Best bakery in UWS

Levain Bakery, 74th and Amsterdam. Best cookies in the city, IMHO.

when we lived there, my favorite was georgia's bakery at 89th & bway. the have macarons!

I second Levain for their wonderful choco chip cookies. Amazing.

Also, try Silver Moon on B'Way and 105th. Excellent, fresh goodies. Don't forget to try the Belgian soft pretzels.

I sometimes like to stop in at Georgia's at 90th & B'way for a couple of their cute decorated butter cookies.

And of course, Magnolia makes a mean cupcake, as does Crumbs.

Ha! Scooped by Lucille :-)

There's also the Hungarian Bakery on I believe Amsterdam and 111th. I haven't yet tried it but have heard good things...

Oh--can't forget Harlem-based Make My Cake--not exactly UWS (though they do have a location on 116 and St Nicholas Ave--not too much of a trek) but worth a mention. Probably the best birthday cake ever. Seriously. If you don't need an entire cake, there are amazing cupcakes as well.

Ok, now I won't be able to sleep... jonesing for cupcakes...

Got a bit of a sweet tooth bramstar?

I'll third Levain on the monstrosities they call a cookie.

The owners at Levain are fantastic! Owner runs out with muffin parts to feed any visiting dog. If you haven't seen this there's also a video of them on Bobby Flay's throw down(I'll ruin the ending Levain won!)

im in on levain

>>Got a bit of a sweet tooth bramstar?<<

'fraid so!

By the way, the pretzels at Silver Moon are Bavarians not Belgians (guess I was thinking of waffles...).

It should be said, eating more than one or two Levain cookies in one sitting requires some endurance/caloric ignorance. But they are a hit at parties. I miss living down the block sometimes.

bjw2103, going to take you up on the suggestion, thanks!

bramstar, beard papa's usually hit the spot, too. it was a well deserved treat to myself after enduring fairway.

Lucille--thanks for the tip. Will have to give it a try.

Agree about Levain for cookies, but adore Grandaisy at 72nd and Amsterdam for incredible bread. They supply Bar Pitti, and if you've been there you'll know why it's worth the schlep.

Who makes a good french bread?

i may be alone here, but i honestly think most decent bakeries make good french bread. my shoprite in nj has good french bread. you just have to buy the bread specifically labeled "french baguette" not just any baguette and buy it fresh out of the oven. which is easy enough, ask the people at the bakery their schedule. now a warm fresh bagel, that's not so easy to come by.

Levain!! Delicious.

hey bjw. u regret it until u head over to northside bakery on N.8th. Their "healthy seeded" bread is insane!

also i'm stretching "uws" but if you are looking for "goodies" you can't beat Bouchon in time warner. Their nutter butter cookies, macarons, mini pies and other stuff are incredible!

moxie, great to see you on here! You know, I've never actually been to Northside Bakery, for whatever reason. Worth it then, huh? I'll make a point to head over next time I pick up dinner at Radish (pricey, but highly recommended!).

I totally agree with moxieland! Bouchon is amazing but its hard to get seating

I too love Levain cookies. Probably my favorite dessert and a change of pace from the cupcakes that every other bakery on the UWS seems to specialize in. Whenever I am asked to bring dessert to someone's house and I don't have time to bake myself, I will bring Levain cookies and they are always a hit. Would also suggest Soutine on West 70th at Columbus. It's a cute little hole in the wall (even smaller than Grandaisy) but pretty good.

But where can one get decent rye bread? It's hard to imagine the West Side without it..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j5xbbQDTRM

Soutine: baguettes/when I need a good sandwich bread for a picnic.
Levain: cookies
Magnolia: cupcakes/lemon bars/cheesecake
Crumbs: cupcakes
Fairway: get most of my breads there including the brioche for Fr. toast & every day wholewheat (usually buy Eli's) - Eli's has a decent rye as well, don't know who carries it on UWS. We love the mini wholewheat bagels from Fairway.

Magnolia is always packed but for a range of desserts it is pretty good. I like the Snickers ice box cake. Many people swear by the banana pudding.

This is a tangent but still related to UWS food. Did anyone see the Zabar's/lobster salad story in the NYT today? Evidently it has actually been crawfish all these years.

Levain cookies are good!