S.F. Rising: House of Bagels' Marble Rye

Jonathan Kauffman

Marble rye from House of Bagels.

​
Marble Rye
Source: House of Bagels, 5030 Geary (at 15th Ave.), 752-6000
Price: $7.35 for a half-loaf
Toast-appropriateness: 1/10

SFoodie had no idea that marble rye had earned its 15 minutes until we visited the Richmond bakery's website to double-check the price of the loaf we picked up. "Made famous by Seinfeld," the site mentions, and Wikipedia YouTube provided evidence. There are probably a few thousand Seinfeld-quoters out there who think "Shut up, y'old bag!" every time they see a loaf of pumpernickel-rye swirl.

Us, we think Mel Brooks movie posters. The swirl looks like a cartoon hypnotist's spell, the dark evenly rolled in with the light, impossible to tease out with impatient fingers. The bread's soft, glossy-crusted, and speckled with seeds ― and given the fact that a full loaf measures close to three feet long, a half-loaf should suffice. The caraway is strong with this one, almost camphor-strength in its potency, dominating the grassier notes of rye. Would we mug an old lady for a loaf? No. Does the marble rye make for a great egg salad sandwich, especially when you toss an extra dollop of Dijon into the mayonnaise and substitute Chinese celery for the crunchier, more watery Western variety? Why, yes, it does.