This gluten-free restaurant will replace legendary Baumgart's in Englewood
Modern Bread & Bagel, a gluten-free, kosher bakery and cafe, is poised to replace Baumgart's, the old-school diner and ice cream shop that for nearly eight decades stood on Palisade Avenue. It closed permanently in October.
"We are going to pay tribute to Baumgart's in the design," said Josh Borenstein, owner of three-year-old Modern Bread & Bagel, which has branches on the Upper West Side and in Chelsea in Manhattan, as well as in Los Angeles. "We have a lot of respect for the space we are going into."
The age-old phone booth, for example, is staying. And the stone that made up the soda-fountain counter — fronted by green-topped stools that kids loved to spin on — will be used elsewhere in the new cafe.
However, it is time for a change, said Borenstein, who lives in Englewood. "We are putting something in that space that speaks to customers today, a space where people can sit, have a sandwich, have a coffee and be a very central part of Englewood and Bergen County, as Baumgart's was in its heyday."
The Englewood location will be Modern Bread & Bakery's largest branch to date, seating about 65 guests. It will offer fresh-baked, hand-rolled bagels; from-scratch baked goods; open-faced bagel sandwiches; salads and bowls; and a variety of breakfast options. Among the special breakfasts: a burrito stuffed with scrambled eggs, mushroom chorizo, charred tomato salsa and guacamole; shakshuka served with spicy shug, a Middle East green sauce; and latke tots loaded with smoked salmon, grated horseradish, shaved onion and creme fraiche.
"The dining scene in New Jersey is inhibited by our proximity to Manhattan," Borenstein said. "That's especially true for breakfast. The options are quite limited." Modern Bread & Bagel is hoping to help fix that.
The company's recipes were created by Borenstein's wife, Orly, a New Jersey native who apprenticed in a bakery in France and attended the Cordon Bleu Culinary School in Australia. When Borenstein was diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune disease triggered by eating gluten, she began experimenting with gluten-free baking and cooking. The couple keep a kosher home.
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As for the shop's baked standouts, Borenstein lists the cinnamon buns ("People say it's among the best they've ever had"); chocolate rugelach ("They're excellent") and the yeast-based doughnuts.
Modern Bread & Bagel, which will be open six days a week and closed on Saturday, is set to open in January, if not late December, at 45 E. Palisade Ave., Englewood.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Baumgart's in Englewood will be replaced by this cafe
