Wednesday
Jun032009
City Sweetness: Bakery Suggestions in New York City?
Wednesday, June 3, 2009 
One of the coolest things about New York is that it's an ever-changing city. Every time I visit, I marvel at how many new businesses have emerged, how many have shut their doors, and how some old standbys are just holding steady.
So, as you know, I am heading to Brooklyn for the Renegade Craft Fair this weekend, which is exciting not only because I'll be selling super-sweet artwork but because Treats Truck will be parked nearby for both days of the fair (booyea!).
But where else should I wander on the days before and after the fair? What is your favorite NYC bakery? Suggestions in any borough are welcome; I'm willing to travel for sweets.
tagged New York bakeries
New York bakeries
Reader Comments (24)
Go to Brighton Beach in Brooklyn. Its also called Little Odessa - russian neighborhood. Any pastry there is to die for.
Butter Lane in the East Village for cupcakes. (http://www.butterlane.com/)
Citarella (a gourmet market with several locations) has great baked goods. I recommend the Champs Elysees cake, but I have heard recently that their new cupcakes are good as well.
Happy eating and can't wait to hear where you end up!
sugar sweet sunshine on the lower east side, manhattan
http://www.sugarsweetsunshine.com/
and almondine in dumbo (brooklyn)
East Village:
Momofoku Milk Bar
Chikalicious (My new favorite cupcake spot!)
Chelsea:
City Bakery, get the Hot Chocolate (small!) and the Pretzel Croissant. It really is one of my favorite things in the city.
Soho:
Baked by Melissa (little tiny micromini cupcakes!)
I hear really good things about Baked in Red Hook but didn't get a chance to check it out myself :(
Find Wafel & Dinges! The Belgian (Liege/Brussels) Waffle Truck!
Find the Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Truck
I just returned from a trip back home (NY) and wrote some blog posts about it, so if you'd like to check it out:
http://dicedtomato.blogspot.com/
Other places I love:
Red Bamboo (Greenwich Village) for vegetarian food.
Taim (West Village) for the world's greatest falafel
Joe's Pizza (West/Greenwich Village) for a great slice
Ess-a-bagel (Gramercy & Midtown East) For a bagel
A Salt & Battery (West Village) for Fish & Chips
Chip Shop (Park Slope) for Fish & Chips
Murray's Cheese (West Village)
Cones (West Village) for Argentinian Gelato
Grey Dog's (West Village & Greenwich Village) for Hanging out
Teany (Lower East Side) for veg. bites and tea
Sugar Sweet Sunshine (Lower East Side)
Economy Candy (Lower East Side)
Shake Shack (Chelsea)
Veselka (East Village) for late night pierogies
Tomoe (Greenwich Village) for sushi
Kyotofu (Midtown) for interesting food with tofu and yummy baked goods
Una Pizza Napoletana (East Village) for a great Naples style pie
Ok... I think I've gone a bit overboard
Taste the new Jacques Torres ice cream for me. Not a bakery, but still delicious.
It's not a secret by any means (it's actually a chain in NY), but you should check out Crumbs if only to see the most massive cupcakes in the world. They're tasty too! But huge. And intense. Which, of course, is why Robby and I love them.
you will be seriously remiss if you don't go to Cake Man Raven in Ft. Greene, Brooklyn for red velvet cake. It's the best red velvet outside of the Southern states, no doubt about it. Lil Kim requested it as her last meal before she went to prison. Chuuch!
http://www.cakemanraven.com/
I second the vote for Momofuku Milk Bar! Their soft serve has a monthly theme - I was there in May for candy (and sad I missed previous months of doughnuts and cereal...fruit pebbles soft serve?!). Their cookies are amazing, cornflake-marshmallow-chocolate chip are my fav, but the compost cookies are yummy and fascinating for including potato chips, pretzels, graham crackers, coffee grounds and more.
http://www.momofuku.com/bakery/default.asp
Also, DUH, VENIERO's in the East Village for SICILIAN CHEESECAKE
http://www.venierospastry.com/cafe.html
Trust me on Cake Man Raven and Veneiros, just trust me. You will cry if you leave NY w/out trying them.
Babycakes
248 Broome Street (Btwn Orchard & Ludlow)New York City, NY 10002
Cupcakes free of wheat, gluten, dairy, casein, and eggs. No white sugar--sweetened with agave nectar.
Just in case you were feeling adventurous :)
Butter Lane!
Butter Lane!
Butter Lane!
oh did I mention Butter Lane?
As long as you're in the Burg for the fair, hit Cheeks bakery on Metropolitan nr Havemeyer--they're going out of business, which is sad, but the stuff's really good. Cupcakes are v. nice, and there's this chocolate shortbread that kills me. Lemon tarts, ooooo.
City Bakery: best chocolate chip in the history of the world.
I'm not sure what I would recommend for bakeries, since there are so many good ones and so many bad ones BUT I would recommend checking out the Union Square farmers market for general food needs, including some very tasty baked goods from several farms.
Billy's Bakery! :)
http://www.billysbakerynyc.com/
Magnolia's good too :]
http://www.magnoliacupcakes.com/
Andddd you gotta love Eleni's creativity in cookies :0
http://www.elenis.com/
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up and across from the craft fair, make a short/medium walk over to the corner of manhattan & devoe, nearer to the graham L-train stop.
fortunado bros. has some of the best little cheesecakes (served to go on coffee cup tops), creampuffs (small and f-all huge), and pinoli cookies (pine-nut moist sweet cookies).
awesome gelato choices and espressos as well.
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definitely check out Baked in Red Hook...as well as Birdhouse Bakery on 1st Ave and 14th st...totally green there, plus they give a discount to bike riders! Blue Sky in Park Slope is super cute. as is Babycakes in the e. village.
i'm totally coming to see you sunday before heading into work. if you're looking for a place to dine one of those nights...let me know.
<3
kelly.
I fully and wholeheartedly second the suggestion for Fortunato Brothers. Their pignoli cookies are, really and truly, to die for. Everything I've tried there has been delicious.
71 Irving Place Coffee sells the best Vegan cupcakes...they're fauxtress ho hos...so good.
Astoria, Queens tons of Greek Bakeries...Baklava till you drop!
S and S has great cheesecake its at 222 W 238th St in the Bronx. Its a totally safe part of the Bronx, near Riverdale.
Also, Cafe Lalo (kind of a touristy place) has great desserts...its at 201 W 83rd St. I take all my out of town guests here.
oh and for ice cream Definately Chinatown Ice Cream Factory (65 Bayard Street)
Lula's Sweet Apothecary! 516 East 6th Street in manhattan
Stogo! http://stogonyc.com/ 2nd ave and 10th street, Manhattan
Penny Licks! Bedford ave in Williamsburg, brooklyn
The Blue Stove! 415 Graham Ave, in williamsburg, Brooklyn
as a cupcake maker in st louis... i recently went on a cupcake adventure in NYC involving 14 different bakeries... and the verdict was:
Butterlane- best chocolate cake and banging icing
Sugar Sweet Sunshine- hands down best lemon cupcake!!!!
Little Red Hens was really delicious... but you have check them all out yourself! Dont forget Papabubble for some awesome hard handmade candies!
happy bakery hunting
I just saw this. I hope you went to Billy's it's my absolute fave and so so so much better than Magnolia. (In my opinion).
p.s. hope you had fun
Cheeks Bakery on Metropolitan Ave in Williamsburg, Brooklyn!
http://www.cheeksbakery.com/
Everyone: thank you so much! I ended up taking you up on a LOT of suggestions, which you'll read about soon! Went to Almondine, Butter Lane, Chikalicious, Two Little red hens, Billy's, Papabubble, Pennylicks,71 Irving, Jacques Torres, Buttercup bake shop, sweet revenge, Brooklyn Ice Cream factory, Momofuku, and gosh, even more...even some cake from Bay Ridge! So much deliciousness. :-)