With new viral snack sensations sweeping social media every time you tap TikTok, it can be hard to keep track of what came from where, and when: an irony worthy of O. Henry. Back in 2016, for example, lines snaked outside of a modestly monikered Williamsburg bagel shop’s unassuming facade for one such foodstuff.
The Bagel Store’s since-trademarked Original Rainbow Bagel garnered inordinate wait times, local and international press and a place in Instagram Thing history before the next flashy bite came along. Later, the shop was seized for unpaid taxes and eventually relocated to Park Slope.
The august address was empty until last month, when a new bagel shop took over. And Simply Nova Gourmet Appetizing & Delicatessen seems to be operating without a marquee gimmick.
Anyone grumbling back then about how they couldn’t just grab an egg sandwich without having to wait for like-lovers to grab their kaleido-carbs can now do so. A duo of industry pros opened Simply Nova in January after the notion first started brewing in 2018.
Black and white letterboard menus are on on either side of the spiffy space, fixed above eye level behind glass cases displaying sweet and savory wares. Bagel and bialy varieties are $1.50, and smattering of gluten-free alternatives are available. They're all sourced from off-site, but most of the other offerings, like soups, salads, latkes and some of the cured fish, are prepared in house.
The gravlax, for example, is made here then sliced celluloid-thin, only to be rebuilt into precisely constructed sandwiches with accoutrements like critically manageable layers of garden-fresh scallion cream cheese on both halves of an everything bagel, red onion, tomatoes and capers ($14). Whitefish salad, another house special, is wonderfully smoky and salty, packed onto a bialy with the works–same as above–for $12.50.
Other beautiful slabs of seafood are available in sandwich form of to-go by the quarter pound and up. Can’t decide between the sturgeon or the sable (each starting at $15 to take away)? Samples are quickly suggested as a remedy, and both turn out to be great, each terrific for top the latkes ($12 for a pack of four) later on.
A little candy corner is filled with chocolates and topped with black-and-white cookies, banana walnut bread and babka options ($4.95). The cinnamon variety, petite as it is, still looks like it might last a couple of days on your kitchen counter, but its rich, swirling textures invite that standing, knife in hand, one more slice, disappearing quickness.
Crackers, condiments, olive oil tinned fish, pickles, blintzes and cheese selections are ready to grab and go, along with freshly squeezed orange juice and Dr. Brown’s soda cans. Coffee and espresso drinks are also available.
Grabbing-and-going is, in fact, 99 percent of the way to enjoy Simply Nova’s breakfast, brunch and lunch (turkey, pastrami, and corned beef are among the sandwich meats), since there aren’t any seats inside. But there is one bench out front where you might be able unwrap your carefully-wrapped sandwiches. It even gets good natural light, should you want to try your luck at authoring a new, line-accruing hashtag.
Vitals
The Vibe: A gleaming new shop to grab a good breakfast, brunch or lunch to-go.
The Food: Terrific house-prepared gravlax that’s lovely on an everything bagel with the works, and all manner of salad options, like the whitefish nicely fixed on a bialy with more works.
The Drinks: Coffee and espresso drinks, orange juice and Dr. Bronner’s.
Time Out Tip: There's just one bench outside, so prepare to grab-and-go.
Simply Nova is located at 754 Metropolitan Avenue and is open Monday through Friday from 8am to 6pm and Sunday from 8am to 4pm.