Edible Souvenirs

Brick Lane Beigels

Brick Lane Beigel Bake is London's oldest bagel shop where value for money and cultural integrity go hand in hand with a vibrant atmosphere - and through the night. The Jewish community in east London grew in the late 19th century in the wake of continental persecution, and with it came the traditional Jewish foods, including bagels and kosher meats. A bagel - and beigel more truly reflects the pronunciation - is a doughnut-shaped bread which might originally have been stirrup-shaped, thereby attracting the Viennese word for stirrup, beugal. Their long "proofing" time made them popular with Jewish communities because they could be left chilling during the Sabbath and baked at the end of it.

When the continental Jews arrived in east London, the bagel came with them, and Beigel Bake is an enduring testament to them. Around 7000 bagels a day fly from the counter of Beigel Bake, a plain example is less than 20p and the top of the range with all the fillings is no more than about £1.50. The food souvenir hunter could do a lot worse than visit this icon of London's cultural richness, where the customers are now as likely to be Bangladeshi as Jewish. The opportunities to visit are many, as it is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

More information:
<www.londontown.com>
<www.eastlondonhistory.com>