Wicked Bagel
Have you ever wanted dinner and a show at 8 o’clock in the morning?
“You can watch the bakers make the dough. You can watch the bagels being baked. You can see them coming off the racks going into the oven. I think people enjoy it.”
And you’ll find it’s one tasty production at Wicked Bagel.
With locations in Lexington, Woburn, and this one in Watertown, Wicked Bagel was born from a simple idea: find a void in the market and fill it with something delicious.
And that's just what owner Maria Mahoney did.
“We're from Massachusetts, but we lived in New York and we came back to Massachusetts and my husband said, ‘I can't believe I can't get a New York style bagel. So fast forward three stores later, here we are. It's not just about the bagel, it's also about the experience.”
Walking into Wicked Bagel, you’ll find it's more than just a shop. It’s a show, with a flurry of staff serving customers in the dining room and the takeout window, with a kitchen behind glass where you can watch it all happen.
“If you come here on a weekend, a lot of times you'll see little kids standing up at the glass and peering in. And you get to see few ingredients, good ingredients. Simple but good.”
And with just one look, you’ll see exactly what sets these bagels apart.
“The bakers have years of experience and it's all simple products that you recognize. Premium flour. Flour is really important. Salt, water, ice. We start from scratch every morning. We make the dough in the mixers. We cover them so they get warm and they rise a little bit. We form the bagels. They're put on the boards. They'll go downstairs into our walk-in cooler. They're proofed overnight. The baker will then take the racks from the previous day, boil them. So boiling the bagels is what distinguishes our bagels. It gives them that glossy snap exterior. And then the bagels are placed on special wood planks and baked fresh in the oven. They’re flipped to create that perfect crispy texture on both sides, then seeded on both sides before the process starts all over again the next day. We don't ever serve a bagel that was prepared the previous day. As a matter of fact, at the end of the day, we donate to all the local food banks.”
And the outcome is pure bagel perfection.
“I like a shiny exterior. I call it a snap. So when I rip the bagel, you can almost feel it and hear it. And then just a soft, chewy interior, but light at the same time. It's the only way to start your day.”
The lineup of bagels is long.
“We have plain, everything, sesame. We have a couple of sweet bagels. We have poppy. We have marble, pumpernickel, rye, egg, whole wheat, whole wheat everything, asiago, cheddar jalapeño, jalapeño, chocolate chip, french toast. Almost 20.”
And while they’re great on their own, Wicked Bagel offers a variety of house made spreads — from a subtly sweet strawberry to zippy chive to good ol’ plain.
“There's nothing better than when a bagel comes out of the oven and you tear it open and there's still steam, and you just dip it in some cream cheese and you eat it fresh. Even the plain cream cheese is delicious.”
The bagels also serve as the vessel for a variety of sandwiches, like Wicked Bagel’s take on a Reuben. Served on the bagel of your choice, it’s piled high with thinly sliced pastrami, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing. The Turkey Delight is packed with house-roasted turkey, applewood bacon, tomato, romaine, cheddar, and a sundried tomato aioli.Or try their take on an Italian, appropriately named The North Ender. This delicious handheld comes loaded up with ham, salami, mortadella, provolone, lettuce, and house-roasted tomatoes.
“You get the meat. You get the lightness of the bagel. You get the acidity of the balsamic, the olive oil and then the roasted tomatoes. So it's just everything together. It's like being in the North End in Watertown.”
If you’re looking for breakfast on the go, the so-called “Eggceptional” truly is exceptional.
“We do fresh eggs to order on the flat top. Cheese, your choice of meat. And then we offer hash browns. So we grill those and we can put that on top. And it's filling and it's comforting. Which is again part of the whole experience.”
And the experience goes beyond sandwiches with pizza bagels made fresh to order.
“We have a traditional pizza conveyor. It takes about three minutes, but they're bubbly. The cheese melts on top. The bagels are hot right out of the oven and they're made fresh to order. If you want a more traditional, we do the pepperoni. If you want spicy, we do the buffalo chicken. It's like eating buffalo chicken dip on a bagel. They're absolutely delicious. They're not like a pizza bagel that's pre-made and sits in a case. You have to try them.”
Wicked Bagel also offers a lineup of smoothies and a case full of pastries, like their house made Pop Tarts packed with flavor and nostalgia.
“We sell a lot of Pop Tarts. We have apple, we have s’more, we have blueberry. We make cookies. We have an assortment of pastries at all three locations.”
And whether you end up in Woburn, Lexington, or Watertown, you’re going to be wicked happy when you hit Wicked Bagel.
“Nothing goes out that we haven't tested and tried over and over, and it's just an extension of our home, and it makes me so happy when people come in and have a good experience.”
