So New York (Levain Bakery)

"More than anything else New York is a city of superlatives, 

a place where the best, the brightest, the biggest is the norm."

 -Marilyn J. Appleberg 

big apple, concrete jungle, 

city that never sleeps..

New York is many things 

to many people. 

But to me?

New York is home. 

Just home sweet home.

When I haven't been vagabonding across the world over the past 2 years, my home base has been the greatest city in the world. My job is here. My friends are here. My limited possessions are here. I even have a storage unit here (nothing says home to a wandering soul quite like commitment to a storage unit...)

As fabulous as you probably all assume living in nyc is, let me cue you in on a lil secret: 

Most days of my life in nyc are undoubtedly just the same as your days, where ever the hell you are. Just work, reading, a run, maybe dinner or happy hour with friends if I'm feelin' real wild. 

No celeb sightings. No Michelin-starred dining. No clubbing in the Meatpacking District. No steamy date with a millionaire businessman nicknamed Big. Basically, absolutely nothing that was ever depicted in Sex and the City (don't even get me started on those bitches and how they afford their apartments...)

But every so often, even in all this everyday, normalcy of nyc,

you have a so New York experience.

you see something, do something, go somewhere that is just so New York.

Recently, with my darlin' sister in town, I had one of those experiences at Levain Bakery on the Upper West Side. This quaint shop is a favorite of tourists and New Yorkers alike who line up for a taste of cookie heaven. Levain's rock-sized, perfectly under-cooked cookies come in 4 varieties and are always in the debate for best cookie in Manhattan.

The shop is located in the lower level of an old, UWS brownstone building and you can peer down at the baking as you move along the line. Once inside, there's little room to move, let alone linger with your purchases. This cramped nature only adds to the charm of the shop though- not to mention the way it compounds the smell of fresh-baked cookies to the point that you're almost inhaling calories just walking in the door.

On the Sunday afternoon we ventured uptown for our sugar high, the line was only slightly out the door, but moving quickly. As we waited, we stared, wide-eyed, through the windows like teenage boys with an issue of Maxim (cookies are to young women, what women are to young men). 

Once we made it to the counter, we ordered up 3 of the 4 flavors (you know, practicing moderation and all). Chocolate Chip Walnut. Oatmeal Raisin. Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip. At $12 in total ($4 a pop), our cookie haul may seem a bit pricey...

But.just.look.at.these.things...

Worth every penny. I swear. All 1,200 of 'em.

The plan was to walk the 20 blocks back to my apartment and enjoy the cookies there. But, as soon as our hands were on these just-from-the-oven warm and doughy cookies, we nixed that idea. We couldn't possibly risk the cookies cooling on the way back- that would tarnish the whole tasting experience. So out of respect for the cookies, we obviously just had to have them right then and there. 

So we posted up in 2 of the 3 chairs available to sit in the entire shop and feasted...

And feasted...

Straight up, food porn at its finest.

These aren't cookies for those of you who like them thin and crispy. But really, who the hell likes that anyway?! The cookies are dense, thick, and wonderfully under-cooked with the center essentially just being glorious bits of cookie dough. The peanut butter and chocolate chips melt completely. Mind-blowing. If I had to live the rest of my life with only access to one cookie source, it may just be Levain.

"I look out the window and I see the lights and the skyline and the people on the street 

rushing around looking for action, love, and the world’s greatest chocolate chip cookie, 

and my heart does a little dance." -Nora Ephron on NYC

I may still be looking for 

action and love, 

but I think I've found 

the world's greatest chocolate cookie. 

And my heart sure as hell danced.