Bügel in Montcalm – The Quebec City Bagels I Bring Back to New York

There are places in Quebec City that I like, and then there are places that have become part of the trip. Bügel, Fabrique de Bagels in Montcalm is firmly in the second category.

I have to have breakfast here every time I am in Quebec City.

That sounds dramatic for a bagel place, especially coming from New York, but the bagels here are that good. I would put them up against plenty of New York bagels without hesitation.

The bagels are good enough that I bring them home to New York

This may be the strongest endorsement I can give Bügel: I have actually brought their bagels back to New York.

Yes, New York. The place that already has more strong opinions about bagels than anyone needs.

Bügel’s own history says the idea began after co-founder Claude Pratte returned from a trip to Montreal in 1987 and started working on a bagel recipe with Claude Robert. The shop still describes itself as an artisanal bagel factory. That background helps explain why these feel different from a big, dense New York bagel, but I do not see that as a compromise. They have their own texture, chew and flavor, and they are good enough that I want them again after I leave Quebec.

For me, that puts Bügel into a very small category of food stops I plan around rather than simply stumble into.

The cheese sandwich is one of my favorite breakfasts anywhere

And then there is the sandwich.

The bagel sandwich with the melted cheese is insane. It is one of my favorite breakfasts, period — not just one of my favorite breakfasts in Quebec City.

There is something about the combination of the warm bagel and all that melted cheese that works ridiculously well. It is rich without turning breakfast into something overly complicated, and it is exactly the kind of thing I start thinking about before the next trip.

The plate in our photo came with a fresh side salad, which gives the whole thing a little balance, although I am not going to pretend the salad is why I came.

Why Bügel has become an every-trip stop

A lot of my favorite Quebec City places are the ones that feel woven into a neighborhood rather than built around visitors. Bügel fits Montcalm that way. It feels like a place people actually use for breakfast and coffee, not a breakfast attraction created for tourists.

That also makes it worth leaving Old Quebec for. Montcalm has its own rhythm, and a morning here gives you a very different feel for the city.

If you are planning breakfast around Quebec City, our Quebec City breakfast guide has more places to compare. But if you ask me where I personally need to go when I am back in town, Bügel is an easy answer.

Would I go back?

I do. Every trip.

And apparently that is not enough, because I have also carried their bagels across the border back to New York.

Bügel, Fabrique de Bagels is at 164 Rue Crémazie Ouest in Montcalm, Quebec City.

Photo: QuebecCity101.com