Where is NYC’s Best Cheesecake Hiding?

A research test was undertaken by Sue Fast to finally be able to answer the following question unequivocally: where is the best cheesecake in New York City?  Fast came from Vancouver for five days, and recorded her findings in an article for a Vancouver online magazine.  Her mission was “to find the ultimate piece of New York cheesecake” in as true to New York form as can be: classic.

Her first stop was Junior’s Cheesecake and Desserts. It doesn’t sound like she was too impressed, attacking it for being lined with a “thin layer of flavorless sponge cake.”  Not so New York either, she argued, since most cheesecakes proud of their NYC heritage do not even have a crust. However, since clearly cheesecake testing is a matter of taste, it’s hard to tell if one should trust the criticisms of Fast.  One might instead want to look at what tweeter Pacman Wale said about the cheesecake from Junior’s, “if you ever come to New York you need to come here [as in Junior’s] they have the best cheesecake in America.”  Hmmm…Who to trust?

Moving on to the second day of Fast’s quest, she arrives at Rocco’s.  That seemed to satisfy her palette.  She described it as having “the perfect consistency: baked golden and slightly drier on top, creamy through the middle and down to its crustless base. The flavors are a divine blend of cream cheese, vanilla, and a hint of lemon that result in a cheesecake that’s neither too sweet nor too tart.”  How close to perfection can one get, one starts to wonder at this luscious description?

Moving on to Vaniero’s Pasticceria and Caffe in the East Village, which has been around since 1894. Apart from the cheesecake experience, Fast senses that she has gone back in time with the eatery’s cluttered antiques on the shelves. And as for the cheesecake itself, it is hailed as being “absolutely delicious.” It is creamy, light and “exquisitely smooth.”  It seems like she’s found a winner.

But does that really man that Vaniero’s in the East Village indeed does possess the best cheesecake in New York?  Again, it really is subjective and ultimately depends on your personal style and taste.  For example, for tweeter J. Leandra, it seems simple and inexpensive fit her bill, as she tweets quite unequivocally, “New York cheesecake from Walmart the best.”

And ultimately, really it doesn’t matter which one you decide to indulge in.  As tweeter Shannon King concluded, New York is a great place to be when your favorite dessert is cheesecake.