Manhattan's best 5 cups of cocoa

Because it's snowing in New York. Because it's the holiday season. And because it's one of the silver linings of winter: these are the hot chocolates you don't want to miss.

Jacques Torres
When you walk into Chocolate Haven Soho, the heavenly scent of chocolate is all around you. Belly up to bar and order my personal favorite: the peanut butter hot cocoa.

Vosges
That their cocoa is called "drinking chocolate" and served in elegant glassware is telling. I like to change it up at Vosges and get the Bianca Cocoa: white chocolate with vanilla, lemon myrtle and lavender.

Dessert Truck
Insanely thick. Made with Valrhona and Guittard chocolates. Don't expect to drink the whole thing. Even I can't.

City Bakery
If hot chocolate could be landmarked, City Bakery's would be the first to receive the designation. Start training for February's Hot Cocoa Festival by sipping their small portions now. It's habit-forming.

MarieBelle
I was going to give the fifth spot to La Maison du Chocolat. But since this blog is all (or mostly) about NYC, MarieBelle—with a proper cacoa salon, six varieties, and the option for European (made with water) or American (milk) style—gets the nod.

The cookie that crumbles

It was the name that got me: "Barely Baked Cookie." I flipped the Vosges cookie over and, indeed, saw that dark circle in the middle, telltale sign of under-baked batter.

Since I had gone in to have a Bianca Cocoa—hot cocoa made with white chocolate, Australian lemon myrtle, lavender and vanilla—I disregarded my impulse for the classic chocolate chunk (made with single origin Costa Rican chocolate) and got the Bianca cookie.

It was a beast. On a positive note, it had a sweet, gritty texture; lemony, floral notes; and was chockablock with ingredients like coconut shavings.

But these six-ounce cookies (beasts, I tell you) are shipped from Chicago and kept frozen until on display. Maybe it was still a little affected, for it was hard. A tough cookie, you might say, that sent crumbs all over. Good, but not great.

Verdict: Stick to the bonbons (Alex swears by the organic peanut butter bonbons); it's what Vosges does best.

132 Spring Street
212.625.2929