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Travel Eats

Travel Eats: Best sweet bites from 4 days in NYC

Travel Eats documents my food adventures outside of Chicago.

Black & white cookies, Lenny's
Black & white cookies, Lenny’s

No trip to New York is complete without indulging my sweet tooth. I couldn’t even make it 12 hours before I snatched up a jumbo black and white cookie from Lenny’s. This particular cookie was my vice when I lived there, and is the standard to which I compare all other black and white cookies (I try them pretty much whenever I can find them in Chicago or when I’m traveling). No other has ever measured up. The base is golden and spongy, with a thick coating of vanilla and chocolate glaze – the most prized bites are the ones down the middle that contain some of each glaze.

Dark chocolate peanut butter chip cookie, Levain Bakery
Dark chocolate peanut butter chip cookie, Levain Bakery
Where the famous chocolate chip cookies are baked
Where the famous chocolate chip cookies are baked

NYC is also home to another gold cookie standard: the 6-ounce chocolate-chip behemoths at the famous Levain Bakery on the Upper West Side. These cookies are completely bonkers: they’re dense mega-cookie masses that are somehow able to stay gooey on the inside and crisp on the outside long after they’re fresh from the oven. I’m partial to the chocolate-peanut butter variety, but you can’t go wrong with any of them. I brought home two of these cookies for my roommate, who had already experienced their greatness on past trips, and she reacted as if I had given her a winning lottery ticket.

We found one more standout cookie at the Jacques Torres in Rockefeller Center. I already knew we were onto something when the cashier asked if we wanted it served warm, and saw a few of the dark chocolate chip cookies on a heating tray that was kept at the ideal melty temperature. Between the decadent cookie and sips of the rich “wicked” hot chocolate that was spiked with ancho and chipotle, I was teetering on the edge of chocolate overload, but I persevered in the interest of research!

Warm chocolate chip cookie and wicked hot chocolate with ancho and chipotle
Warm chocolate chip cookie and wicked hot chocolate with ancho and chipotle

And dessert didn’t stop at cookies. Other favorite treats included Doughnut Plant’s passionfruit-glazed yeast doughnut, which had a distinct and unique fruitiness, and a bite-size PB&J cupcake at SoHo storefront Baked by Melissa, which also won for cutest display case. Finally, the wrap-up to our brunch at The Spotted Pig was a swoon-worthy slice of the restaurant’s signature banoffee pie that layered banana, dulce de leche, tufts of whipped cream, and shaved chocolate atop a thin crust. A sweet ending to the trip, indeed.

Passionfruit glazed yeast doughnut, Doughnut Plant
Passionfruit glazed yeast doughnut, Doughnut Plant
Bite-sized cupcakes, Baked by Melissa
Bite-sized cupcakes, Baked by Melissa
Banoffee pie, The Spotted Pig
Banoffee pie, The Spotted Pig

The details: Lenny’s and Jacques Torres, both 30 Rockefeller Plaza; Levain Bakery, 167 W. 74th St.; The Spotted Pig, 314 W. 11th St.; Doughnut Plant, 220 W. 23rd St.; Baked by Melissa, 577 Broadway.

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Travel Eats

Next stop: New York City!

On a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge when I lived in New York
On a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge when I lived in New York

Just when you thought I couldn’t possibly have anything else to say about Restaurant Week – it’s time for round two. Tomorrow, I’ll be traveling to another incredible city to participate: New York! It’s part of a girls’ trip for my friend’s birthday that conveniently overlaps with NYC Restaurant Week. We won’t just be indulging in three-course meals, though, so also expect a full report of all the best bites in between. After a short time living there and a handful of trips since, I’ve decided that a few foods are mandatory whenever I’m in the Big Apple: bagel and lox, pastrami (preferably from Katz’s), pizza, and two kinds of cookies (namely, chocolate-chip from Levain and black-and-white from Lenny’s). I’m excited to try several new places this trip and taste the cuisine of chefs I’ve followed for years. Check back next week for more on my NYC adventures.