For my last official stop of the blog’s Sweet Tooth New York City Bakery Tour, I decided to go with my family to one of NYC’s most trendy and unique bakeries – Momofuku Milk Bar. If you’ve heard of things like cereal milk ice cream and compost cookies, then you’ve heard about Milk Bar. I stopped here a few years ago when visiting friends, but only tried a few cookies and was very excited to revisit and taste more treats. Since the 56th Street location is so close to my apartment, my family and I made that Milk Bar location a stop on our way from Top of the Rock (a viewpoint atop Rockefeller Center) to Central Park. The original Milk Bar location is in the East Village, which is a much more spacious (and special, in my opinion) bakery than the Midtown shop we visited. There are actually 5 locations in the city, so if you’re in the mood for some crack pie, chances are you probably don’t have to go far!
I definitely hyped up this place when describing it to my parents – I knew Christina Tosi, the pastry chef behind Milk Bar, used unique ingredients and high tech ingredients to get really special tastes that you can’t get in suburban Connecticut. I was excited to show them a different kind of bakery than they were used to, and that’s definitely what we got! We sampled the cereal milk soft serve, although we didn’t really love it (it literally tastes like the leftover milk from a bowl of Corn Flakes), and instead we stocked up on three types of cookies, a slice of crack pie, and some birthday cake truffles instead. Probably enough goodies for a sugar-high picnic atop a Central Park rock, wouldn’t you agree?
The verdict: Were the cookies good? Yes. They were buttery and crunchy (not at all doughy like the beloved Levain’s) with unique flavors, but honestly weren’t that different than other cookies I’ve tried. I’d definitely eat one if you put it in front of me, but not sure I’d seek them out again. The birthday cake truffles were really yummy, definitely reminiscent of cake batter, but they were insanely sweet and that’s saying a lot coming from me. The crack pie was amazing, definitely my favorite item we got, and reminded me of a lemon bar minus the lemon flavor (does that make sense?) in texture and a caramel burnt sugar taste. I know people are crazy for Momofuku, but I must say it was not my favorite! I still think it’s worth checking out since it is such a unique bakery
Even though this is my last official bakery tour post on the blog, I’m going to continue visiting bakeries around the city, posting pictures and a short verdict for each one on Instagram and Facebook, so stay tuned! Any recommendations for my next stop??
I highly recommend Breads Bakery near Union Square, specifically for their chocolate babka, their most famous item (and the only thing I’ve actually eaten – went there specifically for it). It is incredibly delicious, and I think the key is that they use a mix of (I believe) Belgian dark chocolate and Nutella. One thing I didn’t realize is that one is enough to feed several people, but in the end I was glad I had that much, because it meant more for me. :)
Billy’s Bakery has great cupcakes too. I think they have a few locations.
Peter Pan in Greenpoint has awesome, traditional-style doughnuts for $1 each. I recommend red velvet and coconut cream.
Can’t wait to visit NYC to try out some on these amazing places that you are reviewed!