Starship Bagel owner Oren Salomon with his 2025 Best Bagel trophy at New York BagelFest. [Photo: PR Newswire]

North Texas’ Starship Bagel—the first bagel shop brand to become a James Beard Award finalist—had another big claim to fame when it won “Best Bagel” honors at the 2023 New York BagelFest. Over the past weekend at Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets, Starship schlepped to a “Best Bagel” victory once again, beating out 24 other brands from the Big Apple and as far away as Madrid, Honolulu, Montreal, Seattle, and Chicago. 

Starship, owned by Brooklyn-born North Texas entrepreneur Oren Salomon, has locations in downtown Dallas, Far North Dallas, and Lewisville. Last year, the brand also competed at BagelFest, winning 2024 “Schmear of the Year.”

More than 2,000 attendees, world-class bagel makers, dozens of leading food brands, and “media from across the globe” were on hand Sunday for the sold-out festival at Citi Field.

“BagelFest feels like a party, but for the makers, it’s a high-stakes moment,” BagelFest founder Sam Silverman said in a statement. “Winning an award can propel a small regional shop into the national culinary conversation. Our 25 exhibitors were hand selected because they are leading the bagel boom in their cities, and when they go head to head, the creativity and craftsmanship reach levels most people never imagined possible for a bagel.”

At this year’s event, Starship Bagel also won in the sub-categories Best Showmanship and Best New York-Style Bagel. Starship was the runner up for the category Garam Masala Schmear.

Blind tastings led to the win

At. BagelFest, expert “Breadhead” judges conducted blind tastings to determine the year’s most prestigious awards. Attendees cast votes using BagelFest’s signature token system. Additional juried categories, including Schmear of the Year, Most Creative, Best Showmanship, and Best Bialy, were evaluated onsite by an expanded panel of expert judges comprising leading chefs, authors, food journalists, bakers, creators, and culinary historians.

“Bagel makers play an important role,” Silverman said. “They feed people, create comfort, and build careers. But the work can feel lonely because the challenges are so specific. BagelFest brings the community together so no one has to navigate it alone, and so everyone can learn from those who’ve already lived it.”

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