5 facts about mwv famoose personality big dave
A New York deli in the heart of the Mount Washington Valley, Big Dave’s Bagels has been serving up great bagels, lox, sandwiches, deli meats, specialty foods and catering since 2010. Before that, owner Dave Hausman and his wife, Susan, owned another bagel shop in Monroe, N.Y., for nearly 20 years, and they brought that expertise with them to New Hampshire. Let’s take a closer look at Big Dave’s.
Dave knows bagels!
Dave started as a teenager working for Goldberg’s Bagels — a New York institution since 1949, and says, “I’m pretty much using the same recipe.” Among other awards, the shop’s bagels have been recognized as the Best of Mount Washington Valley by the readers of The Conway Daily Sun and Best of New Hampshire by WMUR. But are they as good as New York? Maybe it’s the smaller batches or maybe it’s the water. Dave doesn’t know why, but he says, “I think our bagels in New Hampshire are better than our bagels were in New York.”
Photo credit: Big Dave’s Bagels & Deli Facebook Page
2. dave’s uses the best lox
Bagel met lox long ago in New York City, creating one of America’s great sandwiches. Dave’s bagels met Browne Trading Co. lox a couple of months ago in North Conway and once again it was a match made in heaven. Dave makes a traditional bagel and lox with cream cheese, tomato, onions and capers — or you can have it any way you want it. The Portland, Maine-based Browne Trading Company, is one of the largest caviar distributors in the country and is also a go-to for seafood in Portland. They sought out Big Dave’s because they were looking to do business with the best bagel shops in New England. “They do really good work with smoked salmon,” Dave says. “We’re really happy to be doing business together.”
Photo credit: Big Dave’s Bagels & Deli Facebook Page
3. guy fieri knows dave’s
In 2022, television food show host Guy Fieri featured Big Dave’s on “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.” Guy came to sample and highlight the bagels and Dave’s signature pastry: The Kweenie. Guy’s choice of bagel: parmesan-crusted; with bacon horseradish cream cheese. He described the Kweenie as a croissant on steroids. If you’re looking for the episode, it is “Rolled and Holed,” Season 44, Episode 2, originally airing Oct. 7, 2022.
Photo credit: Big Dave’s Bagels & Deli Facebook Page
4. dave developed the “kweenie”
Stuck at home during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Dave started playing with a recipe for a Breton pastry he had fallen in love with during a trip to Montreal — the kouign-amann — developing his own take on it, lighter than the original, and substituting maple sugar for the traditional cane sugar. He started selling this delight, and while it was popular, he found “there wasn’t one New Hampshire person who could pronounce that Kouign” (just say Queen), so he changed the name to Kweenies.
Photo credit: Big Dave’s Bagels & Deli Facebook Page
5. dave is a champion of best buddies
Dave volunteers to promote and fundraise for Best Buddies, an organization that pairs developmentally challenged young people with able-bodied people. Dave’s buddy is Charles White. “He lives in Plymouth, N.H. He’s 29 years old, with Down syndrome and we love each other,” he says simply. “I look forward to seeing Charles the same way I look forward to seeing any friend I have.” Dave has also led several fundraising events for the organization and was instrumental in establishing a Best Buddies club at the nearby Kennett High School. Next up is a benefit walk in Concord. Find out more at bestbuddies.org.
“I’m as proud of my work with Best Buddies as anything I’ve done,” he says.
Photo credit: Big Dave’s Bagels & Deli Facebook Page
Big Dave’s has supported many local causes, volunteering food and time, and he is proud to say his staff embraces the same philosophies. He says, “Bagels is what we trade in but we would be a community business no matter what we were selling.”
