Baz Bagel & Restaurant

You halfway expect an impromptu mah-jongg game to break out at this retro luncheonette, the passion project of Long Island native and pumpernickel-everything-bagel maven Bari Musacchio. Somehow, her Formica-countered, palm-tree-wallpapered shop manages to pay tribute to Barney Greengrass, Eisenberg’s, and Miami bagel cafés at once, and her unvarnished take on Jewish soul food does the Lower East Side tradition proud. You can’t go wrong with the lemon-scented cheese blintzes, the latkes, or any of the “Baz Original” sandwiches, served on bagels that are hand-rolled, boiled, and baked in-house.