We've been friends for 11 years. It all began in a humble Brooklyn mall where we both worked serving buttery fresh pretzels and frozen yogurt, before frozen yogurt was a big thing, to anxious shoppers. Our bond began when we both slyly took turns breaking pretzels so that we could taste them. Our friendship blossomed as we worked together behind the frozen yogurt stand and chatted while we ate spoons of sprinkles and M&Ms. We realized how much we both loved shopping, sales, biking, and food, particularly chocolate. Since then we've gone to Mardi Gras together, drank in an ice vodka room together, had our bikes stolen in Williamsburg together- had countless adventures since high school. Buts some things never change, and our favorite thing to do has always been to eat chocolate!
Now when I say eat, I don't mean eat like a normal person. A typical night for us consists of going to the gym solely to justify the 600 calories of ice cream/cookies/brownies we will scour Manhattan for as soon as spin class has ended.
We don't care about the newest Danny Meyer restaurant. We don't care about 3 square meals a day.
We subscribe to local magazines and blogs to find out about the newest chocolate shops opening up so we can taste test them and see if we'll find a new favorite.
And now, we've decided to share the chocolate-filled wealth with the world.
We're aware that there are now 11 years worth of bakeries that haven't been documented. So - we have to start from scratch! Which won't be a problem for us - maybe our jeans, but not for us!
To begin - Amy's Bread.
Amy's has been around since 1922. They started off with a location in Hell's Kitchen, and now also have locations on Bleecker Street and in Chelsea Market.
Last night, I was walking with my roommate down Bleecker street after stopping at Eskimix for frozen yogurt candy mixes. We were full and done with our chocolate for the day, but as we walked down Bleecker Street back to the East side, we noticed brownies and coconut bars staring at us through the window of Amy's Bread. Could we do it, we thought? How awful is it to get a brownie AFTER eating our ice cream? We decided against it, and started to walk home. After 4 blocks, we backtracked because the baked goods had simply looked too amazing to pass us by. When we got back to Amy's, to our dismay, it was CLOSED for the night - we were 5 minutes to late!
I dreamed about that coconut brownie all night.
Today, after work, the Chocoholic Cjaps met up to shop (and snack) in Soho.
We got our frozen yogurt for dinner, since it was a 'healthy night.' We passed Amy's and went in, to look at the coconut bars. Since we were trying to be healthy, we decided not to get the bar. Well, as we walked the 2 Avenues and 10 blocks to Chelsea Market, we could think of nothing but that coconut bar. When we got to Chelsea Market, we went straight to Amy's to get the bar, hoping it would last until tomorrow.
When we walked in, we saw the brownies. We saw the blondies. We saw the chocolate cake. But the coconut bars? GONE! They must have been that good!
Out of curiosity, when the man behind the counter asked us what he could get us, we asked him if the coconut dream bars were good enough to justify coming back for. He said, 'they sure are', and asked if we wanted one. We thought he was joking since there were none left, but - lucky us! - there was one hiding in the back of the tray! We were ecstatic!
We took out our wallets to pay, but the most amazing thing happened - he just GAVE us the bar! He said, 'don't worry about it', and winked at us.
Well, I don't know if it was the fact that this bar free, that I'd been trying for 2 solid days to find it, or what, but this was one of the best combinations of coconut, graham cracker and chocolate we've ever tasted. It was sweet but not overwhelming, gooey but not too soft - it was heaven on a place (or tissue paper, since it was smuggled to me over the counter!)
I would recommend this to anyone looking to try something a bit out of the ordinary. And for $3.50, it's priced relative to NYC brownies. But a word of warning - make sure to get there early enough so that you don't run the risk of missing out!
http://www.amysbread.com/
There's a recipe for these amazing dream bars on Martha Stewart's website, although I doubt they'll come out as good as Amy's!
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/gooey-coconut-dream-bars
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