Molly Martin
Audio By Carbonatix
On Friday, Call Your Mother Deli opened its first location outside the D.C. area, at 4396 West 39th Avenue, right off Tennyson. And that’s where Molly Martin found the bagel she’s been craving since she moved here from New York almost two decades ago: “straight-up crisp-outside, supremely chewy-inside bagel perfection.”
She’s not the only one in Denver who’s been looking for a better bagel; where to find the best in town is a hotly debated issue. But in their comments on the Westword Instagram and Facebook posts of her story about Call Your Mother Deli opening, readers share their doubts about whether these bagels live up to the headline’s proclamation that “there are finally great bagels in Denver.” Says allele:
Every time someone says this about pizza or bagels in Denver, I’m disappointed.
Responds meeechelle:
Denver might not be the best at all the best options from every other state, but we have some amazing local options. Don’t come to Denver expecting NYC or SF or Chicago – we are Denver. And honestly, we are more welcoming to folks moving in (trying to give everyone everything) than many cities!
Offers Jeffrey:
Chain-restaurant bagels….
Adds Barbara:
Anyone eaten there? It doesn’t sound like it’s “legit.” I mean, The Bagel Deli is pretty awesome.
Replies Mel:
I’m certainly going to try Call Your Mother. I’m ready for a brunch with great bagels. I’ve never found a bagel in Denver that matches my memories of those I lived on in New York City.
And then there’s this from J:
As a longtime subscriber of Westword, I was disappointed by the angle this article took. The phrasing and needless pitting of a new Jewish deli against Denver institutions like Rosenberg’s (while categorically disregarding other institutions like Zaidy’s) is frankly bad journalism. While I understand that food criticism sometimes calls for negative reviews, Call Your Mother Deli has a completely different approach to bagels and I saw no need to throw Rosenberg’s under the bus for the sake of a news peg. Molly Martin doesn’t even go into detail why Rosenberg’s doesn’t deliver on what she “craves.”
Given the current rise of anti-semitism in Denver, I frankly expected more responsible journalism and question the decision to categorically ignore the history of bagels in Denver for the sake of a headline. If you wanted to take this angle, this would have been an opportune time to go into the history of Jewish delis and bagels in Denver. Why punch down when you have the opportunity to uplift an overlooked community?
In short: Critique? By all means. But this headline and approach was clearly just a drive-by for the sake of clicks.
I hope you take this as an opportunity to reflect on your editorial practices and the diversity in your news room, as this coverage was tone-deaf. I’m unsubscribing.
By the way, in her piece about Call Your Mother (one of many she’s written about delis in Denver), Molly Martin says that Rosenberg’s is “totally deserving of its many fans.” She just likes these bagels better.
When you’re looking for bagels in Denver, where do you go? Post a comment or share your thoughts at editorial@westword.com.