PopUp Bagels

While Harry's does all-day diner classics and The Taco Stand focuses on fish, PopUp is the village's only spot hand-rolling, boiling, and baking bagels daily using East Coast technique. The difference is structural: that 30-second boil before baking creates the signature crust tension — shiny, taut surface that cracks when you tear it, chewy interior that doesn't collapse into dough. Salt bagels get consistent mentions for amplifying this texture.

The schmear selection skews inventive without losing functionality — chipotle honey adds heat and sweetness, scallion stays classic, spicy pickle cream cheese divides crowds but commits to the bit. These are tear-and-dip bagels, not slice-and-stack — the proportions favor crust-to-schmear ratio over sandwich construction.

Lines form early during opening weeks but move efficiently; staff take orders while you wait, and turnover is quick since most orders are grab-and-go dozens heading back to vacation rentals or breakfast tables across the village. Parking on Pearl requires patience or the willingness to circle blocks toward Herschel. Preordering helps but doesn't guarantee immediate pickup — they bake in batches, so timing matters.

The everything bagel holds its own, sesame is reliable, but the plain or salt versions showcase what the technique actually does. If you're taking bagels back to Chicago or sharing them post-beach at the cove, order extra schmear — the containers run out faster than the bagels. This isn't a sit-down brunch spot; it's a bakery that happens to excel at the one thing most La Jolla breakfast places treat as an afterthought: the structural integrity of the bagel itself.