The Art of Eating: Chapter VII

The precise origins of the bialy – the exquisitely delicious round, flat bagel-like treat with sautéed onions in the middle – remain elusive but as its name implies it is likely they were first created in the Jewish community of Bialystok, Poland. In her book The Bialy Eaters, former NY Times food critic Mimi Sheraton tells of her pilgrimage to Bialystok in search of bialy history. She brought a dozen bialys from New York City with her to describe what she was searching for in case of she had difficulty conveying the objective of her mission.