Tennessee is famous for biscuits, but a good bagel can be harder to track down. The shops on this list take bagels seriously, from hand-rolled dough boiled in malt water to cream cheese made right in the kitchen.
You will find spots in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, and a few other towns, each with its own personality. Save this list for your next weekend breakfast run or road trip.
1. proper bagel, Nashville, TN
Bialys are rare in the South, and this Belmont Boulevard shop bakes them from scratch right alongside its bagels. That alone tells you the team knows its New York bakery history.
The space is minimalist and clean, set up as both a bagel shop and a small market. Bagels here are big, and the spreads go on generously, so a sandwich can easily cover breakfast and part of lunch…