Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky

The people of St. Louis have a secret: Their bagels are sliced like bread.

Yes, instead of cutting their bagels down the middle, revealing two halves, residents of the Gateway to the West apparently make several slices across the top.

Today I introduced my coworkers to the St Louis secret of ordering bagels bread sliced. It was a hit! pic.twitter.com/XNGbljtpYz

— Alek Krautmann (@AlekKrautmann) March 26, 2019

The Forward has confirmed from multiple sources from the area that this is, in fact, how bagels are eaten there.

The rest of the internet did not agree with this approach.

Me: I’d like to report an antisemitism@ADL: …what

Me: It’s about bagels

ADL:

Me: they sliced them like bread
ADL: Dear god. https://t.co/Clx2Ky9tgK

— Alex (@Wonko_the_sane_) March 27, 2019

pic.twitter.com/2i54R70iOm

— Lee Zeldin (@RepLeeZeldin) March 27, 2019

1. If you didn’t buy them in New York City or New Jersey, those are not bagels.

2. I’m reporting you to my rabbi.

— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) March 27, 2019

this is anti-Semitism

— Gus Kenworthy (@guskenworthy) March 27, 2019

One St. Louis native defended the practice. “It’s bread!” Alex Vanderheyden argued.

“I never thought about it until now,” Vanderheyden, who currently lives in Brooklyn, told the Forward. “Makes them easier to share.”

Social media was also full of St. Louisians proclaiming that they weren’t familiar with the practice.

okay i live in St. louis and would like to clarify that we are not ALL sociopaths

— pony starwars (@tigersgoroooar) March 27, 2019

If you’ve eaten bagels in this off-beaten manner, email [email protected] and tell us your experience.

Alyssa Fisher is a writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

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