The Bagel & Lox
Classic Nova or Pastrami-Spiced lox, house-made cream cheese, capers, tomato, and red onion on any bagel. This is the sandwich that makes East Coast transplants cry happy tears.
Worth every penny
Two Ways to Lox
Classic Nova
Silky, cold-smoked Atlantic salmon. The traditional NYC preparation that has been the cornerstone of Jewish deli culture for over a century. Delicate, buttery, and it melts on the tongue. This is the style most people picture when they hear “lox” — thin, translucent slices of salmon that drape over the cream cheese like silk. The smoke is subtle, letting the natural richness of the fish speak for itself. If you are new to lox, this is where to start.
Pastrami-Spiced
Pepper-crusted, smoky, and bold. This is lox for those who want their salmon with attitude. The pastrami spice rub — cracked black pepper, coriander, garlic, and a touch of brown sugar — transforms the delicate salmon into something assertive and deeply savory. The crust gives it texture that classic Nova does not have, and the smokiness is more pronounced. If you love pastrami and you love lox, this is the collision you did not know you were waiting for.
The Build
A bagel and lox is more than just salmon on bread. Every component plays a role, and when they come together on a fresh-baked bagel, the result is greater than the sum of its parts. Here is what goes into every single one we make.
Cream Cheese
A generous schmear of our house-made plain cream cheese. It provides the rich, creamy base that ties everything together — without it, the lox has nothing to anchor to.
Capers
Tiny salt-cured buds that burst with a briny, tangy pop. Capers cut through the richness of the cream cheese and salmon, adding brightness and complexity to every bite.
Tomato
Thick-sliced ripe tomato adds freshness and a juicy counterpoint to the cured fish. We slice them thick enough that they hold their own against the other bold flavors.
Red Onion
Thin-sliced red onion provides a sharp, clean bite that wakes up the palate. The pungency of raw onion against the silky salmon is one of those combinations that just works.
Choose any bagel as your base. See all 16 varieties →
Shipped Overnight from New York
Our lox is not sourced locally. It is shipped overnight from New York — the same quality you would find at the best delis in Manhattan. We made that choice deliberately. When Dan set out to build a bagel shop in Texas, he knew that the lox had to be the real thing or it was not worth serving at all.
The Atlantic salmon is cold-smoked using traditional methods that have been passed down through generations of New York lox producers. The result is a product with a silky texture, a delicate smokiness, and a clean, ocean-fresh flavor that grocery store lox simply cannot match. You are tasting the same fish that gets served at the most storied delis on the East Coast.
Yes, this is why our bagel and lox is fourteen dollars. The overnight shipping, the premium sourcing, the generous portions — it all adds up. But every customer who has tried it understands the value immediately. This is not a salmon-flavored cream cheese spread on a bagel. This is the real thing, built the way it has been built in New York for over a hundred years.
A Tradition Worth Preserving
The bagel and lox has deep roots in Jewish deli culture, stretching back to the early 1900s when Eastern European Jewish immigrants settled in New York City. They brought with them a tradition of cured and smoked fish — a preservation technique born out of necessity in the old country — and paired it with the bagels they were already baking in the tenement bakeries of the Lower East Side.
The combination was practical at first: cured salmon was affordable, bagels were filling, and cream cheese was a substitute for the butter and sour cream of Eastern European cooking. But over the decades, the bagel and lox transcended its origins. It became a Sunday morning ritual, a centerpiece of Jewish family gatherings, and eventually a symbol of New York City itself. Walk into any deli from Katz's to Russ & Daughters, and the bagel and lox is on the menu. It is non-negotiable.
When Dan brought this sandwich to Texas, he was not just opening a bagel shop — he was carrying forward a tradition. Every bagel and lox we make at Dan's Bagels is built with the same components, the same care, and the same respect for the craft that has defined this sandwich for over a century. The only difference is the zip code.
“This is the sandwich that makes East Coast transplants cry happy tears.”
— A sentiment expressed by more customers than we can count
Ready to Try the Real Thing?
Order online for pickup or walk in and order at the counter. Choose your bagel, choose your lox style, and we will build it fresh. Open Wednesday through Sunday, 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Closed Monday and Tuesday.