A search for a good bagel in Los Angeles led actor and singer Jessica Fishenfeld on a delicious endeavor. Her show, “Bagels and Banter,” is a fun and fabulous foodie series on YouTube.
“I wanted my own show where I can talk to people and talk about bagels,” Fishenfeld told The Journal. “And this [is the] organic creation that came about.”
Fishenfeld, who moved to LA two years ago, was born and raised in New York and “took for granted the fact that we have the best bagels there,” she said. “I always had my go-to place.”
For Valentine’s Day 2024, Fishenfeld decided she wanted a bagel, so she and her husband decided to check out The Bagel Factory in Redondo Beach. They had good reviews and recommendations, so they figured it was worth a try.
Fishenfeld filmed the experience.
“He thinks it was his idea, I think it was my idea,” she said. Fishenfeld created a video review. It’s what got the ball … er bagel … rolling.
Note: Fishenfeld got lucky on her first try. “Bagel Factory is on my Bagel Queen Jess approved list of bagels,” she said.
As a newbie to bagels in LA, Fishenfeld figured she could review other bagel places in the area and clue others into her discoveries.
“People were really latching onto this and loving it,” she said. A fan of Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” and a people-person who loves hosting, Fishenfeld found a great topic with the perfect stage!
“Even with my reviews, I was bringing a friend with me [to get] their opinion too,” she said. “It just makes it more fun.”
Fishenfeld teamed up with director/filmmaker friends she met on a commercial shoot, and the next level of “Bagels and Banter” was born.
Bagels get reviewed in three categories: texture, bagel flavor and toppings.
“What I found in LA is that most of these new wave bagel places — mostly the sourdough bagel places — will have elaborate toppings, like with heirloom tomatoes; it’s this gorgeous spread,” she said. “I need to get underneath that because my first line of judgment is the bagel itself.”
Fishenfeld doesn’t want to be fooled by great toppings; that’s why it has its own category and it can affect the overall score.
“I need to know what that bagel tastes like,” she said. “Like if they cut corners on quality, if it could have been a normal sandwich or if this could have been toast. … They have to be up to my standards to get a good review from me.”
By the way, if you have a large amount of bagels that you want to keep fresh — you went to the bagel shop and stocked up — Fishenfeld said to put them in the freezer right away. Then, to defrost them, set your oven to 400° and put the bagel in while the oven is heating up.
“It will naturally heat up for about 10 minutes,” she said. “Cut it open and you’ve got a fresh tasting, crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside bagel.”
Fishenfeld is very traditional when it comes to her bagel tastes.
“My favorite bagels are New York-style,” she said. “They need to be crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside and they [have] to have its own flavor.
“It’s hard to describe exactly what that flavor is, but I’ve tasted some bagels that kind of taste like water … they don’t taste like much; I need to know that I could enjoy the flavor of this bagel on its own without any toppings.”
A bad bagel, she explained, resembles something you would get at the supermarket; it’s the same consistency from outside to inside; it’s soft everywhere, spongy, flavorless.
Fishenfeld recalled the first time she ever ate her absolute favorite bagel, which comes from a place on Long Island. She was at her high school boyfriend’s house, when his mom brought bagels from Hand Rolled Bagels in New Hyde Park.
“It was the most luxurious tasting bagel I had ever had,” she said. “They’re a tinge sweeter than other bagels that I had tried and they were just so puffy and big; the outer coating was leathery, but also crispy, it was a really nice contrast to the inside.
And I was like, ‘I can never stop eating this bagel … It was like an awakening for me.”
While Fishenfeld likes to try a variety of flavors and toppings on her excursions, her go-to is a sesame bagel with tuna fish.
“I’ll do a veggie light tuna if they offer that, because I like to get my veggies in there and pretend like it’s healthy,” she said.
Fishenfeld has had on-site bagel baking experiences. However, her favorite thing to make at home is her mom’s banana bread. The recipe, which has won competitions, comes with variations and strong food memories.
“She would make this banana bread for me to bring to school, and she would always give me two pieces [so there was one for me to share],” Fishenfeld said. “Everyone at school would always be like, ‘Ooh, who is she going to give the second piece of banana bread to?’ It became a whole thing.”
That recipe is below.
“Sometimes I’ll do a chocolate chip banana bread or you can do an apple walnut around the holidays; I’ll do like a pumpkin cranberry,” she said. “It’s very versatile because the base recipe is the plain banana bread, but you can add so many things to it.”
Learn more at JessicaFishenfeld.com, subscribe to @bagelsandbanter on YouTube and follow @jecafish and @bagelqueenjess on Instagram.
For the full conversation, listen to the podcast:
Mom’s Banana Bread:
Preheat oven to 350°F
Mix wet ingredients together first:
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tbsp any oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Add dry ingredients to wet mixture:
1/4 cup sugar (any type)
1 1/2 cups flour (all-purpose, ww, or gf)
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Options for add-ins (you can mix and match):
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped apple
1 cup cranberries/raisins
1 cup pumpkin
Pour mixture into greased loaf pan (8″x 4″) or baking pan (8″x 8″ or a bit larger), either glass or metal
Bake at 350°F for 40-60 minutes until golden brown. Timing depends on the oven and pan depth — check at 40 minutes.
Debra Eckerling is a writer for the Jewish Journal and the host of “Taste Buds with Deb.” Subscribe on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform. Email Debra: tastebuds@jewishjournal.com.
