100 Favorite Dishes: No. 49, Nova Fish Box at New York Bagel & Coffee Shop

Photo courtesy of New York Bagel

Owner Jay Kornhaber once followed Robb Walsh out into the parking lot after Walsh refused to tell Kornhaber why he'd been taking notes during lunch. Most of the time, though, Kornhaber is happily and briskly working the floor during the busy breakfast and lunch services, a smile and a joke ready even when the place is a madhouse.

On busy mornings like this, it's easy to pretend you're in the Diamond District in New York City (sans the Hasidim) as you soak in New York Bagel's old-school deli atmosphere. The food doesn't hurt this vision, either, especially the "Fish Boxes" that come with your choice of lox, nova, sable and several other varieties of smoked fish, and your choice of bagel. The plate comes out piled high with tomatoes, red onions, olives, cucumbers and more cream cheese than you could ever use -- not that I'm complaining -- and you're free to set about constructing your own bagel sandwich.

I prefer the nova because it's a less salty version of the lox (both are smoked salmon), letting me taste more of the fish and my garlicky everything bagel instead of just pure sodium. With a pile of red onion rings stacked on the fish and sandwiched between the cream cheese and freshly-baked bagel -- and, yes, it's boiled first -- it's easy to see why New York Bagel keeps winning the Best Jewish Deli category in our Best of Houston issues year after year. After all, it's been serving the city's best bagels since 1975.

The list so far:

No. 100: Dumplings at Heights Asian Cafe
No. 99: Mixta Pizza at Friends Pizzeria
No. 98: Veggie tacos from Radical Eats
No. 97: Bean pie from Conscious Cafe
No. 96: Swiss chard crepes from Giacomo's Cibo e Vino
No. 95: Eggs Mia Bella at Mia Bella
No. 94: Mulligatawny soup at the Queen Vic
No. 93: Helado de Lúcuma from Pollo Bravo
No. 92: Black bean burger from Natachee's
No. 91: Chupacabra pizza from ERA
No. 90: Roast chicken from El Norteño
No. 89: Eggs El Salvador from Brasil
No. 88: Frank the Pretzel from Eatsie Boys
No. 87: Caldo Tlalpeño from Tacos del Julio
No. 86: English pea soup at Brasserie 19
No. 85: Falafel from Zabak's
No. 84: Buttermilk-fried pork loin with fried eggs at Canopy
No. 83: Grillades and grits from BB's Cajun Cafe
No. 82: Haemul dolsot from Seoul House
No. 81: Pandan waffles at Parisian Bakery III
No. 80: Pita bread and hummus at Phoenicia
No. 79: Goat pepper soup at Peppersoup Cafe
No. 78: Melon and Texas feta salad from Beaver's
No. 77: Hot Italian beef from BB's Beef & Hot Dog
No. 76: Bacon-avocado burger from Facundo Cafe
No. 75: Pancakes from Fountain View Cafe
No. 74: Hobnobs from Fluff Bake Bar
No. 73: Chu chee eggplant from Nidda Thai
No. 72: Sausage sampler from King's Biergarten
No. 71: Shawarma from Abdallah's
No. 70: Moules-frite at the Broken Spoke
No. 69: Hong Kong-style French toast at House of Bowls
No. 68: Sashimi sampler at Sushi Miyagi
No. 67: Baleadas from Honduras Mayan
No. 66: Snow ice from Star Snow Ice & Teriyaki
No. 65: Boudin balls from MerCheri's
No. 64: Miso ramen at Umai
No. 63: Grim burger at Lankford Grocery
No. 62: Dabeli at Bansuri Indian Food Corner
No. 61: Wine and cupcakes at 13 Celsius
No. 60: Pâté de France from Spec's
No. 59: Steak and eggs from Ninfa's on Navigation
No. 58: Breakfast pita at Niko Niko's
No. 57: Vegan curry at Cafe TH
No. 56: Samosas at Shiv Sagar
No. 55: Ceviche at Latin Bites Cafe
No. 54: Wicked Philly at Pappa Geno's
No. 53: Pork chop at Perry's Steakhouse
No. 52: Soft-shell crab at Pico's Mex-Mex
No. 51: Sno-balls at MAM's House of Ice
No. 50: Whole catfish at Saigon Pagolac