Everything bagels with Nova Lox (left) and Scallion (right) cream cheese
In early September, I tried Hella Bagels — a bagel pop-up in the East Bay and San Francisco — for the first time at Xochi the Dog, Cafe in the Clinton neighborhood of East Oakland. Started by Blake Hunter in 2020, Hella Bagels sells a variety of bagels and cream cheese in both traditional and novel flavors. They can be purchased for delivery throughout the East Bay and San Francisco on Fridays and Saturdays or at occasional pop-ups in Oakland and Berkeley.
Blake offers a few bagel options and an even wider selection of cream cheese spreads at each pop-up. My dining companion and I both got an Everything bagel, mine with lox and his with scallion cream cheese. They were quite good and worth the hype. The bagels have a nice consistency and were covered in all the seeds, garlic, and flavorful goodies that make the everything bagel... everything. The cream cheese was generously smeared on and had decent amounts of lox and scallion within. We enjoyed our bagels with Xochi's delicious coffee as a part of our low-key brunch.
I will definitely stop by the next time Hella Bagels is in the neighborhood, perhaps opting for something like the Lil' Kipper or Sushi Bagel, if these enticing specials are available.
Hella Bagels
Deliveries: order on Fridays and Saturdays through their website
Pop-ups: see Instagram for details
Xochi the Dog, Cafe
1038 E. 21st St., Oakland, CA 94606
Open: Monday - Saturday 8am - 3pm, Sunday 8am - 1pm
Check out more posts from Oakland.
