Levain, the bakery at 74th street, just turned 20 years old, and Telepan, the restaurant on 69th street, just turned 10. Together they’re baking up a a special bacon jalapeño pizza every Wednesday this month, with red onion, mozzarella, and parmesan. The pizza will be fro sale at Levain and a portion of the proceeds will benefit charities Wellness in the Schools and the ASPCA.
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Only tourists go to Levain. Am I right?
You could not be more wrong. And the cookies are well worth the wait.
Sean – Thinking you are somewhat new to the area…?
Anyway, Levain was originally a neighborhood bakery. The tourist-foodie thing came much later.
Same thing happened to Amy’s Bakery on 9th Avenue – a longtime neighborhood bakery overwhelmed by tourist-foodies. And countless other Manhattan food places.
One might say that in such cases, too many tourists end up destroying what was once an authentic neighborhood entity.
Also worth noting that the Nestle’s Toll House recipe – with the dough refrigerated overnight – will result in a terrific cookie IMO
I have lived here since Moses. This place must have popped up during the 90s. I go as far back as the Bagel Nosh.
You are wrong.
I live on the UWS for the past 50 years.
Have been going to Levain since they opened.
Their bagette with jam is the best around.
Will try the pizza today.
I also go there but always on “off hours” (e.g. before work, weekend morning).
The baguette with butter and jam is amazing.
You’re right. They must have been discovered by the tour guides. There are always lines down the block nowadays, and I don’t know any New Yorker who’s going to wait on a line like that to get a cookie.
As the great Yogi, Berra, would have said, other than tourists no one goes there anymore — it’s too crowded.
tourists are ruining the UWS. we need to build a wall to keep them out. let’s make the UWS great again.
pretty much every time I walk by on the weekend it’s hard to even see there is a bakery where Levain is – the line of tourists (sometimes you’ll even see a huge bus discharging 50+ of them at once) obscures it lol. Their cookies are good but not worth the wait.
This pizza is pretty great. Thanks for sharing! I didn’t realize they served pizza for lunch.
Bill Telepan is one of the most good hearted, charitable human beings I have ever met. He does so much for charity and is a huge supporter of Wellness in the Schools, which pushes for both better nutrition and health in the school systems. As a parent, I have seen the difference he and the program have made and it is amazing.
And his restaurant is a gem of the UWS! We should all buy the pizza, and support Telepan as well – we need more like minded people doing business on the UWS!
Hmm, I am a chocoholic, I have tried quite a few chocolate chip cookies from east to west and uptown to downtown. In my opinion the best is Jacques Torres. You have an option of having it warmed up on the warming tray and oozing. Yummy !
FYI Jacques Torres is right around the corner on Amsterdam from Levain
Agree on generosity of Bill telepan- lucky to have him in the hood! And Levain is also generous to local schools in supporting their events. I’m a longtime uws resident and adore their cookies- as does my son. We just go when the tourists aren’t there- regular weekday after school. Now the guilt of eating a 5 pound cookie is a whole other issue
The cinnamon brioche is amazing!! Just came from Paris recently and it’s better than some brioche in Parisian boulangeries! Agree though, lines are long with tourists especially if you just want a quick fix and you are behind a tourist who can’t make up their mind of what to order!! Uugh!!
Bill Telepan may use locally sourced food, but he has Foie Gras on his menu. Foie Gras requires ducks to be tortured by having a long pipe forced down their throats. I would never eat at a restaurant that supports such horrific, inhumane behavior. Thanks anyway.
I will immediately go try Telepan. The owner sounds like a great guy and I want to support these endeavors.
I live in the neighborhood. I love Levain cookies. Bill Telepan is a terrific person. I’m thrilled when local, independently-owned businesses do exceptionally well. Congratulations Levain and Telepan on your successes and anniversaries!
Levain would be great if it wasn’t such a royal and massive rip off.
…And another thing! They don’t even cook their cookies till they’re done. They’re raw and therefore disgusting. Imo.
They definitely aren’t “manly” cookies.
Levain is in Harlem too, and the lines aren’t long at all. They do need to expand the menu, as I have never seen the baguette with jam.
I think the baguette with butter and jam is only offered in the morning.
Only tourists? Are you kidding – Their ‘Bread and Butter” are the local upper westsiders who have been going there for 20 years who they know by name and dog! A loaf of their ciabatta, a dish of good olive oil and a glass of wine – a perfect Levain Dinner. Hard to believe they opened the year my daughter was born – both now 20.
Agree Levain is for tourists an their cookies are not great. I always have the impulse to tell the tourists you are wasting your time. levain does have this delicious onion flatbread but it is GROSSLY overpriced. Jacques Torres cooked are much better. For delicious and reasonably priced artisans italizan pizzas and bread – Grandaisy on 72nd Street is the greatest bakery and a certified small local business!
Foie gras (which I kind of agree about) aside, Bill Telepan is a great neighbor and community member to have in the UWS — he’s engaged and involved and I like the restaurant. Levain is also great and the tourists are there because they make really good things. If you like these places, just support them with your business as you can afford. It seems to me that both are responsible and quality establishments that we want to have in the hood.
And Grandaisy and Jacques Torres are also great to have.