The City Bakery, In Search Of The BIG Brownie

If you know me, you know how much I love the show "Sex And The City"...and no I'm not gay. I always have to declare my heterosexuality anytime I declare my love for that show. Why? Well because how many straight men do you know that could give you the ins and outs of Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and of course Samantha's lives? Seriously, if Trivia Pursuit made a SATC edition, I would clean house! Some will find that fact pathetic. Others will find it adorable. I'm just going to own it because it is what it is and that is me - pathetic and adorable. If you are a true loyal SATC fan (yeah, real fans abbreviate and speak in code), then you remember The BIG Brownie episode. You know the one where Carrie runs into Adien's new girlfriend Nina Kats, the girl who works for SNL. Nina gives Carrie "the face". Carrie is devastated by "the face" and is reading into the multiple possible meanings behind "the face". Good girl pal Samantha reassures Carrie the best way she knows how, by buying her chocolate, it's consoling. But not just any chocolate. She takes Carrie out to lunch at The City Bakery and talks her into getting The BIG Brownie. Nothing puts a little happy on a girl's face like chocolate and nothing will wipe the image of the Nina Katz face away like chocolate. In the form of what else, The BIG Brownie. That Samantha...slutty AND smart!

Walking thru Manhattan you will find there is no shortage of great places to eat. From fine to casual dining and anything and everything in-between. As I'm walking down the street the other day, one place comes to mind. One food comes to mind. One Nina Katz face burned into my brain. I know what I need to do. I need to go in search of The BIG Brownie. I must stop in to eat at NY's infamous City Bakery. You'll find this little cafe between Fifth and Sixth Aves. 3 W 18th St to be exact. Among the street construction scaffolding, you'll see the big white banner screaming the name "The City Bakery" and quietly whispering my name. It calls out to me..."Psst, David, over here. Come get a brownie. Carrie likes it, so will you." I succumb to the pressure, turn the corner and find myself where Miss Bradshaw once stood. Although it didn't look like The City Bakery featured in the show, I believe it has been renovated since the taping. Still, it's the home of The BIG Brownie!

Sadly, there were no BIG Brownies to be had that day. Instead they had an assortment of other sinfully good sweet treats just waiting to be devoured by sugar hungry New Yorkers. Despite the fact that their Oatmeal Raisin Cookie was highly raved about and recommended to me, I opted to go for a Chocolate Chip Cookie. It's not your standard chocolate chip cookie. This one you could almost hear yourself getting fatter as you ate it! I think I paid $3.50 for that single cookie, but it was money well spent. You could taste the layers of butter and sugar, which would later lay in my stomach aching. The gooey chunks of chocolate in every bite, mmm. I think I tasted a little love baked right into it as well. When I finished eating, it was Nina who? Yeah chocolate will do that to a girl...and apparently a guy too.

The City Bakery may not be the best place to eat in NY, but it has it's pluses. If it's good enough for my SATC girls, then it's good enough for me. Besides, how can a girl (or guy) go wrong with one of the best selection of baked goods? I think NY Magazine summed it up nicely...

"In a city of insipid (if not downright dangerous) salad bars, City Bakery's is a thing apart: gorgeously eclectic, culinary inspired, effortlessly seasonal. When Mother Nature gives us juicy heirloom tomatoes, savory chef Ilene Rosen gives us delicious tomato sandwiches. She also gives us caramelized French toast and a mildly spiced Mexican tortilla soup, among too many other delectable things to mention. And once you've had your tofu-skin-and-edamame salad, you can reward yourself with a cup of Maury Rubin's signature chocolate, hot or cold. Like its pretzel croissant, the City Bakery is a true original."