Not having work due to Hurricane Sandy brought about a day of tasting and re-tasting some of the best chocolate chip cookies on the ever so vibrant Upper West Side. Unlike the eerie and powerless downtown, the Upper West was packed with people roaming the streets, kids dressed up and ready to trick-or-treat, people sitting down for lunch in overly packed diners AND, most importantly, people waiting in line for some of the BEST cookies.
I was quite nifty and cut the entire line at Levain Bakery (not the most approvable move, but hey, who wants to wait on a line) to taste their famous chocolate chip cookies. I am overly obsessed with scouting out the best chocolate chip cookies and had heard about Levain forever but, for some reason, had never made it there.
Oh My God, people! These cookies are of another world.
They are absolutely perfect.
I feel like I have been searching for this cookie all my life and it has finally landed on my local doorstep.
The cookie is the most absolute combination of soft and crispy. They are thick, warm and soft inside but still remain very crispy on the outside. I've never tasted a chocolate chip cookie that has been able to accomplish this very combination. Ever.
If you are only planning on tasting one, then go for the Chocolate Chip Walnut and your day will feel complete. Otherwise the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip is quite as amazing and a must-try as well.
Location
167 West 74th St.
New York
(212) 874 6080
(there is another on 117th St. as well)
http://www.levainbakery.com/
http://www.levainbakery.com/
THEN... being that I was on a role already, I decided to head over to Jacques Torres and scope out its Upper West location only down the block from Levain.
Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookies are no Levain. Levain is its own breed of cookie. BUT, the Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookie is extremely unique tasting. Its a larger and flatter cookie that has dark and bittersweet chocolate chip chunks inside. They warm the cookie for you before hand so it falls apart in your mouth. The basic chocolate chip is great, as is the chocolate chocolate chunk and the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies as well. I always go for the basic chocolate chip but would recommend doing the chocolate chocolate chip if you're a hefty chocolate person.
Jacques Torres has a location in Dumbo as well and is great to check out if you're roaming Dumbo and looking to have a warm Winter snack or wandering the halls of Rockerfeller Plaza.
Both Locations Good For: Date Activity, Chocolate Lovers, Cookie Lovers
Locations
285 Amsterdam Avenue
New York
(212) 787 3256
Website for additional locations
http://www.mrchocolate.com/
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