When discussing certain foods, it's proper form to lament today's sorry excuses as compared to the classics of yore. Which is not to say that such lamentation is wholly unjustified (just partly). In Louis Malle's Atlantic City, an aging Burt Lancaster whistfully gazes toward the shore: "You should have seen the Atlantic Ocean in those days..."

Are there still good bagels to be found? Of course. Is USA Today a trusted resource in the quest for those bagels? You decide. They've put together, with the help of The Daily Meal, a list of 16 of the best bagel shops, half of them within the five boroughs of the spiritual home of the bagel (including Tal Bagels, pictured above; see the Roadfood.com review). Yikes, they even claim to have found worthy specimens in Georgia and Texas!