Portlanders can get their first taste of locally-made, organic bagels today with the soft launch of the Union Bagel Co. line. The bagels are being served up at a number of locations, including K. Horton Specialty Food in the Public Market House, where I shot the above photo.

Other spots to check for the bagels include Local Sprouts Cafe, Crema, Holy Donut and Nosh. Some locations, such as Local Sprouts and K Horton, are offering the bagels for free, today only.

Crispy on the outside and chewy inside, the bagels garnered positive reviews in the foodie corner of the newsroom.

The bagels are being produced in the Community Kitchen at the Public Market House by a team that includes Nina Murray, Dave Tozeski, Paul Farrell and Abby Williams. They worked all last night until 6 a.m. producing 20 dozen bagels for distribution today. The team raised the money needed to start the venture with a Kickstarter campaign.

The bagels are available in plain, poppy seed and sesame seed. This list will expand as the company ramps up production.

"Just for today we wanted to do three basics, but when the time comes we will have an everything, an onion, and a garlic," Nina said.

In the future, Union Bagel intends to offer whole wheat and cinnamon raisin bagels too. Pricing is still be finalized, but it will likely be under $2 per bagel.

After today's soft launch, the bagels won't be available again until next week at the earliest. So get one while you can.

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About the Author

Meredith Goad has harvested oysters on the Chesapeake Bay, eaten reindeer in Finland and sipped hot chai in the Himalayas. She writes the weekly Soup to Nuts column and enjoys a good cocktail.

Meredith can be contacted at 791-6332 or mgoad@pressherald.com
On Twitter: @meredithgoad

Susan Axelrod's food writing career began in the kitchen; she owned a restaurant and catering business before turning to journalism more than a decade ago. To relax, she bakes, gardens and hikes with her husband and their two dogs. A newcomer to Portland, she is an online content producer for the Press Herald.

Susan can be contacted at 791-6310 or saxelrod [at] pressherald.com.
On Twitter: @susansaxelrod

Wendy Almeida and her family have a smattering of livestock and a summer garden. After 10 years of her kids being involved in 4-H, she's finally accepted the term "hobby farm" to describe her family's work at sustainable living. These days her morning starts with milking a goat before heading into the office for her day job as an assistant editor for features.

Wendy can be contacted at wea [at] mainetoday.com or on Twitter @wea1021.

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