From my NYC: Food & Drink column in the current fall edition of h Magazine from Los Angeles
William Greenberg
Jr. Desserts
1100 Madison Avenue (82nd &83rd St.)
212
861-1340
Having called Manhattan home for the better part of
twenty years, I’ve reconciled that this city is a living breathing organism
that morphs and changes right before my very eyes. For instance, one minute the
meat packing district is filled with after-hours haunts, hookers and the
legendary 24hr diner Florent filled with the oddest mix of drag queens and
club-goers; the next, the only high heels in the nabe are teetering bridge and
tunnel folk on their way to find the nearest bottle service.
My
own backyard, the Upper East Side, is one area of the city that is not want to
change easily; their zoning and high-priced zip codes simply don’t allow for the
ebb and flow that downtown is known for. There are icons amongst the tree-lined
streets here, some you know, and other’s only available to a lucky cognoscenti.
The best spots simply quietly evolve from decade to decade and quality is
appreciated. The great ones are passed down, and the smart ones are sold to
purveyors for whom tradition is revered. William Greenberg Jr. Desserts, which
first opened its doors in 1946, is a New York City icon that’s survived and
thrived in the 21st Century using all its original recipes.
As
legend has it, the bakery was founded on a bit of luck. At the end of World War
II, soldiers crossing liberated France on a transport train spent their final
days in Europe playing cards to pass the time. The games continued aboard a troop
ship heading across the Atlantic. One sergeant, whose tags read William
Greenberg Jr., had a little more luck with the cards than his Army buddies and
earned enough winnings to start the business he'd always dreamed of: a family
bakery.
Today,
hidden like a confectionary gem high up on Madison Avenue, the bakery is a
destination that welcomes patrons from far and wide seeking fresh baked breads,
cakes and their signature claim to fame, the iconic New York Black & White
cookie. Stepping into this colorful oasis your senses are heightened with the
wafting smell of sweet baked goods. You’ve arrived at a petite enclave that
will sate the sweetest of sweet tooth.
The
buttery cookies, moistly rich brownies, and exquisite custom cakes here are
decorated with what would become the Greenberg trademark artistry that lives on
vividly today. Almond cookies are slivers of baked delight topped with fresh
nutty shavings. Fresh fruit tarts alight with color and flavorful layers of
cake and cream. While faddish deserts thrive downtown, and cupcake trucks line
the streets of lesser zip codes, this bakery has willfully marched online and
now ships to displaced New Yorkers who’ve spread the gospel from far and wide,
from LA to Miami and every point in between.
You
can see why they’ve built such a loyal following the minute to bite into one of
the Black and White’s here. Is it a cookie or a fluffy little cake? Whether
vanilla or chocolate floats your fancy, this cookie has it all. The sublime
sweetness is lickably good, yet remarkably filling. They come in all sizes and
colors too which change with the seasons, for instance Halloween saw Orange and
Black, or Orange and White…you see each side has a following and the choice is
provided here for whichever side you fall on; choose both if you ask me,
they’ll leave you only wanting more.
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