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    Fresh Bagels Rising

    New Heights bagel shop with old-world approach opens with a frenzy

    Eric Sandler
    Jan 16, 2018 | 10:00 am

    The Heights has a full-blown case of bagel fever.

    Last week’s opening of Golden Bagels & Coffee, the eagerly anticipated new arrival from Katz Coffee owner Avi Katz and local attorney Gregg Goldstein, has been met with the sort of frenzy that’s usually reserved for institutions like Killen’s Barbecue or The Breakfast Klub. By 8:30 am Saturday morning, CultureMap found a 30-plus person line that snaked through most of the dining room.

    Locally owned options like New York Bagels in Meyerland and Hot Bagel Shop near River Oaks have fed freshly made bagels to generations of Houstonians, but Golden deserves attention — thanks to Katz and Goldstein's commitment to doing things the old fashioned way.

    After testing numerous recipes, Katz says the restaurant settled on an “old-world” approach for its bagels. Golden’s bagels are made in-house using a two-stage dough. They’re retarded to improve flavor then boiled and finally baked in a refurbished Cutler oven. Cream cheese and spreads — everything from classics like scallion-dill and veggie to more unusual combinations like roasted jalapeno and maple-pecan — are all made onsite. The restaurant even uses real blueberries in its blueberry bagel.

    All of that would be enough to make Golden a valuable addition to The Heights, but the cafe is going a step beyond any other bagel purveyor in Houston by curing its own lox and nova. The restaurant developed recipes for both styles of smoked salmon in conjunction with the experts at Airline Seafood. Katz tells CultureMap that he plans to expand the offerings over time to include fresh Gulf fish that would give a local twist to deli staples like sable and whitefish.

    For now, customers can experience the fish either in the lox cream cheese or on the classic salmon sandwich — Golden takes the "classic" designation so seriously that it only offers the sandwich with either plain or scallion-dill cream cheese. It’s also possible to order something more baroque — say, a honey whole wheat with sun dried tomato cream cheese and a side of lox — Golden just won’t let customers call it "classic."

    Of course, Golden serves a full line of Katz coffee options: brewed, espresso, and cold brew. Juices, water, and real sugar sodas from Oak Cliff Beverage Works are also available.

    Once breakfast has been fully dialed in, the restaurant will expand the menu with lunch offerings like a Reuben, turkey sandwich, pizza bagels, egg salad, and even grilled cheese. Veteran Houston chef Joe Apa (t’afia, Rudyard’s, etc.) is leading the kitchen, which opens up additional possibilities down the road like falafel, shakshuka, and even beignets.

    “Ultimately, for me, getting the first thing right is so critical before you move on. We want to focus on selling the classic and the egg sandwich, because those things have been super popular. Then we’ll roll out fish plates and lunch very soon,” Katz says. “We have beautiful lines of people that we can barely accommodate properly, and so we need to work on our systems. Just make the experience here perfect.”

    The lines and excitement on social media demonstrate that the experience is already pretty good. If it truly becomes “perfect,” or, at least, something close to that, Heights bagel fever will turn into a full-on epidemic.

    Golden's classic salmon sandwich on an everything bagel.

    Golden Bagels & Coffee lox bagel sandwich
      
    Photo by Eric Sandler
    Golden's classic salmon sandwich on an everything bagel.
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    With or Without Whiz

    Houston burger mastermind fires up new pop-up devoted to Philly cheesesteaks

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 19, 2025 | 4:35 pm
    Bas's Cheesesteaks Abbas Dhanani
    Photo by Michael Ma
    Abbas Dhanani is serving up cheesesteaks at his new pop-up.

    Abbas Dhanani is at it again. The food influencer-turned-restaurateur behind the CultureMap Tastemaker Award-winning smash burger concept Burger Bodega is firing up a new pop-up concept devoted to another iconic sandwich.

    Called Bas’s Cheesesteaks, the new concept will Dhanani’s take on the classic Philly cheesesteak, made with sliced ribeye and white cheese on a seeded hoagie roll — onions and a spicy sauce are optional. A second version swaps the white cheese for Cheez Whiz. Like Burger Bodega, Dhanani is using halal beef for his cheesesteaks.

    Bas's Cheesesteaks cheesesteak sandwichThe cheesesteak is served on a seeded hoagie roll.Photo by Michael Ma

    “We have experimented with cheesesteaks as specials on the menu at Burger Bodega and received amazing feedback,” Dhanani said in a statement. “However, the cheesesteaks at Bas’s are the most refined versions we have done so far. I am excited to bring authentic Philly cheesesteaks to Houston as a new flavor experience while continuing to build on the energy and community we have created at Burger Bodega. This is a huge passion project for me, and I plan to take it step by step, just like Burger Bodega."

    As Dhanani notes, he introduced Burger Bodega with a series of pop-ups throughout Houston. To answer the obvious question, of course a restaurant could be in the cards for Bas’s, too.

    “I think thats the goal of any new pop-up concept,” Dhanani tells CultureMap. “Like Burger Bodega, we want to take it one step at a time and see where it goes.”

    Bas’s Cheesesteaks will have its first pop-up on Monday, June 30 at Burger Bodega’s location (4520 Washington Avenue). In addition to the two cheesesteaks, diners can get fries. Future pop-ups will be announced via Instagram.

    As for Burger Bodega’s second location in Katy, Dhanani says it’s still working through securing the necessary permits to begin construction.

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