By now, everyone has likely heard of — and been baffled by — the recent "bagel head" phenomenon. Last month, a video clip that showed three people in Tokyo undergoing a beauty treatment that involved saline injections into their foreheads went viral on the Internet. The clip, taken from the program "National Geographic Taboo," sparked a flurry of speculation around the world as to whether or not the doughnut-shaped protrusions (dōnatsu-odeko, or "doughnut forehead," in Japanese) would be the next big trend in Japan.

For those of us in Tokyo, who knew the "fad" to be false, the bigger irony was that it is so hard to get a good bagel in this town. While Tokyo is renowned for the variety and quality of its cuisine, the quest for a truly authentic, New York-style bagel (although they're originally Polish) remains elusive.

There are, however, a few places that come close. A recent favorite is Bagel Standard (www.bagelstandard.com), a small specialty shop in Naka-Meguro that opened two years ago. The owner, Minoru Yabushita, comes with an impressive resume: He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and worked in New York City after spending a year at a restaurant in San Sebastian, Spain. The bagels, which range in price between ¥180 and ¥230, are pleasantly chewy and dense.