Bev's Bagels brings bold schmears to Detroit
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The "split open and tuna melt" at Bev's. Photos: Joe Guillen/Axios
A new bagel shop with adventurous flavors and carefully crafted sandwiches opened last month in the old Detroit Institute of Bagels space on Grand River Avenue.
The big picture: Before opening in Detroit, well-known chef and cookbook author Max Sussman started Bev's Bagels as a pop-up in Ann Arbor during the pandemic, Eater Detroit reported.
- The bagels are cooked traditionally — shaped by hand, refrigerated overnight, then boiled and finished in the oven.
The vibe: Bev's has the feel of a modern diner. Customers can watch their bagels being assembled from bar-style seating.
What to try: Bev's serves traditional bagel varieties (sesame, plain and poppy seed, to name a few) and more adventurous choices (spicy furikake, za'atar and pumpernickel-everything).
- Cream cheese flavors include lox and chive, za'atar and Kalamata olive, chili crisp and blueberry balsamic.
🥯 What Joe ordered: I kept it simple on my first visit last week and got a sesame bagel with a schmear of plain cream cheese ($5).
- I prefer heavy cream cheese on my bagels. But this one was so overloaded that I had to wipe away a little while eating. There are worse problems to have.
Yesterday, I debated getting the smoked whitefish sandwich ($14) before deciding on the tuna melt, topped with cheddar, salt and vinegar chips and "a zesty sprinkle" on a poppy seed bagel ($13).
- The sandwich was excellent and surprisingly easy to eat. Hastily made tuna salad can be runny, but Bev's tuna melt left no mess. I'll be ordering it again.
If you go: 4884 Grand River Ave.
- 8:30am–2pm every day.