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DON’T CHANGE THE LOX: Some of Rosenberg’s deli delights.
FOOD
P H O T O G R A P H BY J O N AT H O N L O E T H E R
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BROAST OF THE TOWN: The Post’s succulent pressure-fried chicken.
The Bagel Has Landed
Using authentic methods and ingredients—right down to the water— Rosenberg’s recreates a New York experience in Five Points. By Gary James
ROSENBERG’S BAGELS & DELICATESSEN
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HIS CATHOLIC kid from Arvada came to Boulder to attend the University of Colorado and was adopted by the Kauvar family, who ran the Tulagi nightclub—and Herbie’s Deli above it. Matriarch Gilda fed me my first lox and bagel, and it was “goy meets girl.” I was instantly an honorary member of the tribe, a victim of her schmear campaign. I won’t pretend to know as much as New York transplants, but I’m heavily invested in a quest for a decent New York-style “roll with a hole” in the Mile High City. Not the mushy pre-bagged variety found in grocery stores, but a
co l o r a d o a v i d g o l f e r. c o m
real bagel—sturdy and crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. And so my new best friend is Joshua Pollack, “the bagel man.” Josh opened the doors of Rosenberg’s Delicatessen last summer in the Five Points area after years of research and months of construction, spending a lot of…well, dough. “A real bagel is boiled,” he explained during a recent visit. “That’s the difference between what we do and thousands of supermarkets or Einstein’s. Those are steamed. You have to boil the bagel to get the right consistency and texture.” Born and raised in New Jersey, Josh is a fellow CU alum. He returned to Jersey to find what makes a good bagel, studying at classic NYC establishments such
as Katz’s Deli, Ross & Daughters, Harold’s Kosher Deli and Bagel Emporium. “Even in New York, some bagels are better than others. In the beginning, I would travel back from there with a jug of water to bake a test batch of bagels and make side-by-side comparisons. People who aren’t as crazy about them as I am wouldn’t know about the minor tweaks in water, but it’s just five ingredients. It’s not the crazy flavors, it’s the interaction between them.” Josh also attended classes at Cook Street School of Culinary Arts and eventually found three components: One, a great hundred-year-old recipe from Harold’s; and two, a flexible process with the traditional equipment and procedures. “I was a business student, so I underJune 2015 | Colorado AvidGolfer
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