Now that I work on the Upper West Side, I have to seek out all new places to eat. The one place I knew beforehand that I wanted to try was Levain bakery, for the much-celebrated chocolate chip walnut cookie. I had a little bit of sticker shock when I got there, just after 8am. $4 for a chocolate chip cookie? I was handed a still-warm cookie that weighed roughly half a pound, and got a napkin ready. The cookie was the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever eaten, and it’s got something for everyone. Like crispy cookies? The outside of the cookie is crunchy and delicious. Like gooey cookies? The interior is gooey and melty. Seriously, I bought another cookie from another bakery about five days later. It was good, but the whole time I was wishing I was eating Levain’s cookie. It has ruined me for all other chocolate chip cookies.

Levain, UWS — 167 West 74th St., NYC

On a recent trip to Astoria I passed by several bakeries advertising something called sfinge, so I just had to pick one up to take home. I decided on La Guli bakery, both because it was on my walk back to the train and because it looked suitably old school. It turns out a sfinge is basically an open-faced cannoli. Instead of being stuffed into a tube the ricotta mixture, dotted with chocolate chips and candied fruit, is loaded on top of a crispy shell; since it’s not enclosed the cream can be piled pretty high. It’s good, but the abundance actually detracts somewhat from the experience. With a traditional cannoli you’re left wanting more. Here, you’re left feeling that you’ve over-indulged.

La Guli Bakery — 29-15 Ditmars Blvd, Queens

Fuji Bakery on 35th St between 7th and 8th ave isn’t just a bakery. They also have a cheap cheap 2 item combo lunch for $4.75 and a whole menu of stuff like pork chop over rice, beef brisket noodles, and even dim sum!

Unlike the hot table items at Fay Da Bakery on 34th St there are less choices at Fuji but at least the slices of chicken at Fuji’s chicken and broccoli weren’t in a weird shade of red. Yeah I don’t know why the both times I went to Fay Da and got their chicken and broccoli, the chicken was red! That made me stop going.

There are few items at Fuji that are guaranteed to be there like chicken and broccoli, pork chops and sauteed baby bok choy. BUT most items tend to rotate so there are near infinite number of combos you can make. And so I did just that, sort of.

Click to continue

Although this pear cookie from Ladybird Bakery was devoid of any pear flavor, it was extremely delicious. It reminded me of cookies I had when I was a kid — a pretty short crust, with a shellac of sweet icing on the top. Plus, is it just me or do you see a famous image in this cookie? That’s right, I see Edvard Munch’s “Scream” in my pear cookie.

Ladybird Bakery — 1112 8th Avenue, Brooklyn

After the whole Egg Tart King debacle I was still craving for some sort of Chinese dessert. The next best thing on my list was a cake log or cake roll whatever you want to call those things. I randomly walked into Lucky King Bakery, it was diagonally across from what used to be Egg Tart King on Grand St. At first I was looking for egg tarts but I didn’t see any. Then I scanned through their cake log choices. They have the usuals coffee flavor and vanilla(?) flavor. They also have chocolate flavor (have I seen chocolate before?) and green tea. Never had or heard or seen a green tea cake log before I decided to get that and it was only $4.25 or around there. WIN! These usually go for $8! Thats crazy talk. Oh and the ones from Lucky King Bakery were all pre-sliced. Can’t get any better than that.

Besides it being green tea and that its green, its just a typical cake log and nothing else. There was just a slight hint of green tea and as always there’s never enough cream in these logs.

- Lucky King Bakery 280 Grand St. New York

Meat cone. Yes MEAT. CONE. Yummie ground curry lamb stuffed into phyllo dough and deep fried. MEAT. CONE. Yes I guess I should find out the official name for this deep fried yumminess. So where can one find this meat cone? At Damascus on Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn. They also sell pitas, falafels, hummus, cheese, other fried pastries but everytime I go into Damascus I only have 1 thing in mind, meat cone. There’s also a plain cheese version but no thanks! What’s more fun than walking down the street holding and chomping down on a meat cone? The only thing you need to worry about is that if you want these nice and hot and crispy you gotta go there earlier than say…..2pm. They’ll gladly reheat it for you in the microwave but it just becomes soft and not crispy.

- Damascus 195 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn

I was reading through FIPS yesterday and came across a story about a new bakery that had opened on 9th St, just off of 7th Ave, called Almondine. I was surprised to read about it, because I walk past that intersection every day and had never seen it. So on my way to work I decided to stop by and check it out. It’s no wonder I hadn’t noticed it before — I was standing where I thought it was looking around for about a minute before I realized I was standing right in front of it. The bakery is set back from the street and the sign isn’t very eye-catching. According to the man behind the counter they’ve been open for three months at this location (they have another location in DUMBO). The bakery has one case with sweets, and another with savories. The sandwiches and quiches looked good but I just wanted a snack, so in honor of the bakery’s name I got an almond croissant. It was quite good — crunchy and flaky outside, with a creamy, almost custard-like inside (and at $2.65 a relative bargain). I’ll definitely be back, if I can find the place again.

Almondine Bakery — 442 9th Street, Brooklyn