Bagel News

One Dallas bagel shop to compete in prestigious New York Bagelfest

Bagel sandwich from Starship Bagel.

dallas.culturemap.com

Dallas' top-ranked bagel shop is headed to bagel-town to compete in an international bagel contest: Starship Bagel, rated the best bagel in Dallas, is participating in the 2023 edition of New York BagelFest, taking place in New York October 21-22.

BagelFest is a celebration dedicated to all things bagel, with bagels, bagel sandwiches, speakers, games, photo ops, and demonstrations — all climaxed by "The Best Bagel" contest with more than two dozen contestants from around the world.

UPDATE 10-22-2023: Starship Bagel swept the festival, winning top awards for Best Bagel and Rising Star. The shop came in second place for Best Newcomer, and third for Best Shop Outside the Boroughs and for Best Showmanship.

Starship competed against more than 30 acclaimed bagel shops from across the country.

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Starship Bagel owner Oren Salomon says that BagelFest founder Sam Silverman reached out to him after Starship made a prominent list of the "Best Bagels in the U.S." by Bon Appetit magazine; Starship was the only bagel shop from Dallas and all of Texas to make the list.

"Apparently, there was also word-of-mouth from DFW tourists who've gone on his New York city bagel tours," Salomon says. "He was referring business to me in conversations 1500 miles away. Someone mentioned this at the counter and I sent him a thank you note and we started chatting a bit."

Salomon started his bagel operation at home before opening his first location in Lewisville in 2021. In 2023, he took the bagel world by storm when he opened a second location in downtown Dallas.

"For me to have a chance to bake bagels in New York City and serve them to New Yorkers, as myself, as Starship Bagel from Dallas, Texas, is such an opportunity," Salomon says. "It's also a massive honor to appear in the same building or competition as many of my idols in the bagel world, including Utopia and St Viateur, some of the best bagel shops in the world."

BagelFest founder Sam Silverman says they look for competitors with quality, integrity, and creativity.

"Each competitor is selected not just for their delicious bagels, but also for their unwavering dedication to the craft and their unique stories," he says. "Starship stood out to us, especially after their recognition as a top bagel shop in the country by Bon Appetit. Extensive conversations with Oren affirm that Starship truly deserves their accolade. We're eager to have them prove us right at BagelFest."

Salomon says he's looking forward to the challenge of baking as a guest in someone else’s bakery, in a new environment with different temperatures and humidity than he's used to.

"I’m confident I’ll bring my best and represent well for Texas," he says. "I was born in Brooklyn and this represents something of a homecoming for me even though I grew up and spent almost all of my adult life in Dallas. It’s my birthday weekend during the competition, so I feel like it’s an expression of coming full circle, a central theme in the bagel world where the bagel is itself a circle."

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Coffee News

French cafe from New York to open at buzzy Dallas center near Lakewood

Maman

Lemon meringue tarts from Maman.

A French cafe chain from New York is bringing its ritzy fare to a buzzy intersection in East Dallas: Maman, a celebrated spot with coffee and brand-name pastries, will open a location in Hillside Village, at 6465 Mockingbird Ln. #316, at the address previously occupied by Palmer's Hot Chicken.

Signage is already up in the space. According to a spokesperson, renovations are underway, with a targeted opening date of early fall.

Famous for its pale blue-and-white toile decor and Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies, Maman was founded in Soho in 2014 by partners Elisa Marshall and Benjamin Sormonte, and has expanded across the U.S, with locations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and Canada.

They made their Texas debut in November 2025 when they opened a location in the Plaza at Preston Center. There are also plans for another location in Frisco at the new Fields West mixed-use center, as well as a location in Casa Linda Plaza. Still more locations are said to be in the works.

At the favorably situated Hillside Village, they'll be joining tenants such as Sprouts, SusieCakes, and Sephora. The center has undergone an overhaul in the past decade with the addition of new tenants, starting when Sprouts took over the former Stein Mart.

Palmer's was there for five years; they opened in 2020, part of a then-wave of hot chicken places, before exiting the premises in January 2026. A permitting notice for Maman was posted the same week.

Maman will update the space, installing their signature interior touches to create a cozy, European garden atmosphere. They boast a French provincial aesthetic with vintage furniture, wood floors, imported tiles, and signature blue toile that extends to the custom espresso machine.

The cafe will be open during daylight hours with coffee, breakfast and lunch: espresso drinks, tea, and pastries such as croissants, kouign maman, Bundt cakes, tea cakes, and cookies. Heartier breakfast and lunch items include quiche, a breakfast bowl (with potatoes, arugula, bacon, caramelized onions, avocado, and egg), chicken Caesar wrap, and Mediterranean steak sandwich.

Their drinks can be elaborate with rarefied ingredients; for example, a vanilla honey butter latte with sweet corn foam & cornbread crumbs, or a salted tahini honeycomb latte. They also partner up on brand collaborations with food & beverage names such as Martha Stewart.

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