Ivy Bakery and Lounge

Over Martin Luther King Weekend, my brothers Saad and Waseem came to New York to visit. They were kind enough to deliver us our car, but not without trekking the treacherous terrain  of an 800 mile cross country drive accompanied by a brutal snowstorm. Dollars to donuts, you can bet they made an adventure out of it. 18 hours later they finally made it to Manhattan. The first thing on our agenda was to feed these hungry storm torn soldiers. We decided we would venture down to East Village and eat at Artichoke Pizza, however destiny pitted our stomachs against us- we stopped at the first place serving hot chocolate and snacks. 

We walked into a small, quaint bakery called Ivy Bakery and Lounge which served made to order goodies without fillers or artificial ingredients. They bake in small batches to ensure freshness, their savory sweets can also be customized. 

Ready to serve desserts included pie, muffins, cookies, brownies, and tres leches parfait. At the time, Ivy was serving two types of pie, Buttermilk and Peanut Butter. Pie flavors vary by day and can be pre-ordered if you like. The buttermilk pie was served cold , the crust was flaky, and the custard had the perfect amount of tang. The two slices were annihilated within minutes that I wasn't fast enough to take pictures. The peanut butter pie was deemed favorite and we made various failed attempts over the weekend to return for it. It's a bit heavy, creamy, sweet, and taste like childhood. No jelly needed. 

Lets also not forget the reason we walked into Ivy in the first place. We ordered 3 hot chocolates, made from organic chocolate. The hot chocolate had the perfect amount of cocoa- not to sweet or chocolaty. But more importantly the warmth from the cup radiated to my arms and into my soul. (okay I'm exaggerating a little bit, but nothing beats holding a hot cup of chocolate on a cold day outside). I would definitely recommend coming here.