah. Yeah.

But, like, if, you know, it was probably true back then of all those, like, menus we were just talking about. The food wasn't necessarily good. We don't know. That's true. I mean, really. I mean, think about it, really. I mean, think of what cuisine was back then. Yeah, exactly.

Lobster thermidor. Yeah. It's the one thing I love to bring up. I've never had it before, and I'm so intrigued. I know. I always think that when I pass the old places and they say chops. Yeah. It's always like steaks and chops.

Hell yeah. But yeah, I mean, I just think that as the city has gotten more expensive, you know, people, you know, they put their money where it's important to them. And whether it's branding, I mean, if it's branding, more power to you. Right. If it's food, more power to you. You know, you can get an incredible meal from a place that has virtually no seating. And you can get an incredible meal from a place that seats like 200 to 300 people. So it's just like.

It's kind of the beauty of L.A., but I always gravitate towards the earlier. Yeah, I know. It's kind of like going, it's like when I turn on direct TV and go to Turner Classic movies first. Yeah, exactly. It's like, I'm going to stop there first, just the comfort of seeing those classics and the, just the thoughtfulness. I mean, just, and then, then you end up buzzing up to showtime. Yeah, exactly. It's also like, I feel like those smaller places are like the places where you can eat every day.

Right. And that's like, that's a really special time. type of restaurant, one where you could eat there four to five days a week. Yeah. And like, I had one of those growing up, I grew up in the San Fernando Valley. And there's this place right around the corner from where I grew up called Tony's Mexican Grill. It's, come on, the best Mexican restaurant in the world. No one's ever heard of it. Me and my friends lose our minds over that place. I cannot tell you how many meals that we've had from Tony's. I mean, when I first moved out here with my family. That's incredible. When we were, when they were little kids,

and I had to do a, I had a sitcom, and I had to do a thing for the LA Times, like secrets of L.A., you know, and I just got here. I didn't really know any secrets. And I was like, but my friend Pete swore by Tony's Mexican Grill, and I tried and I was like, oh my guess, so I put it in the thing and they took a picture of me in the booth. Remember when I had the mural? Yeah, yeah, that like Aztec mural. Yeah, yeah. And they had, and they had, and they had, and they have the, and they took my picture and I did a thing and I gave a shout out to Tony's and they put my picture in the newspaper. It's probably like framed on the wall and I walked by that probably a million times without actually reading it because I was like, I don't need to read this shit.

I know that this shit's good. I know. It's actually not there anymore because they painted so they took it off and it's very upsetting. Yeah. I'm sure. So I keep trying to get back in with it. Yeah. That is the best rest, best Mexican restaurant ever. I, you know, I am, I have, such a place in my heart with them that I actually can't tell if the food's good or not, because I will tell you that it is the best meal I've ever had. But, you know, it was so good. It was Mother's Day a few weeks ago. My mom was just like, let's just get food from Tony's.

I go there now, you know, a lot of the same people work there except it's the owner's daughter that kind of runs the show now. And we're around the same age. And she always, like, checks in with me just like her mom did. It's like, how are you doing, sweetie? How's your mother? How's everything going? And, like, that's just like...

The best. Oh, that's so great. You cannot beat it. Wow. We're going to be friends. Yeah. Really. I mean, that place is so... It was like at least once a week for 10 years.

Order from Tone's. Yeah, that was like several times a week when I was in high school. Me and my friends just would go there every opportunity we could go. You know, it's been the killer during the quarantine was the lack of fruit. Oh, yeah. The big, that fruit, the fruit bowl and that little special sauce they have with it? They didn't have that. I know.

I don't even know if it's back yet. I don't think it's back yet because I just got food from them and they didn't have them. But yeah, we. So good. It's so, it's so stupid how simple it is, but it's so good. I know. I know. I mean, you know, that's the other thing.

Like coming Mexican food here is just completely off the charts. And I have friends that are telling me of these taco spots and all this great stuff. And there are. And I always feel like as a white guy from New Jersey, Jersey, do I really have the cred to like, but every time I point it out, it holds up with any, with any, uh, listen, I mean, like, if food tastes good, food tastes good. Yeah, right, exactly. At the end of the day, good food tastes good. Yeah, no, you're right. But I, food made with love. I, I am of the belief system that, like, you can taste when food is made or was made with love. Oh, 100%. I, I just, when I eat Tony's, that's what I feel. I'm just like, and that's what those,

warm hug. That's why those places that we're talking about, like, you gravitate towards, there's like that, they always say goodbye to you on your way out. There's a family kind of feeling. It's the feeling. And it's that thing. And that's why they're in business for 50 years. Yeah.

I mean, completely. So, okay, so this is funny. Then this will bring us way back to where it got off track was, not that we're on track, but it's something that I had in my mind. So I gave a shout out to Tom. on life from here in America. And it might have been in the same one because it was talking about LA. Maybe that would be funny. That would be funny if it was us and them side by side and I didn't even realize it. So I got turned on to you guys from Andy. I start sneaking off and going to your spot.

And then during the quarantine, it was even more, but that was after life from here. So I did live from here and I mentioned you guys and was so psyched to do it. And then to hear that my mom lost her mind. My mom is such a diehard NPR fan. Yeah. Like to hear her son's name uttered on air was just like, that's awesome. Her son's business uttered on air was just mind blowing her. So great. That's so great. That makes me so happy. It was just like, yeah. I mean, it's, it's cool. It's very, it's very cool because I also, you know, grew up with it. Granted, when I was a child, I hated NPR because it was boring talk radio. Right. Now I love it. It's the only thing I listen to.

Yeah, you know. It's so funny. But just like, it's weird kind of getting re-engrained into a different side of Los Angeles than what I grew up with. Uh-huh. Right. Yeah. It's like, it's very cool. It's like, you know, it's like meeting your idols. Right. Yeah. It's a cool thing. It's a really cool thing. Man, but I'm going to go back to the tape because that would be great if it's, I'll send you the file. Yeah, please do. If it's, if it's, if Tony's is in, it's got to be. I don't. don't think I did more than one LA. So I'm 90% sure that Bell's bagels and Tonys is in the same one.

It only means that everyone in my family was so excited to hear Bell's name that we just didn't even focus on the Tony part because we would have probably had the same reaction if they were like, oh my God, Tony's because it really feels, I don't know if it's the same for you, but it still feels like it's one of those undiscovered gems. Like they've been around since I, want to say like 94. Uh-huh. But like, not that it's, this matters at all, but they don't make it on to like any lists or any, like, S, X, Y or Z.

Well, yeah. It's like so fucking what. Yeah, and there's only a handful of tables. Right. And there's, you know, again, in a little strip mall in the valley. Yeah. So, you know, the cool kids won't really find it. Yeah. Until they do.

Shh. Right. Exactly. Yeah. Okay. So. you're baking bagels at home and you're cranking them out. So you're figuring it out and you're Yeah, I mean. Did you get good at it pretty early? Well, so basically the way this all started was I was living with my then-roomate, now business partner, someone I also went to high school with. And we were kind of just talking about one morning, we were a little hungover, how like all of our favorite bagel places had closed down, you know, over the years. And all that was really left, this was back in, like, 2011, 2012. All that was really left was like Western bagel, Noah's,

or like Einstein or anything like that. And like the great bagel places of my childhood had closed down. Like I enjoy bagels. It was my favorite place. It was on like Pico and on like the west side. But it was like the bagel we grew up with. And it was, were they great? They were great. from what I recall when I was seven. They were like fantastic. They were the best bagel I've ever had. But just that didn't seem to exist anymore. You know, there were places I adored like Sam's bagels or bagel broker, you know,

things that I thought were really good, but nothing that I was like craving. Yeah, yeah. I just decided that like one morning I was going to go on the same adventure that you went on during the pandemic, which was just like I was going to learn how to make bagels. Right. So I started doing that. And I started making them for, you know, me and my business partner, JD, and then some of our friends. And we started throwing these little brunches together.

We invite like 10 people and then 25 people and then like 50 people. And this was pre like the pop-up scene. Yeah, yeah. This was just like we called them underground brunches, you know. Nice. At your apartment? Yeah, out of our, yeah, out of our apartment. Right.

And then we did one that we decided to publicize on like, that website event, Bright. Uh-huh. Yeah. And we made it public. Uh-huh. And I don't think we were quite ready for what happened. We had, like, 325 strangers show up.

I had moved out of our apartment to a place in Eagle Rock, and we had about 325 people show up. And we were like, oh, crap. Like, there is, like, a need for good bagels in L.A. What happened when they all showed up? Did you have? I actually did have enough because I had assumed that, like, maybe, like, 30 of my friends would show up and all buy dozens.

So I had a lot of bagels, but it ended up being like one-ups. I was like, you can get a sandwich. You can get a bagel and cream cheese. Because I was just trying to, you know, make sure that we could last to the best of our abilities. But that was also where we got our first bit of press from a gene trin at the LAS, which is also like, it was so early. It was early and it was so surreal for me because like I had like, you know, I had just heard of the LAS. and I was like, oh my God, press, what is this? Right.

Oh, my God, you want to talk about me? There was this amazing line, though, from that, that there was a missing comma in it where JD, my business partner and my girlfriend at the time were working this underground brunch with me where, and there was a sentence where it was like, business partner and girlfriend, J.D. Rockio. That's great. But I'm sure you've heard it before. We're practically married.

You marry your business partners. Yeah. Business with them. Was that all out of a home oven? It was out of the home oven. Because you can't make those that far in advance. No, it was, I had converted a bunch of refrigerators. I bought off Craigslist to hold as many bagels as I could make them hold.

Right. I honestly rigged things together from Home Depot because, you know, this is like an entirely self-funded project. I couldn't afford like a mini speed rack to put into like the refrigerator. So I was just like, I guess we'll just build it. We'll make it work. Right. Yeah.

Wow. That's amazing. Like a little baking stone and like homemade bagel boards, the old school way. That's so great. And it was it was really cool. But yeah, we definitely learned early on that like there was definitely a need for bagels. Oh God. Yeah.

On a on a bigger level. Yeah. And you know, it's an interesting thing. I saw a quote, I forget where it was, but the big mythology is that it's the New York water, it's the water, it's the water. And I have a friend that makes pizza, Vito's Pizza in Las Jienega, and he's like, he says the same thing with the pizza, though. And he's like, it's not, it's the baker. It has nothing to do with the water.

It's definitely not the water. I've been a harsh, not the water er, for a very long time. Yeah. But yeah, it all comes down to just like one pass down knowledge, you know, access to ingredients. And like, it is actually still really hard to get like barley malt syrup in Los Angeles. I've only found one provider. Oh, really? So it's just like there isn't a really big bagel scene.

And there wasn't a really big bagel scene in LA. Now there's starting to become one. Yeah, I could see. But, you know, just having as many bagel shops as New York does, it's just like, It creates competition. It creates knowledge. It creates talented bakers. And we just didn't really have that out here.

I also have this theory that one of the reasons why all of like the L.A. bagel shops died off was because if you think about L.A. and the city it used to be, it was like not the first to catch onto culinary trends, but like 100% the first to catch onto dietary trends. Right. So you think about like low carb, Atkins. 2000s, like for a lot of those bagel shops that were in, you know, certain areas that probably meant like the end of business. Yeah, for sure.

I mean, I always remarked about that with bakeries out here. Like, you know, in the east in Chicago, different places. Like there's just a little family bakery almost on every corner. And out here it was like, there's juice. Yeah. And now they're starting to come back. But for a while, it was like, there's not like real good bakeries. I will agree with that to some degree.

I mean, I think bakeries have always and will always thrive in like a Mexican-American culture, like, you know, the local bandadouria. Like that, you know, that shit has never stopped. Right. Because they're not all. It will never stop. Yeah. And that culture's not completely diet crazed. Yeah.

But, you know, that's actually after we did our pop-up, the next thing we looked at was we, there was a local bandadaria around the corner from where I was living. and I had always gotten my Bandolce there and I was just kind of looking around and I was like, they do have all the equipment that I could use to bake bagels. And one day they put like a close sign on their door and we saw that and we're like, okay, we're just going to write them a letter like,

dear La Perla, like, you know, we would like happily rent some kitchen space from you guys if it could help you guys stay open. Oh, wow. And we still under their door and we got a call the next day. Really? And that was where our first pop-up started.

And that's where I kind of learned how to make bagels at a much larger scale than I was used to. And then they stayed in business because of that. They did stay in business. I won't say it was because of that because I don't entirely know their financials. Sure. But they're based on whatever. Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

But yeah, they're still going. They're open now. We work there for, you know, about three months, I would say. But the hard thing is, you know, two bakers working side by side, who both. want bread out of the oven around the same time is really difficult. So I would do, I would do overnight bakes and then Manny Sr. would come in at like 5 a.m. and he would take over the oven. So I wasn't sleeping at all. Oh, God. Yeah. And it was just like a. It is a hard life. I talk about that all the time. Like whenever I fantasize on, I brought you bread by the way. Oh, thank you

so much. And I know you probably are breaded out, but I, this is what I bake and I just came out this morning. And, uh, and I always like, I love doing it. I love the process. You know, it's a It does something to your soul. It's like great to feed your friends and do all this stuff. But taking that extra step and going into like running a shop where people, hungry people are showing up early in the morning. You are setting yourself up for a ton of work at very weird hours. It is a lot of work and it is weird hours. But you kind of learn to adore those hours. There's never traffic. Right. Which is really nice. And there really is something wonderful. about finishing your workday around like noon.

As long as you're able to shift your sleep schedule. Right, right. You're good, but like, you know, there are definitely some times where we, I've done overnight bakes, you know, I luckily have, you know, several really wonderful employees that now do the baking. Oh, yeah. Oh, God. Which is a god.

It's nice. A godson. Yeah. You know, it is a lot of them have been bakers for a long time and they're very much used to that schedule and prefer it. Oh, that's great. So what you're doing. What year do you, or do you walk into the Perla?

La Perla was 2013, 2014. Okay. Like January, yeah, January 2014. So when I find you at High Hat, that was like 2016, or if it was at the start of the pandemic, that was like, you know, 2019. But we started at the High Hat in 2016. In 2016. Yeah.

Okay. Yeah. I was there before the pandemic. Okay. Got it. And then, and then, and then, uh, and then one of the perks of COVID was that you could write from the valley to your shop with no problem with no problem. Yeah.

Which normally, which now is like, you know, 45 minutes. I loved, I loved those like two weeks where like the air was clear. There was no one on the freeway. It was crazy. So surreal. I loved it. So surreal. And then when pulling up and, and that was one of the places like, okay, so what, how's, how have we

going to function now? How am I going to get my bagels? It was like you could call it ahead and then everyone with the masks and standing. Yeah, that was like, it was such a weird experience. Yeah. Because, you know, the minute the pandemic, you know, as we talked about it, the minute, uh, Tom, Tom, Tom Hanks got COVID and everyone knew that the, that it was real, that it was real. Once Woody got it. Um, you know, we had a quick conversation with our employees and were like, listen, if you want to work, that's totally okay. If you don't feel comfortable. that's totally fine. But for whatever reason, our customers felt very comfortable with our setup.

One, because we were all outdoors. Two, because, like, socially distancing was already something that was kind of built into the way that we functioned. Right, right. So we were able to, with the help of a couple of our employees, come up with a really good workflow. Right. To make sure that both our customers and our employees felt comfortable.

And so, like, we, you know, haven't closed at all. we hadn't closed at all during the whole COVID-19, like, outbreak. Amazing. Until one of our employees got it. But, you know, that's a... Right, but that's when you moved across the street. Yeah, we had moved across the street. Because hi-hat is a music venue, really.

Yeah. Right? Yeah, it was... Which made it seem cooler. I was like, I, as a dad coming from the valley, I was like, oh, I'm in the no. Like, I'm buying bagels from a rock club. We all, we always lovingly refer to ourselves as LA's number one bagel shop

in a music venue. Right. Competition was stiff, but somehow came out on top. But yeah, that was actually post La Perla. We were just walking around, you know,

I lived in Eagle Rock, my business partner, lived in Highland Bark, and we were just trying to figure out how we could keep this going because, again, you know, we didn't have a ton of capital. We have, like, no investors. It's still entirely self-funded.

And we were just like, you know, La Perla was rough. baking side by side with someone is difficult for both parties. What if we started baking somewhere off site? We're like, okay, well, if we can bake somewhere off site from a commercial kitchen, all we need to do is find a place to sell our product. And we were literally sitting across the street from the high hat as we were talking about this. So we just kind of looked over there and we were like, they have a little window right there.

Right. I wonder if they'd be into this idea. So we reached out to them and they loved it. Wow. And they were super receptive to it. Because it's off hours for them. hours for them. No one's there. Honestly, we would not be in the place we were today if it wasn't for Ross and Mike and Dustin from the hi-hat. And they have been super supportive of us and just

very cool. It's, it was a very cool experience because they kind of just put total trust in us and they're like, sure, you got it. No problem. Right. And it really helped us become who we are today. So you weren't baking in there. No, we were big, we bake off, we've gone through three different bakeries. Really? Yeah, we started at this bakery in Pasadena. Uh-huh. Um, a share kitchen where we had just a little tiny corner of it and we're like you know after about a year we're like this is great but like we need more space and so then we moved to a kitchen in city terrace the same kitchens that and it used to bake out of back in the day okay and we worked there for about a year and then we're like oh this is like we need a little bit more space yeah so then I ended up

reaching out to the people who owned the bakery that we used to work out of in Pasadena and I was like, you know, if you guys ever want to get out of the shared kitchen game, just like, let us know. And they, like, got back to us immediately. And we're like, yeah, we want out. Oh, we're done. Yeah. I mean, Bells is basically like a series of me reaching out to people and being like, if you want this. Right. Perfect timing. Yeah. It has been perfect timing. I feel like extremely lucky. But yeah, we just reached out to them. They're like, yeah, we went out. So we ended up taking over the lease on that place. We kept all the tenants to subsidize our rent. Oh, that's great. So when you, so you had an inkling that you had a good product when you

were doing the pop-up back in the day. And then is it a consistent product as you were going along? Like where did it evolve? It definitely evolved. I actually, it still evolves to this day. I'm like, I'm a firm believer that like as someone who works in food, like you can't get complacent. You have to always challenge your own thoughts and what you thought is good, what you thought was the best. because that really does change over time with experience. So still to this day, we still tweak things. I mean, we tweaked something pretty like major last week. Oh, yeah?

We ended up going, we used to wrap all of our sheet trays individually with bagels. And now we went over to like a rat covers, which changes the texture on the crust, which I... To what? It gives it a much, much thicker crust. But if you adjust bake times correctly, it actually produces, in my opinion, the superior crust. Right.

So, you know, by changing stuff and doing a workflow where we used less plastic. Right. We ended up making a much better product, in my opinion. Oh, interesting. I wonder if I would notice if I rolled in because I haven't been there in a bit. Yeah, I mean, I would say just like expect a denser crust on the bagels. Right. That, you know, the recipe of the bagel itself has not changed.

Right. Because that was the one thing that was lacking out here was like that thing I was always used to, that little denser crest with that big fluff inside. Why weren't you guys mentioned in the New York Times big controversy article? I have no clue, really. I haven't really made me angry. I had to read it three times and be like, where the hell are they? I mean, no disrespect to the people that were mentioned in there, but, like, you know,

there are three other bagel people that work very, very hard and I think make incredible products that also deserve to be mentioned in there. It's just like, I think they chose to focus on the newest of the bunch. Right, right. And it was just for our listeners, the New York Times came out with an article that said the best bagels in America? In America, we're in Los Angeles. In Los Angeles.

Sorry, New York. Yeah. And people lost their minds. You know what the incredible thing about that was. Yeah. We weren't mentioned an article, but so many people thought we were mentioned in that article. So, like, it just started going around. the internet they're like, check out my, my place, bells bagels, like, it's incredible. So somehow

we got the benefit of everyone saying we had an incredible product without the pressure of these like newfound lines that these people weren't used to. Right. So like, you know, we didn't have the pressure to function at a higher capacity, but we got, we somehow got some like side praise. That's great. Okay, you know what? That works for me. Yeah. Because those articles can like really both help you out, but like they can make just doing your job. very, very difficult. What do you mean with an influx of people? With the influx of customers, yeah. If you can't, if you, if you, if you, if you're not familiar with handling a lot of customers in your day to day, it can just really throw a wrench. Yeah, well, that was the

cool thing about you guys and you probably did it just out in necessity, but it did make the want for the bagels even greater. Like I would leave my house at 7 a.m. on a Sunday just to make sure because you would go until they were sold out. Yeah. And you knew like around 11 o'clock or whatever sold out. It was like joyful sign or just, a funny, a funny post on Instagram. And it really made you want to, like, want to go. Yeah, yeah, thanks. Yeah, it's just, I mean, we actually, we try really hard not to sell out in our day to day,

and we've gotten a lot better at it as we've been able to scale up. But, you know, there's still some people that just don't get that, like, good bread is only good bread for that day. Right, I know. And, like, you can kill your margins if you overproduce. Right. both on labor ends and on product. And it's just like, you know, you really have to aim for that sweet spot in your day-to-day.

Especially if you're using higher quality ingredients, which we choose to choose to use as well. Well, here's something that I didn't, that I haven't done. And I almost didn't want to tell you when I was driving over because on your Instagram post, they're so beautiful. But I'm such a traditional, I just grab the bagels and the shmirs and go home and do it. but your sandwiches are kind of like the, are they the star? I would say, you have these beautiful shots of the bagel opened up with these gorgeous sandwiches, egg sandwiches and stuff. And I'm always just so impatient.

It's like the guy who doesn't want to order at Starbucks and wait around. I'm like, just get me the dozen and get me back in the car. I like, I mean, I like your type more just because like with sandwiches comes with infinite customization. Oh God. especially in LA. Yeah, exactly. Bagel, scooped, butter, capers. That was my favorite one.

Right. Yeah, just because when you cut it open, it was like totally hollow on the inside. And it was just like kind of buttery and there are capers rolling around everywhere. That was still to this day. I'm one of my favorite ones I've ever made. But, yeah, I mean, it's...

Yeah, it's... Yeah, it's... It's got to slow everything down. Yeah, yeah. And, like, you know, we have a great staff that, you know, knows their shit. And it's just on top of it. We pump out a lot of bagel sandwich.

I would say it's probably 30% dozens, 70% sandwiches. Wow. There's places in New York. Wasn't H&H like no sandwiches? I don't know. Back in the day. It was just bagels. They were just cranking out bagels.

Yeah, we went through phases where we would do like no sandwiches, just dozens. But like at the end of the day, you know, our goal as a bagel shop is to be everything that we can be for everyone. Right. You know, so we want to be able to provide the dozens. for the people that just want, you know, a dozen bagels and a couple things to smear and, like, head out. Yeah. But we also want to be able to make egg sandwiches for, you know, people that want them or a lock sandwich for people that want them.

Well, that's the, I mean, yeah, and it's also, you start running more of a restaurant. It's always hard to make money just out of dough products. Right, exactly. And the margins are great, but labors high on dough. Right, right. The real key is to open up a spot and have booze there. Then you really make money. Which is what we're doing.

Are you really? Yeah, we ended up taking over the least. on that space that we're working out of now and we're actually going full Jewish delicatessen. No way. Yeah, bagels by day, by day, deli by night and afternoon. What? And we have the place, though we didn't plan for it,

came with a liquor license. Wow, that's great news. Yeah, we're going with a concept called Bar Mitzvah. That's great. That's amazing. Wow, that's so good. Because that's a very cool space. I hadn't even been inside it.

Or maybe I was, was it before pandemic or did that happen during pandemic? I don't. Could I have been inside? Yeah, you could have been inside like in 2019. Yeah. It used to be a French restaurant called Cote Est. Okay. No, I mean when you guys have it.

Oh, no, probably not. No, okay. No, because we, you could just see inside. But I mean, it's a big open, like, cool space. Yeah, no, it's a gorgeous building. Yeah. You know, the thing that I'm always like hyper-focused on is like, the building is gorgeous, but it has like weird restoration hardware vibes.

Uh-huh. You know, I just want things to be warm, accessible, and inviting for everyone. So, like, we're doing the opposite of what most people do when they take over space, which is just like we're not making it nicer. Right. We're going to make it shittier. We want people to just feel comfortable walking in there. Yeah.

You know, we don't want people to be like, there's like a big black gate out front. And it feels like so, like, feels like jail when you're in there. So we just want to create something that's just open, accessible, fun for everybody. Yeah. I love the big paper, like the big things of paper. Oh, yeah. The wrap that you tear off, that's a good touch. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Right? Like the big butcher paper? Yeah, the big butcher paper. You can write stuff on it, and then you can also use it and peel it off. Utilitarian. Yeah. And I did, when I did my Food Network show, I went in the back of Cantors in that place, that giant bohemath. And it was cool.

It was almost too much. Like it was kind of like too unrued. Yeah, that's like the hard thing about deli culture is like, you know, delis are kind of known for having a little bit of everything. Yeah. So to like take a deli menu and try and condense it into like a one page thing is like very difficult. But it's been what I've been spending the vast majority of the pandemic doing. Oh yeah. So like I'm very excited to do this.

It also, you know, we get to be one of the only delis in L.A. that are baking all of our own bread. Right. So like we've been recipe testing pretty consistently for a lot. few months trying to, you know, dial in our deli rye. Oh, wow. That's great. And all that stuff. So it's just like, oh, that's awesome. It's been a really rewarding experience.

And I know I've said this a few times. Could not do it without my employees because, like, you know, I'm also a big believer that is not one person's mind that makes a restaurant, you know. It's not one person that has talent. It's like everybody. And my baker's just, you know, they all have different experiences. And they all can bring something. thing to the table. And they really help, they really help or just refine recipes for me, you know.

What's the, what is the biggest failing or what don't you like when you get a holla that you're not happy with? Ooh. I mean, my girlfriend will probably hate me for this one, but like, I don't like it when holla is too sweet. My girlfriend loves sweet holla. Yeah. The sweet ones always seem to be a little too fluffy. Yeah. Also, like, the other thing that I know, I noticed about Hala is that, like, nobody really loves the crust of Hala, you know? No one's just like, ooh, give me that, give me the butt of the Hala.

Right. It's all about the inside. Yeah, exactly. It's all about the inside. So it's just trying to create something that has a little more textual contrast. Yeah. Is, has been fun. Right.

And also just, like, I think with Hala, there's such an interesting opportunity to, like, make it something that's a little more Californi-fied just because, you know, Hala is an enriched bread, which means, you know, egg and fat. Right. Or one or the other. And usually you stay away from butter or things like that just because if it's Shabbat, the Sabbath, you know, you don't want, you don't want dairy in there because then you couldn't eat meat.

And so like, you're kind of put in a corner of only being able to use certain fat. So I think it's a really nice opportunity to, like, showcase California. olive oil. Oh, yeah. Just because like, olive oil has great flavor. It takes well to sugar. And like, you know, you can just get it in there just enough to where people can kind of taste it. And I think that gives it a really nice, like, uh, kick of California. Yeah, that's a great idea. That's really cool. Yeah, because there's, I started going down that rabbit hole and talk about a zillion different ways. Yeah. And anybody that you know that grew up with it is sending me like their grandmothers and everybody has like these tiny little and they're so subtle like the changes are

very very small and it's really funny because then you try and do it and you bring it back to that person who and they're like yeah this is good but there's no way because grandma didn't make it my harshest critic is my girlfriend because she has such nostalgia when it comes to like deli food that i know there's no one that will be more critical of it than her. So if she likes it, then I've hit the gold knife. Right, right. Yeah. That's amazing. And doing the seated rye, that's going to be, that's, oh, ma'am, you know that. Yeah, the rye is, the rye, honestly, my baker Katie today just did a, did a ride that, like, blew me away. And I think it's probably what we're going to go with. Oh, that's great. It's just, you know, when you're- The caraway and- Yeah, the caraway. But, like, also, like, when you get

rye bread at a deli. You know, there's probably such a small amount of actual rye flour in there. Mm-hmm. And so, like, you can never actually taste the rye flour. You never get that whole green goodiness from it. So we've up the percentage considerably. Just to get a little bit more, if you're looking for that rye flavor, you'll find it there. If you don't know anything about rye flour, you won't notice it. Right. But that's a really, that's a very cool thing to do because there's all these artisanal breads and stuff, but to use an artisan. approach for a deli product ultimately. We like to go like, you know, 50% into the artisanal group because like, you know,

yeah. You know, I love bulls and, you know, I love, you know, 100% whole wheat dough. Yeah, yeah. I love all that stuff. But at the end of the day, like it does appeal to a certain, like, you know, a smaller group of people. And like, like I've said a million times, I want everyone to enjoy this. So I always try and do the most that I can't, I can get away with without turning people

off from something by giving them something that they don't know. No, that's exactly it. Because, like, you would want them, because everybody kind of feels like they should be eating that kind of thing. Right. But you also just want a fun little sandwich that works. Yeah. So if you can give them a little hint that they're doing both, that's a home run.

Yeah, like our, we put this stuff on our egg sandwiches that we call Shalom sauce. We thought it'd be really fun to have, like, just a sauce that by default came on our egg sandwiches that there was no real description of what was. inside of it. But what it actually is, is it's a Zatar aoli. Oh, yeah. But, you know, in my mind, a small section of people know what Zatar is. And like, that's on the egg sandwich? Yeah, that's on the egg sandwich. So like hearing a word that you're unfamiliar with for some people that like is like, okay, I want to try that. For some people that really turns them off. So I was like, well, what if we just don't even like mention that it's Zatar? That's so smart. Yeah. So it's just like,

the Shalom sauce. Yeah, so it's great. So it's just, it, it, it's just, it. That's always been my approach to food. I just like, I want to make food that people can enjoy. I will always put more work into food than it looks like I did. Yeah. You know, there's a million different, like, hidden things on the menu that require a lot more work than people realize. Right, right, yeah. But, you know, that's just, that's my approach to food.

I always say, like, you know, we make the food that your grandma would make if she had a septum piercing and a full sleeve of tattoos. Yeah. You've got to bring in Lipton's suit mix and something. You've got to. If you don't think that there isn't like a case of Lipton's suit mix sitting in the back of bells right now, you're wrong. I live for that stuff. That's amazing. Yeah, that stuff is great.

It's incredible. Oh, and people would be, their synapses would be firing off and they wouldn't even know why. I got three letters for you, MSG. Right. Or M-O-M. Well, this is amazing. This is so great. I didn't even know you were, you were branching out into that. Yeah. That's going to be a fun hang. It's going to be really cool. I'm really excited. Yeah. And it's just, you know, it's going to be interesting, especially post-pand pandemic to see, like, you know, a neighborhood's approach to like a new restaurant.

Yeah. Yeah. And it's, you know, and going all the way back to the start of our conversation, like what you're kind of painting when you're telling the story of what you're going to put in it and how it's going to be decorated. and all the kind of, it's kind of like flipping through that menu book. Exactly. Of like that's going to be more than just, I don't know, a faceless place. This is going to be a spot. I don't want to sound like an egomaniac, but like I like dream of becoming an institution, not in the fact that like, you know, people are like, you've got to go here, but just to be remembered in like the grand scheme of L.A.

It's just like so cool. Totally. You know, just to be able to like, like, give back to the city that I grew up in. I'm like a diehard Angeline. Yeah, yeah. It's just like the coolest thing in the entire world. Yeah, no, there's got to be a black and white shot of you.

Yeah. Like shaking hands over the counter with the pink with your apron on. And then that's going to be the classic shot they show 50 years from now. Yeah, exactly. We're trying to get a really poorly photoshopped wall of us shaking hands with different celebrities. Yeah, like Jimmy Carter. Yeah, exactly.

LBJ. Yeah. All the classics. Right, exactly. John Wayne. That would be really funny. That would be great. Well, this was awesome.

This was so cool. I'm glad we got to sit down. And we should really go for a meal in one of these classic places one time. I'm totally not. That would be really fun. Take you to Tony's. They know my name there. Yeah.

That would be great. Oh, that would be good for them. Like if they could see the two worlds collapse, like, how do you guys know each other? That would be very good. cool. And I, and like, I know that you're, you're, you're flowered out in your life. No, I, I still eat bread. All right. Good. All right. Well, let me know what you think. I just don't eat bagels. Do you not eat bagels? Are you gotten to completely? I, I have a, a bad habit of ripping into one bagel and just kind of leaving it around the restaurant. I'll just take a piece of it. I'll

dip in a cream cheese and I'll go somewhere. I like to try them almost every day. but like I never want to eat a full bagel. Yeah, that's a lot. I still, yeah, it's a lot. Every single day. Every single day. My business partner eats one pretty much every day. Oh, really?

But the, sometimes even like the, the smell of everything seasoning can be like mildly nauseating for me just because you spent so much time around it and you learn to like hold grudges against it. But you know, there's the other side where you stop smelling, like you stopped noticing it, right? Like I remember being at a Veda in the mall years ago. I was like, I love the smell in here. hearing the girl working behind the counter. I was like, I don't smell a thing. Yeah. I've been here for five years. I don't know what you're talking about. Yeah. Yeah. No, you definitely go through phases, but like the smell of like hot boiling malt water in the morning is like wonderful and mildly

nauseating the smell of everything bagels just because you leave the, if you bake that day, you're literally covered from head to toe and like everything seasoning. And like we like to call it bagel sand. Just because you'll go home. You'll be wearing a hat. all day and you'll come home and be like, how did I get this like sesame seed in all there? It's great. It's, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's. And it, it's why those people are lined up every week, every day, outside

that place, it's got to feel pretty good. All right, let me ask you one final question. Yeah, yeah, let's do it. Um, because you are such an angelinian, angelonianian, um, and there is, it's very popular. in the talk from the pandemic on of people fleeing the state, fleeing L.A. And moving to all these differently.

In the comedy world, there's a lot of people going to Texas and to Nashville. And there seems to be like people are kind of shitting on our fair city. What is that all about? And do you think it'll last? And have you seen it before?

Personally, I haven't really seen it before. You know, it's something that I struggle with you. thought about leaving L.A. Not because I don't love it. I love it more than any other city, but for a lot of us that are born and bred here, you know, the chances of us making enough money to be able to survive, live by a house here, you know, the opportunity just seems to get pushed further and further and further away. So I understand it 100%. Yeah. I get why people want to leave, especially those that have spent as much time here as I have. Yeah. You know, I think for all of them and myself included, you know, Los Angeles like lives on forever inside of you.

You know, it's, it's the native Angelenos is a dying breed. Right. But like, you know, we all want to stay here. It's just like, can't we really afford it? Like, right. Yeah. Not, always. Which is crazy because there's 10 million people here. Yeah, exactly. You know what I mean? Yeah. It's just in the last like 15 years, the price, the cost of living out here is just like, yeah. Astronomical. But like, yeah, I. I mean, to those that moved here to see what L.A. was about and have left, I'm kind of like a, okay, cool. Yeah, that's great. Yeah, right. But, uh, you didn't belong here anyway. But those of us that grew up here, like, I, you know, I, I pray for a day that, like, all,

everyone who grew up in L.A. could live here forever because you deserve to live where you grew up. Yeah. Imagine not being able to live in your hometown. I know. I know. That's what happened to Manhattan. Like, it just became, like, insane. But, you know, things. do shift. Yeah, I'm hoping. Everybody took a shot in the nose over the last year and a half, so maybe it'll level things out a little bit. You know, I've definitely thought about that.

I've definitely kind of hope for that, maybe. Yeah, yeah, I know. I know. But yeah, I just, I would like to live in the L.A. where, uh, that my parents described were, it's just like, L.A.'s a melting pot, you know? Yeah. You have people from every different culture, every different society, living out here.

Yeah. Together. Yeah. And, like, that's what makes L.A. special. So I just truly hope that never goes away. Yeah, I don't think it will. And we'll be getting hammered at bar mitzvah. Yeah, exactly.

Figuring it all out. All right, Tom. All right, man. Thank you so much. Thank you. Of course. Oh, that's good luck. Yeah, that's what people do.

Should I step on the bottle? No, no, not get carried away. Thanks, ma'am. No worries, dude. So there's our conversation with Nick. What a cool guy, much cooler than I even anticipated. I just, he reminds me of so. many people that I've hung out with in my life and we are going to have a good we're going to

Tony's Mexican grill that's for sure we're going to walk in there and blow their minds they're going to be like how the hell do you two know each other and then we're going to go to Muso and Franks I just uh yeah as long as he has time away from his bagel shop I think we're going to eat our faces off through L.A. And now a quick bite with the great Colin Quinn. Yes. I just wanted to put a quick call into you take on this. You know, there's a lot of California to try and get, they're trying to make bagels in California. It's basically it. And I was like, well, you know, we're coming from New York,

and that's kind of the place where it all happens. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, yeah, I'm trying to remember if I had my bagels in California. Yeah, of course I did at those delis, you know. Nate Niles and Jerry's and stuff like that. Yeah. Right. Right. Yeah, they were okay. Not so bad. Now, how are they going to make New York? I don't understand what their strategy is.

What do you mean? You say they're trying to make New York bagels in L.A.? Well, they're trying to make bagels that are as renowned as they are in New York. Yeah. It's kind of the L.A. thing with not just bagels, but with everything, where you're trying your best. Yeah, well, I mean, yeah, like pizza. I know there was. trying to pizza the same, you know? Right, right, right, right, exactly. But there's something all for the pizza, I know that much.

You know, one time, when they opened Mulberry Street Pizza, you know? Uh-huh, yeah. Kathy Moriarty was in there, and the whole thing was they got the water from New York. So one time, even when he goes, he had this new place, Molder pizza, he's got New York, the New York water, that makes a difference. And then one time I went in there, and I was talking to Kathy Mowlerone here, I knew a little bit, and I go, is it true that the pizza here is you guys use New York water?

to me so disappointed, she goes, Colin. She thought I was like, you know, intelligent. We've been having conversations. She goes, Colin. Think about it. Yeah. What do you think people fly plane loads of water every day? Oh, yeah, good point.

She said, how would you transport water from New York to L.A.? I never thought it's true. Yeah, it's not happening. I would think of a copy. Kathy J. Letters have it. Yeah. I don't know what they're going to do.

I mean, it's the water. Everybody says it's the water. But then I was talking to my friend who's making them. He's like, it's not the water. It's just about the person making it and whether or not you can do it. Well, yeah. But is there, is there any, do you think there will ever be an end to L.A. and New York's relationship? Well, I mean, first of all, I can't even believe that there is a difference,

but I can taste it in the pizza and the bagels. I know. So it's like, if you told me there's a difference, I would say, no, there's not. But yet I can taste it. So what does that mean? Where is it the bread? I mean, it's at the bottom of this at some point. I know.

Yeah. I mean, why would L.A., here's the problem in L.A., which I've said many times, is they were famous for what they were famous for, which is the good life, the American dream. So, you know, don't worry about bagel. You know what I mean? If they were going to order to make bagels, that should have been like 1938. You know what I mean? Yeah.

Like all the studio heads that came out of the Lower East Side, they had the power and the money to actually fly all those original bagels, really bagels, off of like Delante Street. I know right.

And they would have done it in two seconds so if it couldn't happen then, they're not going to have them now. Right. It's true. That is their thing. The thing is, their thing is

oh god there's a man with a saw yeah their thing is just about about living a better life why why not just why fight it why try and get

good pizza let's just let the New York have that and we have the ocean in 72 degrees yes and you guys have great Mexican food

you know what I mean it's like yeah you know you can't have everything but that's the beauty of L.A. like no we're supposed

to have everything and they are you know right right It was supposed to be everything is perfect. I understand the goal, but it's just, you know. Like I said, if who's going to happen, it would have happened in 1938. It would have been like Harry Cohn and Samuel Goldman and all the other guys would have been like,

hey, listen, we're going to get, you know, we're going to get Morty from, you know, Elder Street bagels. Remember when you were kidding, they'd fly them out there, put them up. Right. You'd get him to make bagels. Right. It didn't happen then, now, and nobody has that kind of power to do that, you know? Yeah, so it's over.

It's funny. How many bagels do you eat a week? Do you even eat bagels anymore? Well, it depends. Like, last two bagels. And for every week, for the two months before that. 15. Your favorite bagel?

Like poppy seeds? Yeah, I think I might be a morphine addict, and I think I just like bagels. Oh, it's awesome. I would test positive for any drug in this. If they drug test me right now, because of all the properties, I really have an ingest and all this one. I really, it's thought it.

I'll have carbs once in a while. I said, I've got to make like, like it's in 1975. I'm going mad kind of carbs in a relationship. Oh, that makes me very happy. It's been really positive. It's been overwhelmingly positive. That makes me very happy. Well, thank you, Colin.

It's good talking to you. Thanks, Tom. You too. All right. I'll talk to you soon. See you soon. Bye. there you have it. Another great show. Thank you to Nick Schreiber and the Bell's Bagels Klan. Thank you to Colin Quinn as always. Cranky and hilarious. I love them so much. And thank all of you for listening. Make sure you subscribe. Don't miss out on a single episode.

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