Batch Seven
Let’s get it.
Xenia
Popping up out of Melody a couple times a week with Mediterranean fare, Xenia’s freshly baked chocolate chip cookies are the only dessert on the menu. The cookie is a real looker, mainly because of the x-large salt crystals. The flavor is also spot on with appropriate amount of chocolate. The real kicker here though is that it comes out essentially fresh out of the oven, so the warm cookie has crisp edges and a very chewy center. It’s almost worth a trip to sit out on Melody’s patio and get a bottle of wine just so you can eat a bunch of these cookies too.
Erewhon
First up is the regular chocolate chip. It’s firm, not very chewy and has a pleasant wheaty flavor, but you can tell it’s definitely vegan. That said, it’s one of the better vegan cookies out there if that’s your thing.
The other option is the oatmeal chocolate chip, which is soft but still manages slightly crisp edges. There’s a familiar oatmeal cookie spice profile, but it’s restrained and compliments the chocolate quite nicely. It’s one of the better oatmeal influenced chocolate chip cookies out there, but still no match for anything a bakery puts out.
Of the major super market chain cookies, Bristol Farms remains king, and Whole Foods’ brown butter chocolate chip edges both of Erewhon’s offerings.
Sqirl
The special honeycomb cacao nib cookie must be the thinnest cookie I’ve found in the city. It’s super chewy and doesn’t have much chocolate (the nibs are very small) but it’s still a great bite. The real star is the honey flavor, and while it may not be consistently on the menu like their normal chocolate chip, if you’re in the mood for something a bit off from center, it’s a worthy diversion.
Simply Salad
Another lunch spot with a chocolate chip cookie that’s way better than it has any right to be. There’s not really any crispness to the edges but it’s super gooey and underdone in the center. It’s deliciously salty and coming from a salad place, it’s pretty much the perfect way to destroy your healthy lunch. Another notable observation is that’s it’s also the perfect size that it’s not going to be overwhelming to eat at once. And with only nine ingredients listed on the back, it’s clear that that it’s a classic and flawless rendition.
Mendocino Farms
The standout lunch chain’s chocolate chip cookie is on the cakier and thicker side, and despite being baked through it’s soft in the center and a bit chewy. It doesn’t reach gooey status and with just solid flavor, it’s serviceable. In the office lunch power ranking it’s last behind Lemonade, Tender Greens, and Simply Salad.
Pitchoun!
“That’s the way the cookie crumbles” is all you need to know about this phoned in rendition. While it’s mini chocolate chips give it great dynamic contrast, it’s missing crisp edges or a chewy center and kind of just falls apart when bitten into. The texture is so disappointing that this is one that you can skip.
McConnell’s Ice Cream
McConnell’s stealthily sells their chocolate chip cookies out of a small case near the register and are kind of easy to miss. They’re on the smaller and thinner side, but with very crisp edges and a chewy center. it’s quite satisfying in a non-overwhelming way. And yes, it’s probably best paired with ice cream, but is also one of the best pound for pound I’ve come across.
Bianca
The cafe/restaurant near The Platform has a robust pastry program, so it’s easy to imagine they’d at least make a competent chocolate chip cookie. On a scale of nowhere-close to nailed-it, it’s heavily towards the nailed-it end. Yes, it has perfectly crisp edges and a chewy center, but the best part of the cookie is the insane amount of chocolate discs packed inside. It’s like the only dough in this cookie is that on the outside keeping the thick chocolate layers in cookie form.
Laroolou
Back at it with the limited Stop Asian Hate Thiccie, the Laroolou crew has another winner. Their MO is absolutely packing their thiccie’s with as much as possible, so here they’ve got not only chocolate chips, but chopped toasted almond that have a slightly firmer texture than the usual walnuts, white chocolate chips that add creaminess, and tart cherries soaked in bourbon that contributes to a stickier texture. Of course the center is wonderfully undercooked, and with proceeds going to a worthy cause it’s one that you should snap up while you can.
Lodge
It’s revenge of the very large cookie. With probably the best salt scatter of all the cookies seen so far, crisp edges, and a delightful dough laced with miso umami, Lodge definitely has it’s point of view on what makes a good cookie. The biggest standout element is the complex mix of flours and grains they bakery uses here, which is a good thing because there’s really not much chocolate and makes the dough even more important. Overall, it’s salty, delicious, and one of the more interesting chocolate chip cookies out there, but one can’t help but wish for even 50% more chocolate to balance it out a bit more.
House of Gluten
Ordered out of the Quarter Sheets Pizza Club operation, Hannah Ziskin’s House of Gluten chocolate chip cookie is truly a superior cookie. An absolute diamond, it’s perfectly balanced between dough and chips and has a stunning amount of salt on it. This is one of the highlights of the batch and even if you’re not going to pick up a Quarter Sheets Pizza (though you should) it’s worth coming to ROW to get this chocolate chip cookie.
DeLuscious
It’s reasonable to be suspicious of a cookie that comes prewrapped in a bag (Is it fresh? How much do they really care?) but when the bag is slicked with grease on the inside though, it’s a very good sign. DeLuscious has a proven track record, and wow do they churn out a banger of a cookie. Wide and spread out and sweet and packed with chocolate, despite being delivered and wrapped in a little baggie it’s actually one of the fresher cookies I’ve gotten. In fact, ordering it on Postmates might actually be a feature, not a bug. While the delivery time may be spotty, it’s clearly packaged and sent right after it comes out of the oven.
To show how next level this cookie is, one only needs to look at the undercarriage, because as doughy as the top looks, it’s absolutely layered with chocolate just sitting there at the bottom. If you need anymore reasons to get this ASAP, it’s also perfect in every way from the undercooked center to the crisp edges.
Still going.