Reginald DouglasPhoto: Hadley Tomicki
Strolling the food stands at last night's Planned Parenthood Food Fare, we stumbled across the best cultural mash-up to hit L.A. since The Gorbals graced Downtown. There we found Reginald Douglas shaking two bagels in each of his hands and singing, "Jamegel, Jamagel, Jamaican flavored bagels!!" He was talking about his new line of bagels that are infused with the spices of Jamaica, powerful blends that speak through soft slices of dough that are boiled in water then baked with no trans-fats or preservatives to be "ital," and thus, vital. The Jamaican-American bakes real papaya into his "paw paw," and blows most cinnamon and raisin bagels away with a rich "RockBun," while working on new flavors like a "Gwaan Go Mas." So, how do Jamagels taste?
Awesome! We tried the "jerk bagel," which delivered a delayed kick of heat to compliment the sweet dough, and also one "Bulla bagel," which was pleasantly dense with the tastes of real ginger and nutmeg. Fans of flavored bagels should go crazy for these fascinating new taste profiles, the spices are balanced but very discernible, the bagel fluffy and soft, with a sense of the Caribbean creeping through this very atypical vehicle.
Douglas currently sells and delivers Jamagels online and at Brentwood's Vicente Foods, neatly packaged in singles with their own cream cheese. He also told us he's "standing in a long line" to try and bring his Jamdung breakfast goods to Santa Monica Farmer's Market sometime soon. You'll have to find your own kushempeng cream cheese, but this being L.A., it's probably out there somewhere.
To order visit: www.Jamagel.com
The Hardrock JamagelHadley Tomicki
