316 S Goliad St Suite 201
Rockwall, TX 75087
Short and to the point:
This is a great little place to stop for an authentic New York-style bagel with scratch-made spreads made in-house. They offer a nice selection of breakfast sandwiches they can make with their bagels, as well as plenty of fresh options if you just want the bagels all by themselves.
Long Version:
This place is a unique little gem just outside of the downtown Rockwall Area. They are located on the big hill just across from Siren Rock Brewery. The owner here is a Rockwall local, Revi Shababo-Menasche. I first came across Revi and her bagels on Rockwallian. She posted and shared her story, and I was hooked. She started by selling bagels out of her home a few years back. She enjoyed making them for her friends and family, and had just happened to make a batch for a group of friends that came over, and the rest is history. She went from taking orders on Facebook and doing weekly pickups, then outgrew her own kitchen, remodeling her kitchen to add an extra oven and steel prep tables in her living room. She outgrew that pretty quickly, so the next step was going all in and opening up a location!
Fast forward and she has now had her own full-blown shop for four years!! She takes great pride in the process she uses to make the bagels; they are boiled like a New York-style bagel must be. The process has moved from a hand-rolled, handmade bagel to a more automated system, but everything is still scratch-made, in-house, on the spot by her and her team.
I am a sucker for a good Lox Bagel. It is one of those guilty pleasures I like to have on occasion. I have a requirement for my bagels to have that beautiful chew to the outside after you have that paper-thin crust crunch. The tomatoes must be ripe, the lox fresh, onion thinly sliced and capers nice and juicy and all over a nice creamy bed of cream cheese. They hit it out of the park every single time.
When you walk in, you are faced with the register, and the menu is right there. You have loads of options for breakfast sandwiches, coffees, and even some pastries. Over the years, small changes have taken place, and there are always little changes to the menu to make sure she is able to give the public what they want. She has grown from just offering bagels, to offering bagels and cream cheese, to now offering a full menu of chicken salad sandwiches and pastrami sandwiches on bagels. She’s really grown into a full-blown deli with that New York flair. The only thing missing is that New York attitude from the employees. They are always so kind when I am in.
I have to make an admission here; I have only ever gotten one thing here for years. Outside of picking up a dozen bagels, I always get the same thing: Open Face Lox bagel with a large coffee. Though, everyone always raves about the other items on the menu, I just can’t speak to them personally.
Something that sets this place apart is that they listen to their customers. People wanted local coffee, so she partnered with a local coffee roaster to offer local coffee. People wanted sweets, so she partnered with a local baker. Everything is scratch-made, in-house, fresh, and made with high-quality ingredients. Not something that is common in today’s world and definitely appreciated.
One person that is here nearly every day, who has his name on the wall to assign his seat, is the Voice of Rockwall himself, Gary Freedman. If you have had the pleasure of meeting Gary, then you know he is a treasure all by himself. I know this is not something specific to The Bagel Lady, but you will have trouble stopping in for a bagel from 7-9 Monday through Friday and not run into Gary. Such an amazing man, and if you are in, take advantage of the moment and chat him up! You will not be sorry.
We recently had a large corporate store open that sells bagels. I was pretty shocked to see their lines being so long. I have to chalk that up to people just not knowing about The Bagel Lady Deli and Coffee Shop, because if they did know, and have been, they would not want to go anywhere else for their bagel fix!
I hope this helped shine a light on this local gem and that you found this helpful! As always, it is greatly appreciated when you take the time to read my reviews, and share your thoughts with me!
Nick Hughes
I’m a devoted father and husband. What you see is what you get. I love God, family, food & baseball!
If you ever see me out and about, don’t hesitate to say hello, or give me a recommendation on the next place I should try! [email protected]
