New York City natives take pride in two food-related opinions: that thin-crust pizza is the way to go and that the city has the best bagels.
One man from Los Angeles, named Taylor Offer, recently took to TikTok to share his experience ordering a bagel in the Big Apple, which he claimed ended with him getting kicked out of the deli.
“There’s nothing more stressful than ordering a bagel in New York City,” Offer’s video began. He explained that his normal bagel order is a scooped gluten-free bagel. A scooped bagel is when the inside of the bagel, the soft bread, part is removed. Typically, it’s done as either a lower-calorie or low-carb option, but some people order their bagels scooped out to get more cream cheese or other filling of their choice.
In Los Angeles, Offer said no one ever questions his order, but that the NYC deli he visited had a problem with it. “I just walked in and asked for a scooped gluten free bagel, guy just looks at me and goes: ‘I’m not scooping your f***ing bagel bro,’” Offer alleged.
Offer said he was confused why his order was being questioned because he noted “that’s how I want it”. The TikToker then alleged that the employee behind the counter kicked him out of the deli, at which point Offer said he would just move on to a different deli.
Since the video was first posted on 27 October, it has received almost nine million views, with 24,000 comments. Many viewers explained how they supported the deli employee, with some revealing that they had to Google what a scooped bagel even is. “Just googled what a scooped bagel was. The deli guy was correct,” one commenter wrote.
“I imagine a scooped bagel is like ordering a muffin and only eating the wrapper,” another commenter pointed out.
Some viewers questioned whether or not Offer even wanted a bagel at all. “Gluten free AND scooped?? I feel like at that point you have to just admit you don’t really want a bagel at all,” one commenter wrote.
Another viewer agreed, writing: “The soft dough in the middle is literally the food part of it.”
Others said they weren’t surprised to hear a controversial bagel opinion from someone who lives in Los Angeles. “‘I’m from Los Angeles’ told me everything I needed to know,” one person claimed in the comments.
“What does California do to you guys? There’s gotta be something in the water because no way,” a second commenter agreed.
However, despite the widespread criticism, there were a few people who decided to support Offer’s decision to order a scooped bagel, as they have also ordered bagels that way themselves. “I order mine scooped,” one person commented. “I’m trying to lose weight but not go into a depression. It’s a happy medium.”
“Oh no… I actually love scooped bagels,” another commenter agreed.
Despite the amount of people who viewed a scooped bagel as a New York City “hate crime,” Offer revealed in a follow-up video that one deli had successfully given him a scooped gluten-free bagel. He held up the bagel to the camera to show his viewers what it looked like.
“It’s actually a pretty genius idea,” he said. “You get less bagel, more cream cheese.”
The Independent has contacted Offer for comment.
