We compared 2 of New York City's best chocolate chip cookies and the verdict was clear
My first stop was Levain, a tiny bakery on the city's Upper West Side, known for its dense, under baked, 6-ounce cookies.
Because I went on a Friday around noon, the line didn't snake as far down the block as it usually does.
During peak times, you can expect to wait an hour for one of these coveted cookies.
Yes, $4 seems steep for a chocolate chip cookie, but not really when you consider the fact that this is NYC and the cookie is the size of a hockey puck.
When two of my fellow co-workers heard where I was going, they immediately placed orders, which is how I ended up with a very heavy bag of cookies.
The Levain cookie achieves the perfect ratio of crispy dark brown peaks sitting among vast expanses of light brown softness.
The inside of the cookie is buttery, and the dough perfectly under baked. It's filled with bursts of melted, gooey chocolate, and, save for the walnuts, it literally melts in your mouth.
My next stop was Petrossian, a high-end French restaurant and caviar specialist that sits right on the edge of Central Park.
Petrossian has been around for close to a century, so I had high hopes for their cookie.
It took me a second to realize that I needed to visit the bakery next to the restaurant to find the chocolate chip cookie I was looking for.
After coming from Levain's cramped quarters, Petrossian seemed both huge and empty.
I made a beeline for the cookie tower. The chocolate chip pecan cookie looked — to my dismay — much more baked through than Levain's cookie.
At $3.75, Petrossian's cookie is cheaper than Levain's. It is also less dense — I could tell there would be no doughy-ness here.
The pecans added an odd flavor that detracted from the traditional cookie taste. And although there were plenty of chocolate chunks, the cookie itself tasted dry.
Petrossian's cookie is neither crunchy nor under baked. If the cookie is supposed to be a happy medium, I think it fails. Levain's is gooey and doughy and proud, and that's what I like about it. To me, the winner is clearly Levain's.
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