I tried the banana pudding bagel from Magnolia Bakery and Ess-a-Bagel, and honestly, it was pretty great

Most New Yorkers have at least heard of Magnolia Bakery since it rose to fame after appearing on "Sex And The City."

It's best known for is the banana pudding, the recipe for which it released in 2021. Although you can now theoretically make it home, people still travel from all over the world to order it from its original location.

So when I heard Magnolia Bakery was teaming up with my favorite New York bagel spot, Ess-a-Bagel, on a banana pudding bagel, I knew I had to try it.

As the duo shared on Instagram, the concoction consists of a plain bagel, a specially made banana pudding cream cheese, and Nilla Wafer crumbs, which is one of the ingredients in Magnolia's original banana pudding recipe. 

The collaboration will only be available through September 15, as representatives for both companies said during an appearance on PIX11 News, so I headed to Ess-a-Bagel on Thursday to give it a try.

I arrived at Ess-a-Bagel around 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, joining a line of other New Yorkers who appeared to be having a bagel for brunch.

But the line was nothing compared to the one that often forms at Magnolia Bakery, so I didn't mind waiting a few minutes for my bagel.

I didn't see anyone else order the banana pudding bagel while I was there, but I did see an advertisement for the Magnolia collaboration within moments of stepping into the store, making me eager to give it a try.

From the yellow tinge of the bread to the cream cheese oozing out of the sides to the Nilla Wafer crumbles lining the edges, just looking at the bagel took me back to summer picnics and barbecues where banana pudding was a staple.

I also appreciated that the bagel was packed in a plastic container and placed face up, as it ensured the Nilla Wafer crumbles wouldn't get stuck on the packaging before I had a chance to taste them.

It tasted exactly like the famous dessert, but it was sandwiched between two perfect slices of plain bagel.

But as the bite washed over my mouth, the flavor of cream cheese started to make itself known. It was like a cream cheese aftertaste.

I liked the way the notes of cream cheese cut the sweetness of the banana pudding, making the flavor less overwhelming.

The texture of the spread was a little slimier than the average Ess-a-Bagel cream cheese, which is typically thick. It teetered towards pudding texture rather than shmear, which I didn't love.

To be fair, it was 92 degrees in New York when I tried the bagel, so the weather could have been to blame for the gooeyness.

Regardless, bagel aficionados should expect to have a slightly different experience with the cream cheese than they would with Ess-a-Bagel's other flavors.

I thought the bites with Nilla Wafer crumbles in them were the best part of the bagel, as it offered the ideal balance of sweet and crunchy.

But my sandwich didn't have crumbles on the outer edges, so I only had a few bites that offered the full banana pudding bagel experience.

It may have been more difficult to package the bagel if it had been rolled in the crumbles on all sides, but I still missed them as I ate the outer edges of the treat.

Overall, the banana pudding bagel was a delicious sweet treat, but it definitely felt more like a dessert than a breakfast treat.

I'd recommend the limited edition bagel to Magnolia Bakery loyalists or banana pudding lovers in general, but I'd tell bagel fans to proceed with a bit more caution. You might be better off sticking to Ess-a-Bagel's classics.