The NY Times just said CA bagels are better than NY bagels?! (Our minds are blown too!) So we had to check out @PopsBagelsla in Culver City to see if this was true.
Long story short - the bagels are pretty gosh darn good. Better than NY bagels? We'll let you decide. But one thing we did in fact come to agreement on: truffles and bagels are a winning combo.We played around with a variety of our truffle products and here are the winning combinations:
TRUFFLE CREAM CHEESE
Cream cheese is the perfect base to use when infusing it with truffles due to its relatively neutral taste accompanied by its rich, fatty, creamy texture.
Now, which truffle product to pick to create a truffle cream cheese is the question. But, we've come to realize that there are a variety of ways to bring that luxurious-umami rich cream cheese to life.
First up, truffle oil. We went with our Sabatino White Truffle Oil to benefit from the garlic backbone we love, to give the cream cheese a little extra 'oomph'. The oil mixed in really well, kept the color the same, and gave it an extra silky touch to the spreadability of the cream cheese.
Next, truffle salt. We sprinkled in a touch of our classic Sabatino Truffle & Sea Salt to bring out the flavor of the cream cheese while adding a truffle taste. You can definitely play around with the amount of salt, as it's all about personal taste preference, but we just used a little and it created a subtle, but sophisticated change. Stick to plain or egg bagel when adding salt into the cream cheese, so as to not overwhelm your palate.
Lastly, truffle carpaccio. If you want to go 'big' and impress a crowd (or just yourself) go with our Sabatino Sliced Summer Truffles in Oil. We did not mix it into the cream cheese, but instead, layered it on top and then followed suit with some lox. That being said, you can also use a little bit of the oil the truffles come packed with to add a little more silkiness to the cream cheese. The visual pop of the truffle pieces on a bagel is not only pleasing to the eye but also the belly.
While we only tried a handful of truffle products, there's so much opportunity with our other ones to create such delicious cream cheeses. We're looking at you Truffle Spread, White Truffle Cream, and Truffle Zest & Cheese.
