There are food monstrosities all over New Jersey. We have a one-pound mozzarella stick, a 13-pound pupusa and a giant garlic naan. But now, a new beast emerges to join the pack.
A giant pizza bagel, housed only at Hot Bagels in Lakewood (the 2nd street location), takes the cherished Garden State staple of everything bagels and supersizes it to about two feet wide. It layers a heaping amount of homemade tomato sauce and a lazy river of mixed shredded cheese. I could’ve worn it as a necklace.
Yoshua Baron, owner of Hot Bagels, holding the giant pizza bagel (Lauren Musni | NJ Advance Media)Lauren Musni
“I saw a shop in New York doing it and I thought it was a perfect opportunity and decided I’m going to try. And so, I did,” owner Yoshua Baron told NJ Advance Media. “It came out delicious and we got so many compliments.”
Baron says that the dough is a secret family recipe, handed down from his father, who opened the original Hot Bagels shop in Brooklyn 38 years ago. They start by first blessing each dough (the bagels are Kosher) and putting it into the fridge to ferment for 24 hours. It is then let out for a couple minutes for extra rise.
Boiling the giant pizza bagel at Hot Bagels in Lakewood, NJ (Lauren Musni | NJ Advance Media)Lauren Musni
Next, they roll and shape the dough into a bagel and lower it into the kettle. Once it’s done boiling, it’s flavored with everything seasoning. Lastly, they put the beastly bagel on wood planks and bake it in their large oven.
The giant pizza bagel coming out of the oven at Hot Bagels in Lakewood, NJ (Lauren Musni | NJ Advance Media)Lauren Musni
Prepping this giant bagel is a two-person job as the dough is very delicate in the beginning and needs an extra set of hands to be moved. Some of the fluffy filling is carved out to make room for the toppings (and is saved for garlic knots). The whole bagel is $75 and comes in either plain or with everything seasoning. The shop needs at least 24 hours notice for an order – for obvious reasons.
Sprinkling cheese on the giant pizza bagel at Hot Bagels in Lakewood, NJ (Lauren Musni | NJ Advance Media)Lauren Musni
I sampled this epic bagel recently and I thought it was tasty. Though most of the filling was gone, it was still plush on the inside and crispy on the outside, with a flavorful and fresh tomato sauce topped with a gooey melty cheese. It hardens after sitting out for awhile but what bagel doesn’t?
This took my childhood favorite, frozen pizza bagels from the grocery store, to a new universe of flavor (and size, of course). I just wish there was a topping like pepperoni, though I respect the Kosher restrictions.
Cutting up the giant pizza bagel at Hot Bagels in Lakewood, NJ (Lauren Musni | NJ Advance Media)Lauren Musni
The giant pizza bagel serves 30 people, which sounds about right since I barely made a dent to this crispy, colossal creature. Much like the similarly jumbo bagels at O’Bagel in Hoboken, these are epic catering options.
I’ll be back to take down this beast again – I just need 29 other people to come with me. Who’s in?
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Lauren Musni may be reached at lmusni@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Laurengmusni and on Instagram. Find NJ.com on Facebook.