Hello! It’s September! Here is my first guide to desserts in New York. I wrote a little introductory essay before sharing the spots, but I don’t know, maybe I should just jump straight to the list? If there’s a neighborhood you really want me to cover, lmk!
Also, if I find something new and noteworthy in a neighborhood I’ve already published a guide to, I’ll update the guide & Google map.
It’s true, sometimes Midtown Manhattan lives up to its worst stereotype. On one of my first restaurant visits for this guide, I sat next to two J.P. Morgan bankers loudly discussing their hobbies (“In the winter I ski, in the summer I cycle,”) and their personal lives (“I tied up a lot of money in that ring,”). It felt like I was on the set of a Billions taping or something. It was almost too easy.
It’s also true that navigating the hordes of ambling tourists who visit the area daily is not the most enjoyable experience, even by crowded New York standards (or chaotic Hong Kong standards, for me).
But surely there are times when a stroll along Fifth Ave can be almost charming? Or, okay, your dentist is in the International Building of the Rockefeller Center and you just need to get in and get out.
In any case, I’ve lived in and around Midtown for over a decade now and there are some advantages to being in this congested, loud-luxury, industrious part of New York City. Namely, the convenience. That and the feeling of really living in New York. I walk by the Chrysler Building almost every day. I know it’s not always cool to openly love something so sentimental, but to me, that’s pretty cool.
There is also a proper food-centric reason as to why Midtown, or the Rockefeller Center specifically, is my first dessert guide in New York City.
Sometime in 2019, the real estate company Tishman Speyer set out to revitalize the food and beverage offerings in the Rockefeller Center, one of its core properties that sits pretty much in the middle of Midtown. Having previously eaten around the area for work, I can confirm that old tenants, like The Sea Grill, were lackluster. “Just as the kitchen is the heart of any home, restaurants are the soul of any New York City neighborhood,” said a company blog post explaining the transformation. “What if we worked together to make Rockefeller Center the epicenter of New York cuisine?”
Today, following an investment of some $300 million, the Rockefeller Center has over 50 eateries scattered across the compound’s various limestone buildings and the rink-level arcade. The selection is fresh, full of great desserts, and I, for one, appreciate the efficiency of having some of the city’s most famous born-and-bred bakeries in one place — Magnolia for banana pudding; the light-as-cream crêpe cakes from Lady M; and a little further afield, Breads Bakery, which is always stocked with excellent chocolate babkas.
To make this guide, I set the boundaries to a slightly broader area beyond 30 Rock. Then, I set out in search of the best desserts. Along the way, I shared space with a lot of people I wouldn’t normally — strivers in suits and awe-struck tourists — but that’s the beauty of New York, right? I think it’s called exposure therapy.
Anyway, maybe you’re headed for The MoMA, a show at Radio City Music Hall, or maybe you have a friend in town and it has been their lifelong dream to ice skate under the lights of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. There are plenty of perfectly good reasons to be in this neighborhood. So here are the desserts worth your time and money because, as you may already know, Midtown isn’t cheap!
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