Up on the Highline
When you're invited to a black tie wedding at the Rainbow Room in NYC for friends that feel like family, you go.
And when you're in NYC for that wedding weekend and you have a couple hours free, you stop at Levain Bakery and then head off to the Highline to make yourself feel better about eating a cookie that is meant to pack a calorie punch for people marathon training. YOLO.
Levain Bakery was founded in 1994 by two friends who were training for an Ironman and wanted to create the world's greatest chocolate chip cookie. There are four locations in NY and you can even order their products online. In addition to their famous 6 oz chocolate chip walnut cookie, they have a variety of other baked goods that are baked on site.
I did my best to hide my hands when I made Jorge take this picture because when you lift weights and brush horses in your spare time, you develop the hands of a gnarled steel worker.
So, here is my Levain Bakery review...
I have been DREAMING about these cookies for 10 years and they kept building up in my mind. In many (many) ways they delivered. They are large (thank youuuuuuu), firm on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside, with a good texture and chew to them. There is a good ratio of chocolate/nut to cookie and especially if you get them hot, the aroma is almost enough on its own.
But..
they need salt.
There was just a little something lacking. To be MY ideal cookie, I would have either upped the salt in the dough or added some flaked sea salt to the top. Really, nothing is as good as a cookie you make yourself, and this one is actually the BEST chocolate chip cookie I have ever tasted. So, I would say 4ish stars out of 5.
But, I digress. This post is supposed to be mainly about the Highline.
The Highline is a little under 1.5 miles long and was built to take advantage of a deserted New York Central rail line that ran on the west side of Manhattan. Now considered a park, the highline has made use of, and expanded upon, naturalized plantings that had begun to take over the urban space, all the while offering unobstructed views of the city and the Hudson River.
There were vendors and play areas scattered along the walk and although I didn't see any there are apparently art, sound and landscape installations that are periodically displayed along its path.
Levain Bakery was founded in 1994 by two friends who were training for an Ironman and wanted to create the world's greatest chocolate chip cookie. There are four locations in NY and you can even order their products online. In addition to their famous 6 oz chocolate chip walnut cookie, they have a variety of other baked goods that are baked on site.
So, here is my Levain Bakery review...
I have been DREAMING about these cookies for 10 years and they kept building up in my mind. In many (many) ways they delivered. They are large (thank youuuuuuu), firm on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside, with a good texture and chew to them. There is a good ratio of chocolate/nut to cookie and especially if you get them hot, the aroma is almost enough on its own.
But..
they need salt.
There was just a little something lacking. To be MY ideal cookie, I would have either upped the salt in the dough or added some flaked sea salt to the top. Really, nothing is as good as a cookie you make yourself, and this one is actually the BEST chocolate chip cookie I have ever tasted. So, I would say 4ish stars out of 5.
But, I digress. This post is supposed to be mainly about the Highline.
The Highline is a little under 1.5 miles long and was built to take advantage of a deserted New York Central rail line that ran on the west side of Manhattan. Now considered a park, the highline has made use of, and expanded upon, naturalized plantings that had begun to take over the urban space, all the while offering unobstructed views of the city and the Hudson River.
There were vendors and play areas scattered along the walk and although I didn't see any there are apparently art, sound and landscape installations that are periodically displayed along its path.
What I appreciated the most about the high line was it allowed me to view industrial landscapes in a new light. I rarely take pictures of buildings or city scenes because to me, they pale in comparison to natural landscapes. The high line challenges this notion and offers an urban landscape that is beautiful in its own way.
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