What H Street Needs is an occasional series on District Cuisine looking at ways that the neighborhood could be improved even more. You can see our previous column on the need for a Thai restaurant here.
News came last week that H Street would be getting a new bakery on the western end of the Corridor when Sticky Fingers Bakery opens next year at 406 H Street, NE. The opening of Sticky Fingers will be yet another welcome addition to the neighborhood. However, what H Street really needs in the bakery category is a good bagel shop.
D.C. as a whole lacks good bagels. With the exception of Brooklyn Bagel in nearby Arlington, there really are not that many solid bagel options near downtown (please feel free to correct us in the comment section). There are a couple of places that sell bagels, but none that really specialize or do bagels well. Certainly none that are worth traveling across town to get. With that in mind, a solid bagel shop would be a draw not only within the neighborhood but could also potentially bring additional people to the neighborhood on the weekend from all around the area. H Street has shown its ability to support several bakeries and coffee shops throughout the Corridor (Batter Bowl Bakery, Sidamo, H Street Coffee House and Cafe, Dangerously Delicious, among others in the nearby community), so a bagel shop–especially if it was good–should be able to thrive throughout the week. In addition to being successful on the weekend, a solid bagel shop would also allow residents to stop by for a quick bite before work or to buy several bagels to eat at home during the week.
Agree? Disagree? What else does H Street need? Let us know in the comment section.
District Cuisine 
There is already a great bagel shop nearby, at Third and Massachusetts, NE — Bagels and Baguettes. Their whole wheat bagels are the best I’ve ever eaten (and I’m a native New Yorker).