Should you find yourself in The Big Easy and missing The Big Apple, a taste of New York ( with some distinctive NOLA twists) is waiting at Flour Moon Bagels. Located in the Tremé/Lafitte neighborhood of New Orleans, this “woman-owned and pandemic born” bagel bakery has been open just under five years but has already garnered regional as well as national recognition (Bon Appétit included it on its list of best bagels in the U.S. and Chef Shannon Bingham hailed its breakfast sandwich).
Owner and bagel maestro Breanne Kostyk began her culinary career as a pastry chef and worked in New Orleans hotels before following her passion for bagels (honed growing up in Connecticut and going to school in Brooklyn). Kostyk’s at-home bagel-making in May of 2020 was initially targeted to “friends and neighbors,” but the buzz surrounding her bagels gave rise to demand from strangers. After a few months, Kostyk began vending bagels at an area market and and a handful of restaurants, which gave rise to even more demand, which necessitated a larger dedicated production space. In spring 2022, Kostyk and her business partner Jeff Hinson set up a Flour Moon’s permanent shop on North Dorgenois Street.
Why has Flour Moon Bagels become so beloved in a city already known for other, arguably more “local” star starches, such as beignets and po’boy rolls? Well, the proof may be in the pudding, but in the case of Flour Moon, it’s the toppings that are a testament to its deserved spot on the bagel landscape.
The bagels (sea salt, rosemary, poppy seed, everything sesame, pumpernickel, and pumpernickel everything) are solid, that is to say flavorful and delightfully soft and spongy with that requisite pull thanks to proper gluten development. Although fine on their own, they are better with a schmear (try the fig cream cheese) or a generous spread of French or chili butter, and best as a base for Flour Moon’s signature tartines.
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Flamboyant, fragrant French-inspired open-faced sandwich standouts include the “New Moon” (scallion cream cheese layered with avocado, radish, herbs and dotted with salmon roe) and the we-still-can’t-believe-it’s-vegan “Beet Lox” (cashew cream cheese bedecked with beet “lox,” red onions, capers, herbs and cucumbers). If you prefer your sandwiches closed, Flour Moon excels in that genre as well, standouts such as the “Bluebird” (smoked turkey, jalapeño cream cheese, blueberry jam, arugula, pickled hot banana peppers) and the hot smoked salmon with kimchi cream cheese, pickled red cabbage and mustard seeds.
If you save your carbohydrate calories for the weekend, you’re (even more) in luck at Flour Moon, whose Saturday and Sunday specials include bialys as well as cinnamon-date and Jerusalem-style bagels. And should “sharing is caring” be your mantra (bless you, I’m far too selfish with my bagels), you can order the “Big Dipper,” a colossal Jerusalem bagel with ample sides of whipped labneh, olive oil and za’atar, for dipping.
Committed to keeping things interesting, Kostyk and her crew are constantly finessing and expanding the menu to cater to evolving tastes and seasonal cravings. This past summer, for example, Flour Moon began offering alcoholic slushies like the “Sirius Rising” (aperol, gin, bergamot) to help customers beat the hellish heat. When asked about her success, Kostyk is the charming opposite of her bagels: humbled and understated:
“The greatest pleasure of launching Flour Moon is the reactions that we get from our customers. We strive to create a unique and warm experience on top of producing top-quality food.” Kostyk strives – and succeeds — as evinced by her loyal patrons, (between 300 and 700 local and from afar) who love her to the moon and back.
