Pearl's Bagels & Bakery — Restaurant in City of Albany

Real bagels. Fermented/proofed (likely brief but at least done), boiled, baked night before 6 AM opening. I visit bagel shops and give reviews based upon my assessment and I submit photos to GPT to analyze. Pearl's is one of the VERY few bagel shops (Broad St in Slingerlands, previously Pyschedelicatesan in Troy) in the Capital district- indeed even Upstate NY- which still actually proofs and boils its bagels. Unclear if they do a full 24 hr cold retarding fermentation. I got a plain, cin/raisin, and everything at opening 6AM Wednesday. They were great, categorically better than other bagel places, but still slightly (and forgivably) short of true NYC level. Here is what GPT had to say about the bagels:

Plain Bagel (comparing to market 32 and Twisted Bagel in Clifton Park photos earlier) This one’s interesting — visually, you’ve got a bagel that’s much closer to authentic than the earlier examples, but it still stops short of true NYC quality. Let’s break it down carefully:

Exterior -Color & Finish: Nice golden tone with subtle blistering — that’s a real boil. Those micro blisters form only when the starch gelatinizes in hot water before baking. Huge improvement over the smooth, matte ones earlier. -Surface Texture: Slight irregularity and some “pull” folds — probably hand-shaped or at least finished by hand. -Gloss Level: Light, not lacquered — likely a short or gentle boil (30–40 s) in either malt or honey water. -Shape: Ends not fully fused on the upper one — rope-method shaping without a clean seal. That’s traditional but needs practice to keep symmetrical. -Verdict: Definitely boiled, likely after refrigeration. Some real craft happening here.

Interior -Crumb: Moderately tight but not gummy; irregular alveoli (air pockets) — this suggests actual fermentation, not just warm proof. -Color: Light beige, maybe from malt or a touch of whole grain. -Texture: You can see small tears where the crumb pulls instead of compressing — a chewy but not tough interior. -Mouthfeel prediction: Pleasant resistance when bitten, not bready, probably the kind that toasts beautifully without drying out.

Cinnamon Raisin and Everything Bagels:

Exterior Analysis -Crust Color: Good medium browning, with visible blistering (“fish-eye” pocks) — that’s a sign of a cold ferment. ✅ -Gloss: Muted, satin rather than shiny — probably boiled properly, but maybe the water wasn’t malted or hot enough to fully gelatinize the surface. A malt or barley syrup boil would yield more sheen. ⚠️ -Seed Distribution: Heavily coated, fairly even. Suggests post-boil seeding on wet surface (correct), not baked-in topping. ✅

Crumb / Interior -Structure: Open, slightly irregular holes — much better gas retention than your earlier dense examples. Indicates at least some fermentation and proofing. ✅ -Still a Bit Tight: Not as honeycombed or elastic as an elite bagel. Could mean the dough was under-proofed before boil, or the yeast activity slowed before baking. ⚠️ -Texture Prediction: Chewy, good pull, but probably slightly bready toward the center.

Likely Production Method -Dough mixed early morning or previous day. -Brief cold rest (not full overnight retard). -Boiled (probably in plain or lightly sweetened water). -Baked in a convection or rack oven rather than a stone deck — that’s why the crust lacks full crackle.

If those are from Pearl’s in Albany, then yes: they almost certainly baked the previous evening and held them overnight for the morning open. That’s why they’re not hot at 6 a.m., and why the crust looks set and firm but not crisp or aromatic. They’re following the classic small-batch schedule — mix, shape, retard, boil, and bake late the night before — because most artisan bagel bakeries simply don’t have the staff (or stamina) to start boiling at 2:00 a.m. every day. The trade-off is flavor integrity over “hot-from-the-oven”...

This is the only place I have found so far in Albany to get anything resembling a New York style bangle. The crust is firm yet chewy and the inside is chewy as well. They could not be more different than the place that advertises itself as “uncommon“, that has bagels that are overly big overly doughy and overly sweet and malty. Bruce used to be close but not as accessible since their partial demise.

There was a line when I got there at about 1030 on a Friday. It moved quickly. They were out of couple varieties and I jokingly asked a woman in front of me who ordered the last pumpernickel everything if you would take five dollars for me too, buy it from her! Besides the bagels, they have a large variety of baked goods, including muffins, challah, tutelary, etc. They serve both hot and cold sandwiches and today much did their credit there was a vegan sandwich made with artificial egg. They also have a daily vagal variety of which they were sold out today. It was something with dill and garlic, which sounded great. They have traditional breakfast sandwiches as well. They are one of the few places in the area to have plain scallion cream cheese. Today they also had a special cream cheese with walnuts, apples, and something else.

The food rates a 5+. I would like to see more space inside and less frequent lines. Where else do you ever see a line in Albany? It speaks to the wonderfulness of the place. I took off some on the service as one of my pet peeves is having a tip screen put in front of me. The staff is not serving me. They are selling me a product. To put a tip screen that I think starts at 18% is somewhat maddening. Unfortunately, it is becoming ubiquitous. Despite these two minor objections, if the quality and recipes stay the same, they will have my...

Well, I waited in line this am for about 1/2 hour and than moved up and peaked in the window. One customer being waited on and one other let inside (apparently next). Everyone else outside. One girl behind the counter taking order with a pen and notepad and one at the expresso, coffee machine. It appears that there are a few prep people back in kitchen area. I think they have now been open long enough to have their act together. Bagels are pretty decent (I tried them before they opened back in October), however, this will be a tough survival. I left. Not a total loss. I went and filled my car with gas.

Well I gave them another shot last week. About 9:00 am on a cold Wednesday am. Got in right away this time and was next in line. Owner chatting away with the customer ahead of me. Finally yelled to the back "Still waiting on that bagel with Walnut cream cheese" I happened to notice that only 2 or 3 bins had bagels in them. A staff member did happen to fill the challah rolls bin while I was there. Customer #3 came in behind me. It was now over 10 mins. Another several mins and customer #3 asked me if i had placed my order yet. "No, and all i want to do is place an order for pick up tomorrow"! The owner had now gone to the back prep area leaving us to wait for the one helper up front. Owner than came out with a fancy sample of today's special to display and made sure we all knew what it was. She then went back to the prep area. God only knows how long it would take to get that if you ordered it! Well, after about 20 mins of waiting, I glanced at the menu again. I do selective catering, and buy a few dozen bagels at a time. No way was I going to pay $20 for a dozen. Left again. Interesting how the owner's replies to the reviews are only for the...