I UNDERSTAND that I might be ruining this hack as I type, but I have found the line is shortest at Courage Bagels around 9:15 a.m. on weekdays. The wait to reach the ordering window is often no more than 10 minutes, and usually I can find a seat under an umbrella at one of the tables arranged along the sidewalk. A staffer calls out customers’ names as he rushes through the restaurant’s door; it has no outside handle, so he aims to pass off takeout boxes and dash back inside before the door swings fully shut again. My carton will contain Winter in Sardinia — a sandwich layered with sardines, herbs, lemon and a literal fistful of capers — and also half of a purposely burnt bagel pounded with everything seasoning and draped with smoked salmon.

Arielle Skye began selling her compact, smoky-crisp, Montrealinspired bagels from the back of a bicycle nearly six years ago. She expanded to the Silver Lake farmers market, and then in October 2020 she and her now-husband, Chris Moss, moved into the Virgil Village space previously occupied by Super Pan bakery. So Courage Bagels isn’t an overnight success story, but it has blossomed into an undeniable phenomenon. They really are worth the wait, no matter when you show up.

• 777 N. Virgil Ave., Los Angeles, couragebagels.com