NYC - Manhattan's Best Chocolalte Chip Cookie?
Where does find the very best Choc Chip cookie when visiting NYC ---- Manahattan area
thanks
cookery7
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27 Comments:
City Bakery. Not only do they have the best chocolate chip cookies but they also have amazing hot chocolate, pretzel croissants and a myriad of other fantastic baked goods. And that's not all, their greenmarket salad bar has no rival. From tofu skin salad to pretzel crumb chicken, this is one stop not to be missed while in nyc.
izzy's mama at 2:41PM on 11/13/08
Personally, I'm not a fan of City Bakery's chocolate chip cookies. They taste of pure granulated sugar, though their croissants and other goods are fantastic. I think it really depends on what kind of cookie you like.
If you want a thick, hearty, chunker, the Bread Alone cookies sold at the Union Square Market are pretty darn delicious.
For chewy, meltiness go for Levain.
But for the best of the best, Jacques Torres is just divine. And if you can't make it to NYC, you can make the cookies at home. Make sure to use some high-quality bittersweet chocolate!
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/091crex.html?ref=dining
lesliepariseau at 3:20PM on 11/13/08
I have eaten the chocolate chip cookies at city bakery's "green" bakery - i believe it is called Birdbath. They were pretty good and BIG. There is also a cookie shop in the west village called milk and cookies which does a good job, too. Jaques Torres makes a good chocolate chip, too, and in the summer or warmer months he uses them to make and ice cream sandwich. The only other place I would buy a cookie is Two Little Red Hens on the UES - they also make a choclate crinkle cookie which is great, too.
rafnyc at 5:21PM on 11/13/08
If you want a monster of a chocolate chip cookie, don't forget Levain Bakery (http://www.levainbakery.com/) on the upper west side. They're about a block away from Jacques Torres, if you want to compare.
floretbroc at 5:31PM on 11/13/08
You should check out Anna Ginzberg's NYC cookie recs at cookiemadness!
http://www.cookiemadness.net/?page_id=2440
(I'm not affiliated with the site or anything, I just love Anna's blog!)
I don't think you'll get any agreement about 'the best' though--it depends if you want chewy and huge and underdone (Levian) or more traditional, less sweet, more sweet, and so forth...
HeartofGlass at 8:04PM on 11/13/08
... Just snuck a bite of Momofuku Milk Bar's Compost Cookie, so I'll cast an early vote in-favor-of. The cookie's moist 'n salty, with big chunks and intriguing grit. The baked-in potato chips make it weird and special.
Tam Ngo at 8:26PM on 11/13/08
Gotta agree with Levain and Jacque Torres. Insomnia Cookies will do in a pinch at 2am.
guttergour at 8:34PM on 11/13/08
I totally agree with all of you. These are amazing cookies, all of them.
Just wanted to add one that hasn't been mentioned much on chocolate chip cookie lists - the $1 homemade chocolate chip cookie at Jack's Stir-Brewed Coffee on West 10th between Waverly Place and ? Try to get one pretty freshly made. They are perhaps my favorite chocolate chip cookie ever. It's Jack's aunt's secret recipe...
musicjess at 8:46PM on 11/13/08
I don't know, sometimes you just get lucky. I picked up a cookie with my breakfast bagel sandwich at a place on 6th Ave years ago that was surprisingly good. You could simply luck out.
Or try the established hot spots as mentioned in the above posts. I've made the Jacques Torres cookie and it is pretty great.
phenosteve at 9:44PM on 11/13/08
another vote for levain...
cybercita at 9:53PM on 11/13/08
Jacques Torres, especially warmed. Transcendent.
Kristen Swensson at 10:27PM on 11/13/08
I didn't like the cookie I had at City Bakery at all. But here's another vote for Levain.
Christina at 10:30PM on 11/13/08
In defense of City Bakery, I just love that place and go for the food and baked goods. .I don't actually eat the plain chocolate chip cookie. I eat the Chocolate Chocolate Chip ones. They are dark, moist and delicious! I would also agree that you can make better cookies at home as others have said. I did it and here are the results:
http://www.izzyeats.com/2008/07/it-chocolate-chip-cookie-500-calorie.html
izzy's mama at 12:07AM on 11/14/08
I'm very fond of the cc cookie at bouley bakery; it's huge, thick, and has a great crunch to squishy-part ratio. Not sure what their location status is with the Bouley musical chairs going on, though.
natdapp at 8:13AM on 11/14/08
Jacques Torres.
bobbob at 9:40AM on 11/14/08
'Best' depends on what you like; I particularly like the chocolate chip cookies at 'Ruby et Violette' (457 West 50th Street), although it has been a couple of years since since I've been there (only because I spend most of my time outside NYC these days). They're not huge or doughy, but the texture (crispy chewy) and flavour were consistently excellent.
I love the ones at 'Levain', but cannot eat a whole one if I've eaten anything like an actual meal within the 4 hours previous to tackling one of them. I usually split one with my sister or my boyfriend.
'City Bakery' has okay chocolate cookies, but the quality is unreliable and inconsistent; go in, take a look, and decide accordingly; sometimes they're great. Unfortunately, ever since Maury Rubin opened his LA branch a few years ago, I've noticed that the quality of the items served at the NYC location suffers when he is absent :(
mongoose at 9:53AM on 11/14/08
The cookies at Bouchon Bakery are excellent. The chocolate is not overly
sweet.
beats at 9:58AM on 11/14/08
Toss Up - Hands down Bests - between:
1) Levain's Chocolate Chip Walnut (Click for insane food porn)
2) Jacques Torres Dark Chocolate Chip (Click for more insane food porn)
Both are better when warm. Ask them at Levain to put it back in the oven for a minute if its cool and make sure at Jacques Torres that you're getting a cookie from the behind the counter cookie warmer.
Honorable mention of recent goes to
Petrossian (even more amazing food porn)
NYC Food Guy at 10:36AM on 11/14/08
Like truth and beauty, *the best* chocolate chip cookie is subjective. And tons of fun deciding.
Levain, Jacques Torres, City Bakery (and Birdbath) and Petrossian definitely get top honors.
But you can find other great specimens at Milk & Cookies, ChikaLicious Dessert Club, Grey Dog, Bread Alone (US Greenmarket), and Batch.
Sweet Freak at 2:59PM on 11/14/08
Oh yes, Ruby et Violette... toss some blueberries, Rice Chex, Irish whiskey, pistachios, caramel, or just about any other ingredient in, and you have a very special chocolate chip cookie indeed.
Sweet Freak at 4:32PM on 11/14/08
Over months of asking dessert chefs and bakers in NYC there are definitely two populist stand outs: Levain and Jacques Torres. There are many other superb cookies that get mentioned but these two were mentioned by at least half the people I spoke with. I have been working on a comprehensive review specifically of Manhattan's best chocolate chip cookies. My rundown with copious food porn pics is here:
http://dessertbuzz.com/?p=373
DessertBuzz at 11:01PM on 11/14/08
@Sweet Freak: Some of the things they add are a little questionable, but if you go for the simple option, they're great chocolate chip cookies. I actually the blueberry ones too, though. and i tried them expecting a disaster.
mongoose at 1:23PM on 11/15/08
Top three - Jacques Torres, Petrossian, and Levain. Another good newcomer is from AQ Kafe.
spartygirl at 9:24AM on 11/17/08
I have to add Momofuku's marshmallow cornflake chocolate chip cookie.
True, it's not for purists. But the marshmallow adds a sweet-stickiness, and the cornflakes add crunchiness and, as a result, this cookie is an amalgam of ridiculously delicious flavors and textures that should hit the spot for anyone in search of a satisfying chocolate chip cookie.
Sweet Freak at 10:58AM on 11/18/08
@Sweat Freak: ...and you consider Ruby et Violette's add-ins peculiar?! :D
mongoose at 11:06AM on 11/18/08
mongoose, I think it's a competition now! Soon, we'll see Fruit Loops, papaya shavings, flax seeds, cacao nibs... you name it!
Sweet Freak at 2:11PM on 11/18/08
OMG thanks guys I have a small trip to NYC planned in two weeks I think I will stop by a couple of the suggestions here
especially Jacques Torres Levians
cookery7 at 2:23PM on 11/18/08