An Artisanal Bagel Baker Honoring His Grandmother

Bev's Bagels in Ann Arbor comes from a veteran chef

Welcome to the first edition of Food News! I’m writing about emerging places in Ann Arbor and elsewhere that you might not know about. It’s a feature for all CulinaryWoman subscribers, so enjoy.

Last fall, Dixboro House in Ann Arbor launched an experiment: a bagel pop up. It was the brainchild of Max Sussman, the culinary director for the Pulpo Group, which oversees Dixboro House, and a partner in New York City restaurants with his brother.

Max is best known around Ann Arbor for his Pizza Replicator gigs during the pandemic, and he has a big fanbase on Instagram, where you can find him as (@) drsussman.

Max’s first bagel event was a smashing success, bringing throngs of people to line up for bagels and bagel sandwiches. He repeated it a few times, and now has turned the pop ups into regular events.

Bev’s Bagels, named for Max’s grandmother, offers a variety of flavors, baked in his farmhouse kitchen. It’s promoted primarily on Instagram. Customers place orders in advance on Hotplate, and swing by Max’s side door to collect bagels and cream cheese.

Bagels are $3 each or $30 a dozen. Recent offerings have included plain, sesame, salt, cinnamon raisin, everything and spicy furikake, the Japanese dried herb.

Tubs of cream cheese start at $5. Fancy flavors cost extra. Most recently, Max has offered za’atar and olive, roasted garlic and scallion, harissa, lox and chive, blueberry maple and green goddess.

So far, I’ve tried plain, sesame and cinnamon raisin bagels. I’m a big fan of the plain bagel, and it’s a good entry flavor for people who want a sample of what Bev’s Bagels are like.

I’d describe them as a middle ground between the denseness of Zingerman’s bagels and the puffy bread rolls from places like H&H and Zabar’s. They definitely have a nice texture, but they aren’t hard to chew and they toast up nicely.

Bev’s has also done an event in Huntington Woods, a suburb north of Detroit. Watch its Instagram (@) BevsBagels for the latest drops and pop ups.

Although Pizza Replicator is on hiatus, you can get Max’s pizza daily at Dixboro House, where there is a daily special including a pizza and appetizer. I consider it the best pizza in Ann Arbor, on a par with the pizza I ate at Pizzeria Bianco when I lived in Phoenix.