A lot of us are from New York. That’s the way it’s always been. The migration intensified during covid. But like a lot of us, when I go back, I tend to spend time in the same neighborhoods, rarely branching out. So, to remedy this, I make a point of having my business lunches or meet-ups where the other person lives or works.
Such was the case when I found myself in the Seaport, where I checked out the 53,000-square-foot Tin Building, the brainchild of famed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten that opened in September 2022. The place is a total, inviting triumph featuring a half-dozen restaurants, a patisserie, a raw bar, a counter filled with Spanish ham and cheeses, a butcher, a crepe station and a sushi bar.
But, chocoholic that I am, what I discovered after my coffee in the Tin House was even more impressive. I passed by the festive storefront of Funny Face Bakery, and something told me to double back. We could use some indie bakeries on South Beach, where I live, and I didn’t realize how much I was missing one.
But before I could get to the door, I saw a couple frozen in their tracks, eating cookies from a paper bag. “How are they?” I asked.
The immediate answer: “This is the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever had.”
I sailed through the door, and the sweet aroma was overpowering. “Which kind am I smelling?” I asked the person at the counter.
“All of them!” she said.
Seconds later, I found myself on the sidewalk, with my obscenely thick chocolate chip cookie in my hand. Actually, it was half in my hand and half in the bag. It was so fresh and warm and gooey that it was already falling apart, already melting. It was more chip than dough; the chocolate was deeply rich and the texture of the dough was perfect. I reveled in its sublime messiness, chocolate covering my fingers like a child. I racked my brain for comparisons, because I am something of a chocolate chip cookie connoisseur.
But I came up short. I do believe that Funny Face has crafted the best chocolate chip cookie in New York, perhaps the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever eaten.
