I finally made it to PopUp Bagels, and let me just say… I understand religion now.

First things first: go on a weekday. I walked right in like a VIP bagel influencer with zero wait. I was immediately greeted by the nicest humans ever, which only added to the emotional journey I was about to have.

This East Coast legend has officially set up shop in Brentwood (11710 San Vicente Blvd), and they are doing ONE thing and doing it perfectly: hot bagels. That’s it. No sandwiches. No substitutions. No distractions. Just aggressively hot bagels and tubs of cream cheese begging to be dunked into.

Yes, dunked. There is no spreading here. You dip your bagel directly into the cream cheese like a feral raccoon and no one judges you. In fact, it’s encouraged.

The cream cheese flavors rotate and include absolute bangers like Truffle, Cacio e Pepe, Scallion, and Plain (don’t sleep on Plain—it’s doing the most). As for bagels, the Everything is elite, but Plain, Salt, Poppy, and Sesame all understood the assignment.

Bagels are sold in threes, which sounds reasonable until you realize you will eat all three immediately because they are served lava-hot and life-changing.

Honestly? This might be the best bagel I’ve ever had. I left full, happy, and seriously considering when I could come back without it being socially concerning.