In Pursuit of the Perfect Bagel
If you’ve never experienced the feeling of being “home” while dining out, I invite you to The Lox Bagel Shop. The distinctive smell of freshly baked bagels, the quiet murmur of intimate conversations and the subdued shuffle of the kitchen combine to provide a haven away from the daily stressors.
The path to create this Short North retreat was not a straight shot for owner Kevin Crowley. He originally pursued a law degree, but the love of food and the restaurant industry continuously pulled Kevin back. He found himself neglecting his daily collegiate studies to learn, study and work with food. This relentless passion eventually led him to attend the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.
Kevin’s internship at North Pond, a Michelin one-star restaurant in Chicago, was the pivotal moment where he knew he would be committed to this industry for life. It was here that he learned the importance of farm-to-table cuisine and building relationships with farmers. In this moment the bigger picture became clear: This was more than just a job. This sentiment was strengthened when Kevin became a managing partner at Northstar Café in Columbus. Northstar and its owners, the Malhame brothers, helped Kevin hone in on his standards of unrelenting quality, farmer relationships and community building,
Kevin’s passion remained, but his priorities shifted when he became a father. He knew when thinking about a concept for his own restaurant space that it had to be conducive to being present for his children. That’s how the bagel shop was born. He still had the creative ability, flexible working hours and farmer relationships intact.
The process of making a perfect Lox bagel is labor intensive. Sixty pounds of dough is made fresh daily, then cut, portioned, hand rolled and shaped. Next, the bagels are cold fermented for two to three days. A kettle of malt syrup and water is used to boil the bagels in batches of two dozen. Finally, the bagels are seeded and fired in the wood-fired oven.
The specific boil water/malt mixture and the live fire cooking are what set Lox bagels apart from others on the market. Bagels are fired all day, so guests are often receiving them straight from the oven. This method is a cross between Montreal-style and New York-style bagels, providing a crusty exterior and chewy center that make it perfect for sandwiches.
It may come as no surprise that Kevin’s favorite Lox sandwich is its namesake, The Lox. Lightly cured and smoked-in-house salmon is accompanied by capers and onion. Other offerings include the thick-cut, house-made pastrami topped with Swiss, pickled onion and mustard, which comes highly recommended on the sea salt and herb bagel. There’s a menu option for everyone, including the Veggie, which is an assortment of roasted, pickled and raw wholesome goodness.
The shop recently started a Kitchen Collaboration series, working with Watershed Kitchen and Bar on a sandwich whose sales benefited Ben’s Friends—a support group for those in the restaurant industry pursuing sobriety. Fried chicken, tangy pickles, red hot sauce and spicy cream cheese morphed together to create an insanely delicious bagel sandwich. More collaborations are planned.
When asked about the biggest challenge in opening The Lox, Kevin said, “The most unexpected challenge was all the raw emotion of building something from the ground up and serving people food in our way, the way we like it. Cooking for people and hoping to please them is a very vulnerable position to put yourself in day in and day out. You just want to make people happy.”
If you have yet to experience The Lox Bagel Shop, I invite you in. If you have already been, you know the sentiment I am describing.
Welcome home, Columbus.
