The perfect bagel boasts a crispy, crusty exterior; a fluffy, chewy middle; and subtle flavor just salty enough to pair with a heaping scoop of cream cheese. Look to the great bagels found on the East Coast, where purveyors conduct a “knock test” — rapping their knuckles over the bagels’ hard crust and then theatrically ripping it open, revealing a steaming and slightly doughy texture. Indeed, for a truly life-affirming bagel, you’ll have to venture to the other side of the country. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find a passable — or even very good — bagel in Southern Nevada. These bakeries make bagels with chewy centers, deep golden crusts, and robust selections of cream cheese, smoked fish, and salty capers.
Read MoreWhere to Find the Best Bagels in Las Vegas
Here’s where to find the best bagels and schmear across Las Vegas and Henderson
Life's A Bagel
This Summerlin bakery boasts some of the best bagels in the Las Vegas Valley, with darkened crust, a slightly chewy texture, and subtly salty and sweet bagels that pair nicely with cream cheese, lox, red onion, and capers. Wash it all down with coffee or homemade lemonade or iced tea.
The Bagel Cafe
The bagels here are big — enough so to fill you up even without adding the spread of toppings that come on a bagel platter. For cream cheese, choose from more than 10 options like scallion, cinnamon raisin walnut, olive pimento, garlic cheddar, strawberry, and cheddar.
New York Bagel N Bakery
This bakery downtown is open early for bagel fiends looking for a hot, toasted bagel and enough schmear for three people. With bagel sandwiches fit for both breakfast and lunch, get your everything, egg, or sesame bagel piled high with eggs and cheese or deli meat and veggies.
The Bagel Nook Las Vegas
Arguably home to the most creative bagels in town, the Bagel Nook has varieties like sesame, chocolate chip, Oreo, Captain Crunch, Fruity Pebbles, tie-dye, Dorito, and Flaming Hot Cheeto. And it has nearly 40 types of cream cheese, from plain and herb, to maple bacon and ghost pepper. Sure, add a cookie to the middle of your bagel sandwich.
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El Bagel
This Miami bagel shop makes its hand-rolled, boiled, and baked bagels in the food hall at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Order bagel sandwiches loaded with brown sugar bacon, eggs, and American cheese or with smoked lox, cucumber, dill, pickled onion, tomato, capers, cream cheese.
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Siegel's Bagelmania
For all things round bread, this bagel spot also houses a Pinkbox Doughnuts inside. Located near the Las Vegas Convention Center, this behemoth of a breakfast restaurant can put together big shareable trays of bagels and spread, for enjoying sesame, salted pretzel, and pumpernickel bagels, plus bialys.
Sadelle's
For a fancier take on a bagel and cream cheese, New York transplant Sadelle’s at the Bellagio introduces the bagel tower. With tiers of tomato slices, smoked salmon, fresh dill, and crunchy cucumber, assemble your bagel while looking over the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. This is peak Instagrammable breakfast, so make sure the camera eats, too.
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Weiss Deli
This Henderson bakery makes lighter bagels, just right for filling with sandwich toppings like veggies, corned beef hash, omelets, and cheese. Full breakfasts, including pancake stacks and egg Benedicts, are available, too, to have on on-site before grabbing bagels to go.
Abel's Bagels
Bagels here are boiled and baked the New York way, then sandwiched with cream cheese or deli meats. In addition to sandwiches, this bagel shop also has a robust menu of smoothies, acai bowls, and customizable juice blends.