Honesty about the Bagels, Please. Any New Yorkers have an Opinion ^(about the bagels!)^

New York City seems to be the benchmark for bagels. I did a quick search, and did not see a thread about this.

Can someone from NYC give an honest comparison of a good New York Bagel and the Costco ones. What makes a good bagel, and does Costco stack up.

Is there still a standard New York Bagel (like back when the bagel makers were their own union)?

If you are coming on here to complain that they mold quick - search the numerous threads from about a year ago.