New York City treats are often worth the wait, literally. The best baked goods and sweets in the Big Apple come with long lines or limited batches that are only while supplies last. Levain Bakery is easily the most famous for its cookies and the corresponding line. When it first opened in 2017 DŌ, which serves raw cookie dough, had lines that stretched for hours.
Then there’s Chip in Astoria. This is a cookie place I’d never heard of before but when I walked by last Saturday afternoon, the line for cookies spilled down the block.. It’s in Astoria which is swiftly becoming a trendy neighborhood in Queens, but not exactly on your average tourist’s itinerary. I had to check it out.
Chip Cookies and Cream in Astoria, NYC
Astoria has a great neighborhood feel. Everyone waiting for cookies, standing on the street in the chilly February weather seemed like an NYC local. It was a very different feel from Manhattan lines. Chip is refreshingly straight forward. They sell classic cookies, four different flavors per day. There’s no extravagance for the sake of an Instagram shot. It’s an authentic little place that draws a crowd simply because of the quality of the product. That’s worth lining up for these days!
Classic chocolate chip cookies from Chip, NYC
Last Saturday the flavors were:
Funfetti
Butterscotch Toffee
Baklava
Chocolate Chip
I was with friends and we ordered every traditional cookie, skipping the baklava- which might have been a mistake because it looked intriguing! They are very large cookies, though they don’t look like it on the pans here. We got 6 cookies and struggled to finish THREE of them. The price $3.50 each for 5 and then our 6th was free! We definitely didn’t need that many cookies but our eyes were bigger than our stomachs,, plus we (I) couldn’t resist getting one free.
The cookies are warm, fresh out of the oven, and have an ideal texture of crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. Chips are melty and the dough is buttery and sweet but not cloying.
Chip in Astoria is absolutely worth the visit for a sweet treat! The line moves much faster than most Manhattan bakeries! This shop has been so successful since it opened in 2017 that 2 other Queens locations have opened since and a Manhattan location of Chip set to open soon. For all locations in Astoria and Long Island City, check out the Chip website, where you can also find the full menu of cookie flavors.
To be honest, I’m not that impressed with their cookies. I think for many it’s the sheer novelty of the place…and a chance to regress to childhood and memories of ‘home’. Granted, who doesn’t love the idea (or the smell!) of fresh-from-the-oven cookies? But …I’ve had better luck with gourmet-shop-brand cookie dough that you simply keep in your own fridge, and then just slice and pop in the oven whenever the urge strikes you. 😉