For a bagel with as much puff as it has history, head to Ess-a-Bagel’s original location on 1st Ave. and 19th Street. Now at a few Manhattan outposts, this family-owned business has been churning out highly consistent, quarter plate-sized bagels since 1976. Slightly sweet, these are crisp and chewy in all the right places, and take scallion cream cheese like champions.

At the Liberty Bagels location near Penn Station, there’s a bouncer at the door to manage the line, even on weekday mornings. It’s always packed, so plan to take your food to go. Some of the options, like the birthday cake cream cheese, might seem gimmicky, but the big, glossy bagels are pleasantly chewy and packed with flavor. For a spicy, savory option, try the jalapeño everything with chipotle cream cheese. Or, if you’d rather have dessert, go for the Oreo cream cheese.

You can tell you’ve got a great Knickerbocker bagel as soon as you give it a nice squish. The crust crackles just a little as you push down, before it dutifully springs back into form like a stress ball. That’s how you know that it’s big and fluffy, but still dense enough to support the chunky home fries in their breakfast sandwich. Knickerbocker is the only shop in Bushwick that makes their own bagels–hand-rolled and boiled—so there’s always a line, but they move quickly.

Apollo, from the sourdough pizza nerds at Leo, has hipster DNA. You won’t find crates with dozens of bagels cooling up front, nor a vaguely refrigerated case of schmears and smoked fish salads here. But what you will find at their East and West Village locations are nearly oven-temperature bagels, which pop like bubble wrap when you tear into them. Almost closer to a sourdough roll, these were a little divisive during our taste taste—but everyone agreed they’re completely delicious.

Harlem’s only bagel shop (with a second location in Washington Heights) has a giant bagel hanging in the window, though the ones tumbling out of the oven are relatively demure in size—like Absolute Bagels below, somewhat closer to the smaller, denser bagels the city was known for before the 1960s. They’re still plump, and glossy with a good, dense chew and a crisp, bubbled crust. We love Bo’s range of flavors, including a three-cheese, za’atar, and an underrated pumpernickel cranberry.

Popup has three locations in NYC, but they started in a backyard in Connecticut, which helps explain why they don’t adhere to any specific regional style. Made fresh throughout the day, the bagels are fluffy on the inside, with a thin, flavorful, blistered crust, designed to be ripped and dipped. Keep in mind Popup only sells their bagels in multiples of three, and every order comes with a container of schmear, which you can get in a few different flavors like scallion and cinnamon sugar.

David’s in Gramercy is around the corner from Ess-a-Bagels—but it’s better than just a back-up plan if the Ess-a line is too long. Their BEC here alone is worth dragging yourself out of bed on a Sunday, and their bagels have the texture of memory foam, if memory foam tasted like malted yeasty goodness. We appreciate their whole wheat options for not being too sweet, and the musky pumpernickel stays soft and springy even after you toast it.

Can a place selling kosher pizza and avocado wraps also have some of the Upper West Side’s best bagels? Bagels & Co. (with another location on the UES) is up to the challenge. The shop looks and smells like a neighborhood pizza parlor, with stained glass Tiffany lamps hanging over the counter, and the smells of garlic and tomato hanging in the air. But their bagels are excellent: just as bulging as the challah loaves covering most of a window, with holes that vanish like deep belly buttons.

In 2011, someone with experience at places like Kossar’s, Zabar’s, and Eleven Madison Park opened an appetizing shop with a seafood expert who used to work at a market called Fish Tales. That’s the story of Shelsky’s, and it partly explains the time-tested technique behind these airy, caramelized bagels and their fixings. If you want to keep things simple and fishy, get the classic “Member Of The Tribe,” which comes with nova and plain or scallion cream cheese (you want scallion).

Walking into Bagel Pub in Crown Heights on a Saturday morning can be overwhelming. The folks behind the counter are simultaneously slicing bread and taking names, probably with an Ariana Grande song from 2010 blasting in the background. Once you taste the thick bagels, you’ll thank yourself for pushing through. Exceptional spread options like za’atar cream cheese aside, the airy bagels from this Brooklyn mini-chain will bring you more joy than at least two or three of your current friendships.