Having gone to university on the Upper West Side, I have been more than just familiar with the food-in-the-air sensation that is Levain Bakery. I cannot tell you the amount of times in the past 4 years that I've schlepped my tush uptown from Greenwich Village just to stand in line for 10 minutes and score a box of Levain cookies before heading off to Grand Central. After all, there could be no better gift to bring when visiting family than the gift of an extra pound or two. You know, to remember you by.
When out East in the Hamptons, I'm lucky enough to be in Wainscott, just a dangerous two minute drive from Levain's Long Island outpost, which is located hilariously and brilliantly right next to Barry's Boot Camp. And let me tell you, none of those fit people can resist.
And now, on this most glorious day which I'll be sure to mark on my calendar as the day it all went downhill for me - when I began solely subsisting on their Whole Wheat Walnut Raisin Loaf - Levain has finally opened a Noho store.
Located at 340 Lafayette Street (between Bleecker and Bond), the new hot spot is sure to have lines down and around the block for the foreseeable future. Remember when the raw cookie dough place opened? Multiply that by a cronut and a Supreme drop and that should be just about accurate. Especially considering that the Noho shop will feature a new cookie!
For those who have been resenting the fact that their signature chocolate chip cookie has walnuts in it, your time has come. And it's clear you exist, considering "since opening 25 years ago, [Levain's] number one request has been a chocolate chip cookie without walnuts." Which definitely begs the question of why the hell in 25 years couldn't they just leave out the walnuts?! But I digress. Their new Two Chip Chocolate Chip has, you guess it, a mix of two kinds of chocolate, and is exclusively available at their downtown location. And the world is obviously going to go nuts over it.
See you on line!
[Photos via @levainbakery]