As a child, Dan Graf traveled all over New Jersey, helping his contractor dad. And, of course, they had to stop for lunch.
This meant he got to taste hundreds of bagels in a state that’s famous for them.
Years later, in 2011, Graf had moved to the East Bay after a stint studying genetics and civil engineering at Rutgers. After two years at Berkeley’s famed Jewish restaurant and deli, Saul’s, he started experimenting with making bagels at his home in Oakland, with those early memories of the Garden State’s finest bagels in his mind.
Bageltopia
1401 University Ave., Berkeley; www.thebageltopia.com
Open Tuesday through Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
“I made a list of qualities I wanted in a bagel,” Graf said. “You start making something with your own vision. I’m true to what I believe a bagel should be.”
In his case, that meant cold-proofing for a full day to allow his bagels to ferment and then a pinch of food-grade lye in the water in which the bagels are boiled. “It gives it a pretzel crunch on the outside,” Graf said. “It gives them a distinct texture. My understanding is that there were places in the ‘50s that did lye baking.”
Graf perfected his bagels and opened a wholesale bakery, Baron Bakery, which quickly got enough buzz that Graf was featured in the New York Times … twice.
April 2, those bagels will be available to the masses at the new breakfast/brunch/lunch spot Bageltopia, housed in the same University Avenue building as the beloved Fellini Coffeebar—Berkeley’s first all-organic cafe when Jeff Davis opened it in 2002.
Davis had been busy running his coffee joint and not dreaming of a new food venture, but fate had different plans.
“I was looking to keep my coffee bar running and do some writing projects and creative projects,” he said. But the closure of The Kings Feet, a vegan eatery in the cafe’s adjoining space, gave him the itch to start a new venture. He had previously run both Fellini and Pizza Moda in the same space and knew that he had a bevy of customers interested in breakfast fare.
Clockwise from top left: The Sunshine, with house-made Calabrian chili cream cheese; the Farm Stand, featuring house-grown sprouts; cinnamon raisin bagel bites; and crustless quiche.
“At Fellini Restaurant, we had a brunch scene that was popping for many years,” said Davis. “We had a very extensive vegan menu combined with a classic brunch menu. People still come up to me asking, ‘When are you going to bring back your brunch, your breakfast scene?’”
So, Davis reached out to his pal Graf to see if the baker wanted to go in on a brunch spot that showcased Graf’s bagels. Graf was a yes and then a third partner came aboard, Mike Daillak, owner of line-down-the-block Albany brunch spot Sam’s Log Cabin.
“For me, restaurants have always been about building community,” said Daillak. Sam’s Log Cabin “is very meat focused … but I’ve always wanted to do more vegan.” Starting a vegan-friendly bagel spot sounded like just the ticket to expand his community.
Clockwise from top left: Dan Graf slings bagel dough in the kitchen; Jeff Davis loads salmon into the custom smoker; jars of house-grown sprouts are labeled with dates; and the co-owners test their equipment and product prior to opening. Credit: Kelly Sullivan
They dubbed it Bageltopia as a nod to their effort to provide something for everyone with the brunch spot’s fusion of vegan and non-vegan dishes.
The vegan side of the expansive menu is thoughtful, not just tacked on. “We are offering several vegan options that are not compromises or afterthoughts,” said Davis. Their smoked jackfruit salad is meant to be a cross between whitefish and tuna salad. But it’s not just a passable alternative to those traditional bagel sandwich fillings—the salad is delicious in its own right and a menu standout.
For the non-vegans, Bageltopia’s home cold-smoked salmon is delish. But the menu doesn’t leave vegetarians or vegans in the lurch; it also includes a tasty homemade brined and smoked carrot “lox.”
Bageltopia is located on University Avenue between Sacramento and Acton streets. Credit: Kelly Sullivan
In addition to crustless quiches and bagels with classic and vegan schmears and toppings, another menu highlight is the Sushinova, a toasted bagel with wasabi butter, tamari cream cheese, smoked salmon and wasabi tobiko. The Blue Dream, a bagel French toast, should please those craving a sweet brunch dish.
“We take raw bagel dough and instead of boiling it first, we drop it into a kettle fryer, pull it out, and put ricotta cream, maple syrup and powdered sugar on it,” said Davis.
The 60-seat breakfast, brunch, and lunch spot is set to open Tuesday, April 2 at 7:30 a.m.
