Now, Philadelphia cream cheese and H&H Bagels, a New York City-based bagel shop, are trying to please the carbohydrate- and dairy-loving communities with a new and dubious spin on the stuffed crust: The bagel stuffed with cream cheese.
But unlike stuffed-crust pizzas, the bagel is filled with cheese after it is baked, making it more of a cream cheese bagel donut, if not in spirit then at least in form.
What’s so wrong with slicing a bagel and slathering on a healthy amount of cream cheese?
New York doesn’t have a specific bagel tax, explained Ryan Cleveland, a representative of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
Philadelphia cream cheese, which struggled with shortages in the past, turned that issue into a marketing opportunity as well.