Our producer, Seraphim Smith, loves to bake, so when he came across an Italian deli in the heart of New Bern and heard there were freshly made bagels involved, he knew he had to investigate.

Let's join Seraphim as he discovers the house-made goodness of Gemelli Italian Deli and Bagelry.

(gentle violin music) [bird squawks] - I love New Bern, especially in the morning.

I flock towards the wild ducks and seagulls, but I also enjoy walking about the architecture with its incredible history.

And just a short walk from the water, you'll find Gemelli Italian Deli and Bagelry.

They're open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

At Gemelli, you can snag a delicious breakfast sandwich, peruse the shelves for real Italian ingredients, enjoy exquisite pizza, get a real Italian sandwich, and dine on pasta that was made from scratch right here in New Bern.

- So my father, he moved here from Sicily 26 years ago.

He met my mother working waiting tables at a Covent Corral back in the day, and he asked her the first time he met her, he said, "Will you marry me?"

And my mother's crazy enough, she said, "Yes."

And he asked her, he said, "Would you rather a ring or a restaurant?"

And she chose a restaurant, so they opened, we opened the first restaurant in 2001.

And so we came straight off the boat from Sicily here.

- It's amazing how pizza dough can be thrown like fabric.

Tell me about your stromboli.

- So the stromboli, the dough we make fresh in-house, everybody, they ask, "What stromboli's good?"

And it's just a preference of what toppings you want.

And then we put it in the oven, it cooks, it bakes perfectly.

We throw a little of the special garlic on top, a little of our angel's dust, as we call it, with the Parmigiano cheese and oregano.

The dough's freshly made.

Our sandwich, the bread's made fresh in-house.

I mean, it's all phenomenal.

Everything's really good.

In here, you can grab meats by the pound, half pound, quarter pound.

The meats we get imported straight from Italy, the cheeses, everything imported straight from Italy.

It's like phenomenal.

A little balsamic glaze is beautiful.

It's fantastic.

- I had your arancino, and it was wonderful.

- Thank you.

- The crust on it was a perfect golden crisp.

It might just be the best arancino I've ever had.

- We make those fresh in-house, a little rice ball, and then fried till golden brown.

It's simple, but so good.

- Now, what about those bagels I keep hearing about?

- Giovanni's the bagel shop in Emerald Isle.

That's one of our partners here as well, and he does our bagels as well for us.

- Time to take a field trip to Emerald Isle and find out how the bagels are made.

I've never seen a bagel machine before.

It's neat to see how it works.

- Seeing them come out of the oven looking like little fluffy pillows, it just makes me happy to make people happy, and it just makes me happy on the inside, really.

I just love it.

- I'm just gonna try it just right now, right?

Not right out of the oven, 'cause this is when they're perfect.

♪ They're so pillowy.

- I told you it's like a little pillow.

- They are perfect.

- Giovanni's has quite the loyal following.

- This is a definite craving.

- It is.

We traveled from Missouri just to get Giovanni's bagels.

Amazing.

- Back in New Bern, at Gemelli, the bagels have been boiled, baked, and set out in the display, dozens of them.

Don't skip out on the dessert.

The cakes are homemade by Matteo's uncle.

- I've had this cake for my birthday six years in a row now.

It's a good cake.

It's my favorite cake.

I love it.

- Tell me what kind of cake that is.

- This is our homemade strawberry cake.

It's just like a strawberry cream cake.

Very good, very light.

A lot of flavor in there, too.

It's really good.

I'm grateful for this New Bern population.

They've been really fantastic to us.

I love doing business here.

All the customers are great.

My staff, I mean, we've got a fantastic staff here.

We just have a good time together.

We all joke around together.

It's always fun.

I enjoy it.

I wake up every day and love what I do.

- Loving what you do and loving your neighbors.

That's a delicious recipe for a good life.

Ciao for now, and enjoy your weekend.

♪ - Gemelli Italian Deli and Bagelry is located at 211 Pollock Street in New Bern.

For more information, visit them online at gemellinewbern.com.