It’s one shell of a take on a Big Apple staple.
Crowds swarmed Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York City Saturday morning to get their hands on an escargot-schmeared bagel only on sale this weekend.
Bagel lovers crawled out of bed early and queued up on Spring Street in Soho as early as 6 a.m. for a parmesan gruyère bagel slathered in confit garlic escargot, a collaboration from cronut creator Ansel and PopUp Bagels.
“Yesterday it sold out within the hour so like by 9 o’clock no one could get it, so we got here early,” Paola Zuniga told The Post as she waited on line in the rain.
“I’d say waking up at 6 a.m. this morning was worth it!” said Columbia student Rachel Ling. “The bagel was so warm and cheesy, and it tasted even better when dipped into the garlic butter schmear.”
The shell-icacy sold out by 2 p.m., a staffer said — and encouraged people to come before noon on Sunday if they want their shot at trying it.
“They did not skimp on the chopped escargot in the cream cheese. I had a good chunk of everything in each bite,” Ling added.
“I like the bakery and I like the bagels — match made in heaven,” said one woman, who came from Staten Island after learning about the breakfast bonanza on Instagram.
“It was a while to get here,” she admitted.
But the line, steadily 50 people long, wasn’t snail-paced as enthusiasts were churned in and out of the bustling bakery, which is also home of Ansel’s famed cronut.
Two Connecticut pals waited for the tried-and-true croissant-doughnut hybrid.
“We love PopUp Bagels in general, and Dominique Ansel, so for a collab, we just had to come for it,” said Corinne Kwan, who was waiting for the parmesan-and-gruyère delicacy by 7:30 a.m. with her sister and fiancée.
“PopUp’s concept is to ‘rip it and dip it,’ which was a great way to get every bite smeared with the creamy escargot, which was delicious,” Kwan said. “It was a very unique flavor combination, and I would definitely buy that spread if they ever sold it in a tub!”
Selina Santos raved that it was “by far the best bagel pairing I have ever had. The schmear, I can’t even describe it. I felt transported to the south of France and served the most iconic escargot dish ever.”
Once Santos finished the bagel, she said she ate the rest of the spread like ice cream.
“Absolutely iconic,” she said.
Adam Goldberg, owner of PopUp Bagels, which has a location two blocks away on Thompson Street, hyped-up the crowd, handed out hats and thanked them for coming out on the dreary morning.
“Hot bagels are rolling out of the oven so you’ll have them very soon,” he assured customers.
Two years ago, PopUp and Dominique Ansel Bakery were included in a Post roundup of sought-after baked goods at the Big Apple’s best bakeries.
“So it’s fun that two years later, we get to cook together,” Goldberg told The Post. The French twist on the New York staple was the brainchild of his and Ansel’s, who hails from Paris.
“We wanted to create something that’s a bit French and unexpected,” Ansel told The Post this week.
“My favorite part of escargot is how you can dip the bread into the warm garlic butter at the end, and we thought it could work really well with a warm, cheesy bagel.”
The unique schmear consists of sautéed escargot, brown butter, shallots, thyme, bay leaf, parsley and pink and black peppercorns. The mixture is folded into a combination of garlic confit, cream cheese and crème fraîche. The limited-time combo goes for $18.50.
