Empire Bagel & Delicatessen

Great job bringing a little taste of the Empire State of the North to the Empire State of the South. Bagels are crisp on the outside and soft in the inside. Several different flavored Bagels and several different flavors of cream cheese. Nice atmosphere, and great food.

UPDATE 12/30/17
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We stopped in yesterday to get a half dozen bagels to go, and a crumb cake. The crumb cake is a home run: large in size and really tasty. This morning we toasted the bagels and I’m happy to say that the dough was properly salted, making our last batch (hopefully) an anomaly. Still, while these are certainly New York-ish, they aren’t quite there. But having empire in thomasville means theres no reason to settle for crappy supermarket bagels.

UPDATE 12/18/17:
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Picked up a dozen bagels to go. The bagels are clearly hand formed, which gives them an artisanal charm. It also means that the bagels differ in sizes and weight (for those counting calories). As you can see from the photo, the baking was uneven. While the poppy bagels had the requisite crunchy outside and soft inside, the everything and sesame bagels were clearly under baked (and will likely taste better toasted). I'll chalk it up to them being open for just a week, but they'll need to find a consistent bake to live up to their suggestion that you not toast a fresh bagel. The poppy bagel was good, but needed more salt in the dough. The scallion cream cheese was good as was the crumb cake.

I'll give it a few weeks and head back. I'm optimistic that they'll be more consistent by then.

ORIGINAL REVIEW
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As a born and bred New Yorker, now living in Tallahassee, I'm magnetically drawn to bagel stores and delis. And with their name including both, plus a nod to NYC, I knew I had to stop in and see what they've got. We went to the door and saw a crowd. Yet the door was locked. People saw us and told us to come around to the back. Well...

Turns out today was their very first soft opening for friends and family, hence the locked front door. They officially open on Tuesday. As we are neither family nor friend, we started to leave when the owner, John, invited us to stay and taste. And so we quickly became friend (he's a fellow New Yorker!). And I am soooo glad we stayed.

I'll write a more formal review when we visit next week, but here's what I can tell you: the bagel samples we had were amazing. Perfect New York style bagels. Crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. Hand rolled, boiled, and baked to perfection. And their homemade cream cheeses rocked. And let's not start talking about the delicious homemade crumb cake...

I can't wait to go back and order a real meal, with at least a dozen to go. And if you do go for bagels, heed the sign on the wall: toasting not encouraged. You should never toast a fresh bagel. I'm a New Yorker. Trust me.

I love their Cali burrito 🌯.

Had a empire breakfast bagel,
Bacon & egg on sesame seed bagel. Bueno!!

For bagels from scratch , I'm not impressed.

This restaurant is a gem! The food is gourmet quality, and the menu contains classic fare as well as fun and creative items. We stop here every time we are in Thomasville.

GREAT Bagels... horrible muffins! So obviously we went here for the bagels and they were amazing which makes sense. I understand this is not a "muffin" store so its ok but although they looked amazing... they were tasteless and very disappointing.

Great bagels! A real winner!

The BEST bagels in Thomasville!

Empire is a welcome addition to the Thomasville community, bringing a taste of the Northeast to the heart of the South. As someone who didn’t grow up on bagels and lox, my girlfriend has been singing the praises of New York delis for ages while I could only stand confused. Well, Empire has shown me what I’ve been missing out on this entire time! With everything from the basics of a bagel and cream cheese, to the classic bagel and lox, and other deli sandwiches, you should be able to find something new to try or a staple to commit to. The bagels are freshly baked, with a hard outer crust and soft inside, but don’t expect it to be toasted (apparently frowned upon here). Yet, the very best part about the bagels, being fresh and handmade, can also be their worst trait. Each bagel is formed by hand, so consistency is hard to come by and an order of a baker’s dozen may leave you disappointed. Nevertheless, I love what Empire is bringing to Thomasville and look forward to many more visits.