A pickle bagel at the end of the world

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Last Sunday, I deliberately woke up at 4:45 a.m. to go for a hike in a forest.

That sentence sends shivers down the spines of people in most of the country, but if you live in the Pacific Northwest, you’re likely to react by saying, “Yeah, and how was it?”

The rich tapestry of the Pacific Northwest’s geography and landscape isn’t the only reason I live here, but it’s a big part of it. It’s what pulled me back when I briefly moved away several years ago, and it’s what I fear losing when I consider the possibility of living somewhere else.

It’s a feeling that there’s no place else like this in the world.

That sensation doesn’t have to come from looking out on the green oasis below from a mountaintop. It can come from driving a tree-lined back road and realizing you can’t see where the trees begin and end. It can be the moment you realize “the mountain is out” while walking around Seattle. It can be sitting in the park and looking up to see two bald eagles circling overhead. Or watching the ferries skate across the Sound while the Olympics ring the skyline behind them.

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I sometimes feel as though I’m taking it all for granted. That wasn’t the case on Sunday, however. My trusted producer and I had to be up at the crack of dawn in order to make the 6:10 a.m. ferry to Bainbridge Island. We had two good reasons for doing so. One, we wanted to do some hiking on the Olympic Peninsula. And two, we wanted to stop at 2026 Mensch Madness Runner-Up Briny Bagels for breakfast.

If you’ve waited for enough Washington State Ferries, you know the simple joy of showing up for your ferry time and finding no one in line ahead of you. No fretting over whether or not you’ll make the boat or if you’ll have to wait another hour for the next one. I think there were maybe 30 cars on the entire boat when we set sail.

We pulled up at Briny Bagels 10 minutes before 7:00 a.m., and we were hardly the only ones. By the time the doors opened, the line was already 10 people deep, and at no point during the 30 minutes I was there did its size waver.

Every Western Washington bagel shop has its own aesthetic and intention. For Briny, the snug space feels like a living room nestled inside a country store. Wooden tables and comfy couches allow you to ease into the day or talk shop with a friendly face still in line. There are also subtle nods to the New York roots of the shop’s owner, like the day’s New York Times on a table or a Billy Joel poster in the bathroom.

I finally had the chance to chat with Briny owner Frank Giuliano, who moved to Bainbridge Island in 2009 and, after several years of opining the island’s lack of fresh bagels, took matters into his own hands several years ago. Giuliano might be the owner, but he was also a greeter, bagel-grabber, waiter, and cleaner, all while regaling me with how well things are going.

I realized just how well things are going when he showed me the brand-new deli space he’s opening next door, where he’ll sling New York-style sandwiches, knishes, and many more tastes from back East. Giuliano expects it to open in the coming weeks, cementing Rolling Bay as an essential stop for tourists taking the ferry from Seattle, even if it requires a little more effort.

I had places to be, so there was no time for a review. But there was more than enough time to grab a breakfast sandwich. I went with the egg & cheese on an Ojai Heat bagel. It ended up being an ideal reintroduction to Briny’s flavor-forward approach. The spicy seasoning (quinoa, millet, black sesame, Aleppo chile, orange peel, garlic, flake sea salt) struck the perfect balance, bringing the heat without overpowering the palate. The peppery arugula also elevated the classic egg sandwich experience.

We grabbed a bunch of bagels for the road, including the sesame, everything, French everything, rosemary & sea salt, and pickle. And off we went to Devil’s Punchbowl, a deep, bright-blue gorge cut in Lake Crescent. Time is of the essence to visit a place like this, appreciated by hikers, swimmers, kayakers, and tourists alike. We arrived around 9:00 a.m., and it felt like we’d gotten there just in time. The natural beauty of the space lived up to the hype, and we got a bonus walk through a spooky tunnel.

From there, we doubled back to a longer hike through the forest just outside Olympic National Park. Desiring a bit more solitude than Hurricane Ridge might have afforded us at that point, we made for Striped Peak. In many ways, it was a classic Olympic Peninsula hike, boasting beautiful coastline, dense forests, rocky bluffs, and a hearty climb to a viewpoint where we broke for lunch.

While we’d brought plenty of essential foods, fruits, and energy bars, there was still room to sample some of those bagels. The French everything (sesame, fennel, thyme, lavender, flake sea salt) was a unique spin on the classic version. I’m not usually a fan of fennel, but it was subtle here, letting the thyme be the hero. The rosemary and sea salt nailed the flavor combo as well.

The one I was most looking forward to was the pickle. In my mind, I presumed that the bagel had been infused with pickle flavor, so I was surprised when I pulled it out of the bagel and found it absolutely covered in seasoning (onion, garlic, celery seed, brown mustard seed, yellow mustard seed, dill, flake sea salt). And I gotta say, it absolutely nailed the flavor of not just a pickle but the brine. It somehow made the bagel feel refreshing after a day of hiking.

I should say that Briny Bagels’ bagels excel thanks to a slightly crispy exterior that provides an understated crunch in most bites. They’re light and airy, and all remained eminently eatable throughout the day without the need for schmears or toppings. The bold flavors stand out, but the quality of the bake shouldn’t be underestimated.

Western Washington traffic waits for no one, and after a stop in Port Angeles for an early dinner, we hustled our way back around the sound, through Bremerton, across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, past the Tacoma Dome, and back to Seattle, walking in the front door around 7:30 p.m.

I don’t know if the idea of waking up early to hike a remote corner of America while munching on bagels appeals to everyone, but for me, days don’t get much better than that.

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