Bagel love and hate in Georgetown
The bagel-making king has met its match
The overly popular Call Your Mother “Jew-ish” deli has worn out its welcome in Georgetown. To be clear, I am not a fan of this mass-produced bagel product. At a recent visit to this location, my money-making smoked salmon “goo” on an Everything bagel was, at best, a mess. Loved by the 20-somethings students and professionals alike in DC, they are the perfect cure for a bad hangover or a late night on the town. How can I say these things you say? I went to a professional bagel baking school in New York while many of you were playing board games during COVID-19. My bagel instructor was Chef Beth George, called the best bagel expert in America. Interviewed by the New York Times, The CBS Sunday Morning Show, Christopher Kimball Milk Street, and others, I was taught by the best. With only five natural ingredients, a classic three-day fermentation process, an insane oven breathing fire and steam, the old-school bagel can never be rushed or mass-produced; as Beth would say “it’s a process”.
One thing is certain, this company knows how to make money. Gifted with a political blessing from the Biden administration, the White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients was an original founder of the company. Expanding with products coming to Whole Foods and now locations in Denver.
Surrounded by million-dollar Georgetown row houses, the overly popular Georgetown shop has become a nuisance to neighbors. Paul Maysak, the advisory neighborhood commissioner, was quoted in the Washington Post Thursday morning: “Everybody loves the restaurant, right? And that’s probably one of the detriments.” “They basically outsource the dining room to the sidewalk for the large part. So, I’d love to see it work. I would not want it across the street from me.” This is politics and food at its core. The zoning board will decide the fate using the D.C. Court of Appeals precedent and decades-old zoning laws. Stay tuned; the decision is likely to come on Sept. 25th at another hearing.
