Ayana's Angle: PopUp Bagels Arrives in Fairfield

Ayana Jain is a Fairfield-based writer and new contributor to Fairfield HamletHub. Her interests include food, music, books, movies and more and, going forward, she will contribute her "angle" on specific types of media or experiences. This is her debut column, about the recently opened PopUp Bagels in Fairfield...

If you have any type of social media, I’m sure you’ve heard of this trendy bagel shop that got its start as a “backyard pickup window” in Westport during the pandemic. Once PopUp Bagels began opening locations in New York City, the small bagel shop became a phenomenon on TikTok and Instagram, gaining attention from celebrities and influencers who catapulted the success of this Connecticut small business. Recently, a new location opened up in Fairfield at 1814 Post Road. It is located next to Ace Hardware and was previously occupied by Lobster Craft. 

The menu is small and the concept of the store is simple. They have five available bagel flavors: plain, sesame, poppy, everything and salt, as well as different schmear flavor options. Scallion, plain and vegan are their staple schmears, though they inject fun new flavors from time to time.

They don’t cut the bagel or spread the cream cheese -- they give you your stuff and send you on your way! The store is completely focused on its main labor of love, and -- spoiler -- that’s what makes them so good. You have the option to get three bagels and a schmear for $12, six bagels and a schmear for $21 and twelve bagels and a schmear for $42. While they have been criticized for being on the pricier side, I like to think of them as good bagels for a crowd or something to get for a special occasion. 

I recently set out to try these famous bagels in its new location and, as I entered the store, I was hit with a delicious aroma. The menu is small, so it didn’t take long for me to order and, while I had never had a salt bagel before, I had been told by others that it’s the best one. I decided to get two of the salt bagels, one everything bagel and the special schmear flavor that week: dill pickle cream cheese. I only had to wait a few minutes, but I didn’t mind as I was getting a batch that came straight out of the oven. Giddy with excitement, I went home to immediately tuck into the fresh, soft and crusty goodness.

If you’ve seen any of the videos of people eating these online, normally they will just tear the bagel piece by piece and dunk it into the tub of schmear. I thought about consuming it that way, but I’m a bit of a traditionalist and I wanted to be able to compare the experience to any other bagel I’ve had, so I cut a warm salt bagel in half and spread the pickle cream cheese on top. The cream cheese was so spreadable and had little pieces of pickle and dill in it and the bagel was so easy to cut into, even while it was fresh. The bagel itself was small, but tall, and the outer part of it was crusty and crunchy, while the inside was soft. 

Something I noticed is that the bagel and cream cheese were lacking salt on their own. Of course, the salt bagel itself had a great balance of saltiness, but when I had the everything bagel it felt like it was missing this particular seasoning. I did love how the everything bagel was coated all the way around, but I would have liked it even more if they added salt to the topping! While I have minor complaints, I have to say that PopUp has really mastered the texture, as it had the perfect balance of crisp and chewy. And while dense, it was also pillowy.

Now to answer the main question on everyone’s mind: Are the bagels worth the hype? My short answer is yes! My longer answer is that they are tasty and fun. I like that they rotate schmear flavors and that they don’t overcomplicate things by having such a simple menu and ordering process. I know some people would not like that they can’t just get one bagel or they would want someone to spread the cream cheese on their bagel, but there are numerous places around town that can fill that need. And maybe if you feel that way, this won’t be the spot for you, but I do recommend that people should try it out and give it a chance at least once and support this local business. As their slogan says, they’re “not famous but known”, so check it out!

ABOUT WRITER AYANA JAIN

Ayana Jain is a young woman who graduated from Southern Connecticut State University with a degree in Communications and Advertising. Some of her main interests include food, travel, reading and films. She has lived in Fairfield for over 20 years and is an expert on everything trendy in the area.