New York bagel shop to toast bagels. This food writer isn't happy.

You could separate New York City bagel lovers into two distinct camps. Those who enjoy their bagels toasted. And those who say that to do anything of the sort is bagel abomination.

Murray's Bagels in Greenwich Village has long been an anti-toasting establishment. For nearly two decades, the popular deli had outright refused to subject its bagels to any unnecessary, crisp-inducing heat. But recently, Murray's changed its long-standing policy, and installed a conveyor toaster. And, in doing so, invited the wrath of anti-toasted bagel eaters across the city.

Arthur Bovino is one of those outraged New Yorkers. He's the executive editor of The Daily Meal, an online food website based in New York City. In fact, he's such a bagel purist that he even penned an essay, titled "Real New Yorkers Don't Toast Bagels."

"You're taking something that is at the pinnacle of its form as it is already," Bovino tells As It Happens host Carol Off. "It's already warm and fresh out of the oven. Why are you going to toast something that's already warm and toasty?" 

Bovino also doesn't understand the decision from a business standpoint.

"This is something that slows down your business. And Murray's, especially, is a place where you've got people coming in and out, trying to get their lunch. It's not a huge place. And, by toasting, you slow down the line," he says.

This is just the latest bagel abomination in a string of offences, Bovino says. He feels bagels have grown too large, and the ones you buy at the supermarket are not even worth eating.

"We've taken our bagels for granted to some degree. There's been this industrialization of the bagel. They've been making the bagels way too big. They've been made into these vehicles for sandwiches."