NOLA Special - Sweets Below the Mason Dixon Line

To celebrate my 30th birthday, the Cjaps took a trip down to New Orleans, the same place we went on our first vacation together 11 years ago!  On this trip, Caryn had a major hit list of all sorts of food we had to try - from beignets at Cafe du Monde to muffaletta sandwiches at Central Grocery.  In terms of dessert, I was a little bit nervous when in my research all I found were pralines, banana foster and bread pudding - how was I going to survive with no chocolate for a weekend!  I contemplated picking some up at the airport just in case, but decided to try to seek them out once we landed instead.

Well, I sure am glad we didn't bring anything with us at all - because who knew that on practically every block in NOLA, you can find a specialty candy shop!  There was the Southern Candymakers, Sucre, Blue Flog Chocolates, and Bee Sweet Cupcakes - almost too much to review at all.  But don't you worry, we managed to try something at each shop to report back so on your next trip below the Mason Dixon line you know just where to go!

Southern Candymakers was probably the largest of all of the candy shops in and around the French Quarter.  They had two locations, one at the end of Decatur street (334 Decatur)  and the other by the French Market.  They had a sign touting that their pralines were the best in New Orleans, and we agreed with this statement - although by the time we made it to SoCa we'd had so many different pralines we were on a major sugar high and had kind of stopped tasting things.  We tried a triple chocolate Oreo, which was 1/3 milk chocolate, 1/3 dark chocolate and 1/3 white chocolate with colorful designs throughout.  The chocolate surrounding the cookie was thick, and although they were $2 each (not far off from the price of an entire package of Oreo cookies, I enjoyed this as a fun treat.  We also tried sweet potato pralines, which were delicious - I actually liked them better than the traditional pralines.  They were a little too sweet, but there's no such thing as too sweet to us.

Southern Candymakers carried much of the same chocolate you can find in any great chocolate shop, but also an assortment custom to the area.  You could buy a chocolate cajun gator, crawfish, or fleur de lis.  There were Jackson Squares (milk chocolate mixed with Rice Krispies, peanut butter and caramel) and Bourbon Street Bark (milk, dark and white chocolate, peanut butter, pretzels, Oreo pieces and Rice Krispies.)

If you're not making a trip down south anytime soon, you can also order from their webiste: http://www.southerncandymakers.com/
But if you are in the area, stop in - they're open daily from 10am-7pm.
334 Decatur Street

On our second day in NOLA, the Cjaps took the #12 bus through the Garden District all the way down Magazine street to the very end. Magazine street is a 6-mile strip full of boutiques, chocolate shops - and the best Whole Foods we've visited to date! (Interesting note - WF outside of New York are allowed to sell alcohol in-store.  We had samples of red wine and rum while we shopped. Amazing!)

We had heard Sucre was voted the best candy store in all of New Orleans.  Unfortunately by the time we got there we had gorged on cupcakes, beignets, giant cafe au laits and god knows what else, so we weren't exactly starving.  But for research purposes, we knew we had to give something a try!

Tariq Hanna, a Nigerian pastry chef who has appeared in many competitions on the Food Network, teamed up with Joel Dondis, a New Orleans restaurateur in 2006 to create Sucré.  Tariq has been named Pastry Chef of the Year, and is known throughout the area for his amazing Lousiana desserts.

The store is a wonderland of sweets.  The windows display giant plastic ice cream cones, and macarons piled high in artistic creations.  Macarons are one of Sucre's specialties, and they have every flavor imaginable.  Chocolate, strawberry, almond, hazelnut, pistachio, peanut butter and strawberry jam, salted caramel - and NOLA-themed flavors like Bananas Foster and Chicory!  They're packed in a light blue box with a pastel striped top covered with a pink bow - pretty, but resembling a gift you'd bring to a baby shower.  There are a plethora of specialty chocolates, sold by the piece, gift set or bar (some Sucre chocolate can be found in stores throughout New Orleans, including Whole Foods, if you can't make it to the store.  The individual chocolates also included NOLA themes, such as a Fleur de Lis set, chicory (coffee folder into chocolate ganache), pecan ganache with candied southern pecans on top.

There was a full gelato bar with assorted flavors that could be made into fun sundaes (I wish I was hungry enough for the brownie sundae!)  There are seasonal and holiday themed gifts, and catering for weddings. This candy shop truly did have it all.  We spent half an hour looking at all of the different options, and if you tried something new every day it would probably take you an entire year to go through it all.

There was also a display case of pastries - eclairs, mousse, chocolate cake, bread pudding, and fruit tarts - as well as assortments of cupcakes topped off with frosting that contained glimmers of gold.  We decided on a brownie, since that's our go-to dessert and they looked right up our alley.

It was a good choice - the double fudge n'stuff brownie was thick, chewy and rich.  It was topped with caramel swirls and nuts, and ranked high with one of the better brownies we'd tried.  It held up well too; when we finished it hours later after having some drinks on Bourbon Street, it still tasted fresh and hadn't gone stale at all.  Sucré was voted #1 in the Best of NOLA 2011 for best sweet shop, place for dessert, and gelato, and the Cjaps second this ranking.  You can visit Sucré at 3205 Magazine Street, as well as in the Lakeside Mall in Metairie, LA.
They're open daily at 8am, and close at 10pm Sunday-Thursday, and midnight Friday and Saturday.
http://www.shopsucre.com/

No dessert round-up would be complete without a cupcake shop, so when we spotted a sign for Bee Sweet Cupcakes, in we went.  It was a small shop, with just one table and a display case of cupcakes so we were second-guessing making this our next stop, but once we went inside the employee was so friendly and informative that we had to stay.  He told us the ingredients of every single cupcake, as well as his personal account of Hurricane Katrina.  And when Caryn mentioned it was my birthday, he gave me my cupcake for free!

But on to what makes Bee's special now.
Bee's cupcakes are made from scratch each day including ingredients from around the world.  Chocolate from Germany, Belgium and France, vanilla from Madagascar, etc.  The cupcakes all have kitchy NOLA-themes.  There were two named after the Saints - one for the team and one for one of the players, although since I'm football-challenged I couldn't tell you what they were called.  There was a Prailines n Cream cupakes, with pralines baked into the cake and Aunt Sally's praline crumbles covering the frosting on top.  There was, of course, a Bananas Foster cupcake - a banana cake with caramel, a little bit of rum and cinnamon nutmeg buttercream frosting.  There were non-NOLA cupcakes that were just fun, like the Joe Dirt - a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting dipped in Oreo crumbs and topped with a gummy worm.  He said this one was popular with the kids, which of course made sense why that was the one I liked the most :)

But I went with the Chocolate Manic Attack (this blog isn't called 'Chocolate's Why I'm Fat for nothing!') - chocolate cake topped with chocolate frosting and sprinkled with chocolate crunch pearls imported from Belgium.  He put it on a cute cupcake plate and told us so many interesting facts about New Orleans - how life changed because of Katrina - he was 15 at the time and had to live with relatives in Florida for 5 months since his school was closed.  Apparently the crime rate went up in Texas because a lot of the poorer (and I'm guessing dangerous?) people evacuated and went to shelters there and reaked havoc.  Very interesting stuff.  But on to the cupcake!
I'm not going to lie.  It was a mediocre cupcake.  This can sometimes be a problem when you come from NY, where you can find the best of everything - it's hard for other cities to live up to our reputation!  It was okay, but the frosting was a little too sweet and it just wasn't doing it for me.  Caryn put down her fork after one bite, which never happens - especially when it's free!  But I give it points for the cupcake names, ingredients and creativity.

Bee Sweet Cupcakes is located at 5706 Magazine Street.  They're open Monday - Saturday, from 11am-6pm.  Why do they close so early?  Because once the freshly baked cupcakes are done for the day, the store closes - so make sure to get there early or there's a chance they'll be gone!
http://beesweetcupcakes.net/

Lastly was have Blue Frog Chocolates.  This was located directly across the street from Bee Sweet Cupcakes, and definitely had one of the widest assortments of chocolate creations I've seen.  The first thing I saw when I walked into the store was a chocolate pizza.  If it wasn't so hot out or if we were leaving that day, I would 100% have brought this back to NY with me - it looked phenomenal!  With a milk chocolate crust, mini marshmallows for cheese, red milk chocolate morself for pepperoni, and white chocolate and almond butter toffee nuggets for spices and parmesan - this was such a fun chocolate creation that I knew Blue Frog was a New Orleans gem.  They had chocolates for every holiday and occasion - birthdays, baby showers, weddings and the current Jewish holidays.  The store was massive, and we spent a good amount of time looking at the great chocolate masterpieces.
We settled on some chocolate cayenne drops, which left a kick of spice in our mouths and we thoroughly enjoyed.  Blue Flog has won the 'Best Candy Shop' by the Gambit-Weekly for the past 6 years in a row.
We didn't try much from here since they were on the more expensive side and had more gourmet chocolate, but it definitely should be checked out if you're in the area!
Blue Frog Chocolates is open from 10am-5pm Monday-Saturday, and 12pm-5pm Sundays.

http://bluefrogchocolates.com/
5707 Magazine Street

Coolhaus - the ice cream truck that puts Mr. Softee to shame

On the third Sunday of every month this summer, Prospect Park has been hosting a food truck rally, with some of the city's most loved food trucks congregating in the front of the park near Grand Army Plaza.  This past Sunday I ventured over to Park Slope to see what this rally was all about.

Now, I'm aware of the food truck craze that's taken over the city in the last few years.  I've seen the multitude of Yogo trucks in practically every neighborhood in both Manhattan and Brooklyn.  However, I'm usually a passerby, opting to eat my meals in establishments with a roof and a seat.  But people rave about some of this food truck food, so I had to give it a try.

There are about 28 food trucks that rotate at this monthly event (which will only run through October so be sure to make it there September 16th or October 21st).  This week, after carefully evaluating our options, we decided to give Coolhaus a try.  Coolhaus has a fun concept - creating a custom ice cream sandwich with both unique cookie and ice cream flavors.

The cookies come from Ovenly, who have a store location in Greenpoint and sell their baked goods at numerous location across Brooklyn and Manhattan.  The cookies themselves will receive a separate blog entry, because not only were they amazing but I just added them to my list last week before realizing they were affiliated with Coolhaus!  There are about 60 flavors of ice cream, none of which include your plain old chocolate or vanilla.  Coolhaus offers flavors such as molten chocolate cake, bananas foster, beer & pretzels, and sweet potato & marshmallow.  Here's a full list of flavors for your reference: FLAVORS

The cookies include some classics like double chocolate chip and peanut butter, but also have fun flavors like red velvet, potato chip & butterscotch and snickerdoodle.  There are gluten-free and vegan options too!

On this particular trip, I tried the double chocolate chip cookie with Dirty Mint ice cream (fresh mint ice cream, semisweet chocolate chips & a hint of brown sugar).  For $6, you get a scoop of the ice cream served between two cookies, wrapped in edible calorie-free paper.  The calorie-free paper part actually made me laugh, since the Sammie probably had about 800 calories in itself.  Despite that (hey - today was a gym day!) I LOVED this ice cream sandwich.  The cookies were definitely on the super sweet side, and I shockingly was only able to eat half of the sandwich, but it was well worth every bite.  You could taste how fresh the mint was in the ice cream. The cookies were hard enough to hold the sandwich, but soft enough to be able to easily bite into it.

Coolhaus got it's start back in 2008, when the founders Natasha and Freya began making ice cream and baking cookies in interesting combinations, naming the flavor combos after architects and architectual movements that inspired them.  The girls decided the best way to get their Sammies out to the public was by a food truck, so in 2009 they bought an ice cream truck in LA and showed up at Coachella with their fun flavored sandwiches.  People loved it, word spread, and now you can find Coolhaus trucks in NY, LA, Miami, Austin and Dallas.

For New Yorkers, aside from the food truck, you can find Coolhaus creations in assorted stores throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn and even Citifield (including Brooklyn Fare, the market across the street from my house!)  Although the best way to experience it is prepared fresh with the flavors of your choosing.  Coolhaus can be followed on Twitter and Facebook to find their daily locations.  They also make appearances at different concert venues, including ACL in Austin and the Electric Zoo festival at Randall's Island.

You can follow them on Twitter @Coolhaus.  Or @CoolhausNY.  Or whatever other city you live in that I mentioned above.  But since I don't actually know how to use Twitter, I'm not sure that what I just wrote is correct.  Maybe it involves a hashtag.  Maybe this is easier: www.eatcoolhaus.com

Scratch This On Your Brownie List

The Chocoholic Cjaps have attended the Village Voice Choice Eats tasting event in the past, but unfortunately missed it this year since I was stuck in Austin for work.  The participants are typically very meat-centric, but the VIP tickets include special desserts.  One in particular, Scratchbread, was a participant this year, and we read amazing things about their brownies.  Since we couldn't try it at Choice, I decided the next bike ride through Brooklyn, it was on the hit list.

The owner, Matthew Tilden, started off baking breads in whatever spot he could secure and delivering them to local shops and flea markets in Brooklyn.  In October 2010, he decided to turn Scratchbread into a stand-alone bakery, with only $5,000, with the goal being to produce food that's "delicious, awesome, and not pretentious."  He wants to not only bake from scratch, but use pure ingredients rather than a whole slew of processed ingredients like you'll find in most products in grocery stores.  After about a year of using the space (which used to house a pizzeria) mostly to bake breads, and eventually opening the window once a week to sell to the public.  Now he's able to operate 6 days a week, and people line up to try his baked creations.

Fortunately, when my brother and I decided to meet up for a bike ride to Rockaway, Bed Stuy was a decent meeting point.  Since they were written up for having great bread (namely the focaccia) and breakfast dishes as well as the brownie, so off we went to investigate.

Adam and Pat (guest bloggers of the week) and I ordered our breakfasts - Stumptown ice coffee (one of my favorites), toast with almond butter and vinegared blueberries, and succotash - a small pot of roasted potatoes, corn, and cheese with a soft boiled egg on top.  I was a big fan of the succotash dish, but that can be partly because I've never had it before, and I was famished by 11am when we finally stopped having flat tires, wrong directions and finally made it to the window.  The menu changes daily, allowing for Matt to experiment with different combinations, and cult followers of Scratchbread claim they're never disappointed.  My one negative with Scratchbread was that I wished there were benches to sit on to eat the food.  After reading the background I understand why there are no tables inside, however a bench or two would have been great!

Since it was a hot day, the woman working (who is a volunteer apprentice, working to learn the trade as are all the Scratchbread employees) offered to hold my brownie in the refrigerator while we ate our breakfast, since she said it would definitely melt in the sun.  She pointed to the display, where there had once been a brownie but now just contained the residue of melted chocolate.  I had intended to bring it along on our bike ride and have it as a snack when we got to the beach, but that was a non-option on a 90 degree Friday in August.  So I paid the $3, left it waiting, and came back to give it a try after having our Stumptown and succotash.

The verdict - it wasn't like a typically brownie.  There was a thick layer of buttercream in the middle, with a light spattering of buttercream on top.  This sandwich-type brownie was unique, crispy rather than fudgy, and I can understand why Choice chose them to be in last year's event.  It was delicious, without being too intense.  If there was any more buttercream I could see it overwhelming, but it was the perfect combination.  Adam and Pat agreed, that it was one damn good brownie - even enjoyable at breakfast time.

I would definitely come back here to try their different breads.  The website lists all of the varieties and ingredients (http://www.scratchbread.com/the-goods/the-breads/), and I'll be back to try the focaccia and cracked fennel.

Scratchbread is located at 1069 Bedford Avenue.  The closest train stop is the G train to Bedford/Nostrand Ave.

The hours are:
Monday, Tuesday & Friday - 6:30 am - 3:00 pm
Thursday CLOSED
Wednesday - 6:30 am - 8:00 pm
Saturday & Sunday 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
www.scratchbread.com

Dominique Ansel - A Little Taste of Paris in Soho

Dominique Ansel has been showing up everywhere since it opened in Soho in November 2011.  My general rule of thumb is if I read about a new bakery more than 3 times, and the word 'best' is included  somewhere in the review, it gets added to my neverending list.  I saw mentions of Dominique Ansel in NY Mag, Time Out NY, Serious Eats, Dessertbuzz - all my go-to sources for everything chocolate related.

My initial problem with Dominique Ansel, was that every time I tried to go there - it was closed!  The first time I went after the gym around 7:30, to find that they closed at 7. The next time I tried to go with a friend, we got there to discover they're not open Mondays.  I mean, for the city that never sleeps, this place sure does seem to get it's share.  Yesterday I finally made it there, on a Wednesday, at 6:30, and I was good to go (finally!)

Dominique Ansel (who is a man, which I just learned when doing my background research) who used to work as the Executive Pastry Chef for the restaurant Daniel, which I've never been to and probably never well since it's way out of my price range.  Originally from Paris (obviously), Dominique has risen to pastry stardom, and has been named one of the top 10 Pastry Chefs in the United States.

Dominique Ansel has a selection of sandwiches, salads, and soups, if you choose to stop there for lunch, which isn't a bad idea since they have a cute little garden area in back.  But I was there for the liquid caramel chocolate tart.

I definitely had my choice of desserts that looked amazing there.  There was a dulce de leche cup, filled with orange blossom milk chocolate ganache and caramelia rice krispies (that are also gluten free - I probably would've tried that too if I'd realized it yesterday).  There was a chocolate soft bun - milky chocolate bread with a chocolate ganache center.

But on to more important things - the liquid chocolate caramel tart.  Even the name makes me excited.  Who doesn't like liquid caramel with gourmet chocolate.  You really can't go wrong here.  The tart was a decent size - easily split between two people but not overwhelming for you to enjoy solo.  The chocolate shell was too thick to cut through with a fork, so you had to eat it by hand.  I was nervous the 'liquid' caramel would spill all over the place, but while it was liquid-y, it was also thick enough that it didn't ruin any article of clothing :)
The combination of thick caramel and soft ganache was perfect.  It was rich and creamy and each bite was thoroughly enjoyed.  There was a layer of chocolate cake with espresso, where I couldn't actually taste the espresso but it contrasted well with the sweetness of the caramel to dim down the sweetness.  The tart was $5+ tax, which is on the pricey side, but - it's in Soho, and it's French, and it's some sort of celebrity-type pastry chef, AND it was really good, so - I'll have to let it slide.

To be honest, after I finished the tart I wished I could try every other dessert in the place.  I was curious if everything could be that good.  I'll definitely be heading back here to try the chocolate bread and a cappuccino, and probably 3 or 4 other things that will definitely break the bank.

Dominique Ansel bakery is located at 189 Spring Street between Sullivan & Thompson. 212-219-2773

Their hours are 8-7 Tuesday through Saturday, and 9-6 on Sundays.  CLOSED MONDAY! DO not make the same mistakes I did - do not go on Monday, and don't show up at 7:30.  I promise, they will be closed :)
www.dominiqueansel.com

Cupcakeries from DC

A few years ago a friend went to Washington DC and told me about a cupcake place that was so good, people lined up to get inside.  In 2008 when Georgetown Cupcake opened, it was the first cupcakery in DC.  I found this shocking, since I've been a Crumbs loyalist since at least 2005!  But the DC market was apparently untapped, and Georgetown made a huge splash.  About a year ago, Georgetown opened a location in where else but NYC, so now I'd have the chance to try it too!

What I learned about these cupcakes, and why there were lines to get in, was that the owners - Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne - are sisters who loved baking since they were children.  They used to bake with their grandmother, and use the leftover to make mini cakes and cupcakes.  Once they got older, they decided to quit their jobs in fashion and finance to open up the first shop, and once it got big it became their full-time gig (so envious!)  In 2010, they became the stars of the TLC show DC Cupcakes, which told their story and the aspects of running a small business from scratch.  They've now opened up locations in LA, Boston and Maryland as well.

If I was ranking establishments on decor alone, Georgetown would probably top the list.  EVERYTHING is pink!  If you know me, you know that this alone is a major sell point.  There's a whole wall of pink boxes to wrap the cupcakes - pink t-shirts - pink aprons - even a pink sparkly blender!  It's a 5 year old girl's dream :)
The down side of the shop are that there are only 3 tables to sit at in the NY location, but it's on Mercer street on a block that has a lot of stoops to sit on.  My friend Alana and I brought our cappuccinos and cupcake across the street and enjoyed them there, Sex & the City-style!

You can taste the freshness in Georgetown's cupcakes.  They're baked fresh every day, using specially imported ingredients (cocoa from France; vanilla from Madagascar, etc).  The menu changes daily, with about 18 flavors rotating each day.  they always have varieties of chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet, and then seasonal and special flavors.  There are some fun sounding ones on the menu like chocolate hazelnut and mint cookies and creme.  The full menu can be found here: Cupcake Menu

After staring at the display case for a good 10 minutes I decided on the Chocolate3, which consisted of Valrhona chocolate with Callebaur chocolate ganache icing, topped with french chocolate sprinkles.  Immediately after ordering, I decided  I'd made the wrong choice- the frosting is my favorite part!  
It was still a delicious cupcake though - it had rich chocolate, but not overwhelming chocolaty.  They're moist, with the perfect ratio of cake to frosting.  Surprisingly they mention the calories of the cupcakes, which you don't typically see except at places like Crumbs that have so many locations that they're mandated to put it on display.  Georgetown's cupcakes are estimated to be 250 calories each; 200 in the ones that have less frosting like the C3.

A fun tip - if you follow Georgetown on Facebook or Twitter, every day they announce a flavor that's not on the menu.  If you're one of the first 100 inside and mention the flavor, you get the cupcake for free!  

Georgetown Cupcake is located at 111 Mercer Street between Prince and Spring in Soho.
They're open Monday-Saturday from 10am-9pm, and Sundays from 10am-7pm.
www.georgetowncupcake.com

Rocco's Not So Modern Life

After a wonderful dinner at one of my favorite restaurants Sushi Samba in the West Village, my friend Becca wanted to pick up dessert at one of her favorite bakeries on Bleecker Street, Pasticceria Rocco.  I'm pretty sure I've been here before pre-blog days, but now it was time to write a review!

Pasticceria Rocco is a New York tradition.  It's probably the only spot on Bleecker Street that's been there since 1974.  An Italian bakery, you can find anything from cannolis to rainbow cookies to about 47 different kinds of cake.

Rocco is definitely famous for their cannolis.  While we were there I heard almost every other person ordering them.  Now you might think that would be what I'd review, however - recall the name of the blog here.  It's all about chocolate.  I'm just not a cannoli kind of girl, sorry!  They did have little chocolate covered ones, but I was distracted by the giant cookies in the window.  They were about the same size of a Jacques Torres cookie, but also extremely thick.  Holding one in your hand, it feels like it weights about a pound!  
<--- Brownie marshmallow cookie

                                                     Oreo marshmallow cookie --->

There were chocolate chip cookies dipped in chocolate, brownie
cookies with marshmallow, regular cookie dough cookies with marshmallow and oreo - lots of fun combinations.  I tried the brownie marshmallow and Becca had the oreo marshmallow.  They were decent cookies, but not close to being my favorite.  They had that Italian bakery taste to them - not very doughy or fresh tasting.  The rainbow cookies and lacy cookies were better, but not all that different from what I'd find at any other bakery.  Maybe I've gotten spoiled, but I felt that while Pasticceria Rocco has been around for almost 40 years, it hasn't changed with the times.  It had the taste and feel of an old-school bakery.  Which is fine, but I'm always on the hunt for something new and life-changing, and with places like Levain in existence, I can't give Rocco's too much credit.
That's not to say if I stopped off here to have coffee that I wouldn't get something anyway, because there were about 100 desserts to try (the chocolate mousse cup looked great, as did a number of the cakes).

Pasticceria Rocco is located at 243 Bleecker Street.  Open daily from 7:30am - midnight (weekends til 1am), you can stop in early for a cappuccino or after dinner at Keste for a late-night snack.

www.pasticceriarocco.com

Blue Bottle Coffee - a sweeter view from the Highline

To continue our never-ending quest for a NY cookie better than Levain, we took a trip over to Blue Bottle Coffee, located across the street from Chelsea Market beneath the Highline.  To give fair credit, Blue Bottle is originally from San Francisco, but since I never intend to go to that city again and there's more than one location in NY, I'm counting it.

I had read that Blue Bottle, aside from having amazing coffee, featured a double chocolate cookie with chocolate from Mast Brothers, a Williamsburg-based artisinal chocolate maker.  Mast Brothers makes some really good chocolate, but the $8 a bar pricetag stops me from buying it every time.

The cookie at Blue Bottle is $2.25, and includes large pieces of Madagascar Mast brothers chocolate.  They sprinkle sea salt throughout the cookie, giving in to that sweet & salty flavor I fell in love with at the NY Chocolate Show, and have been seeking out wherever I can find it now.  Each bite gave you a good ration of cookie, chocolate and sea salt.  My biggest complaint about many chocolate chip cookies is the uneven distribution inside.  Some, like Jacques Torres, have a bit too much chocolate to cookie ratio.  Others, too many to name, skimp out with the chocolate and I'm left with giant heaps of plain old boring dough.  But Blue Bottle had it just right.  We also liked the presentation - the cookie was served in a brown coffee filter (unused, of course!)  There's limited seating inside, but you can always take your coffee and snacks over for a nice walk down the Highline.

The coffee was indeed amazing too.  We opted for the New Orleans blend iced coffee, and it was strong and tasteful.  It was also $4 for a small.  I think I'd prefer to fly to New Orleans and go to Cafe DuMonde for that much - but our 2 coffees and 1 cookie totaling over $10 WAS a nice and well-deserved break during our 30 mile bike ride.

The location we went to is located at 450 W 15th street, between 9th and 10th Avenues.  There is a larger Blue Bottle Coffee in Williamsburg, at 160 Berry Street which has a larger selection of cakes (Gingerbread cake, rice loaf brought over from their original San Fran location), and one in Rock Center.  They also have a temporary outpost for the summer on the Highline, and at Smorgasburg (spoiler alert - the next free Saturday I plan to do a giant Smorgasburg entry to cover the massive amount of dessert food trucks there!)

http://www.bluebottlecoffee.net/