NPR

Skokie, Ill., Has Great Bagels — And An Even Better Story Behind Them

When Jewish sisters were hunting for bagels to properly mourn their mother's passing, their hometown came through. The town has been a hub of Jewish soul food — and survival — since post-WWII.
The bagels for sale at Skokie's New York Bagel & Bialy, which opened in the Illinois town in 1962, are as good as any you'd find in the Big Apple. In the post-World War II era, the town became a hub for Jewish Holocaust survivors, and synagogues sprouted alongside Jewish delis.

When my mother passed away in Sarasota, Fla., my sisters and I had 48 hours to pack up her condo and book it back to our hometown of Skokie, Ill., for her funeral. Embarking on a road trip together across six states, we could only fixate on one thing: Kaufman's bagels and trays for the shiva (the Jewish tradition of seven days of mourning after burial). When it came to our mother's shiva, my sisters and I held a long-standing promise to invest in the best bagels and trays at all cost.

There was just one problem: It was Passover, when Jews celebrate the great Exodus

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