The City Bakery

Location: 18th St between 5th/6th Ave
$$
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My earliest memories at The City Bakery are of my mom treating me to vanilla sandies after school. (For those of you that don’t know what sandies are, they are buttery pecan cookies). 8 year old me was more often than not, starving after my ballet classes, so I practically inhaled them. Although only the peanut butter version survives today, it is still one of my favorite spots.

Lab classes at Hunter-Bellevue have brought me far enough downtown to let me enjoy twice-weekly study sessions here. There is wifi, but no power outlets. However, some seats are cushioned which is a must for me if I need to study for a few hours straight. There is additional seating upstairs, and even though it gets pretty crowded, I usually don’t have much trouble getting a seat.

I always buy a Baker’s muffin. Let me guess, you just asked yourself, “What is a Baker’s muffin?” I know because this is always the question I get after I tell someone about my favorite muffin. This huge muffin has a crunchy caramelized top, and a soft but dense base, speckled with raisins and walnuts. The dough is designed to pull apart easily, which also increases the surface area for apple pie-like spices. If you are lucky enough to snag one in the morning, the base is still warm, golden, crispy, and caramelized. The pretzel croissants are fantastic right out of the oven too. It is a plain croissant with sesame seeds. If you like salty snacks, this is for you. There is a large cold bar and other warm prepared foods available in addition to the bakery items.

Be sure to stop by in February for a month of flavored hot chocolates! So far banana hot chocolate is my favorite. Regular hot chocolate and 2oz hot chocolate “shots” are available year-round. Their huge, fluffy marshmallows are just as famous as the hot chocolate. While the food is pricey (or “normal” for downtown New York City), I find it to be very good quality.