Warm Up With These NYC Comfort Foods!

It's starting to get colder and colder here in the city and I find myself wanting to indulge in warm comfort foods on a daily basis. Lucky for me, there are plenty of little gems throughout the city where I can find the comfort foods I crave!

The picture above is of the ever so popular hot chocolate (with a marshmallow) and pretzel croissant from The City Bakery. I have been wanting to make the trek up to midtown to try them both, and today I finally achieved my goal!

I was doing a little bit of Christmas shopping today on 5th avenue and starting longing for something filling, rich and warm. While walking past West 18th street I spotted the City Bakery out of the corner of my eye and instantly thought of all of the Instagram pictures I have seen of their raved about hot chocolate and pretzel croissant. I decided a thick and creamy hot chocolate was exactly what I was in the mood for, and stood in a decently long line to wait for it.

I have to say that both the croissant and hot chocolate definitely live up to all of the Instagram hype, which I added to today. I was slightly hesitant about a croissant that would taste like pretzel (considering I like my croissants to be sweet rather than salty), but the combination is perfect and delicious. The croissant is flaky and buttery, with a hint of saltiness and pretzel flavor. Oh, and the hot chocolate is to die for! Rich, creamy, intensely chocolatey and nostalgic with the giant marshmallow floating on top. The next time you visit the city in winter, definitely make the City Bakery a stop on your bucket list.

Now onto something warm and comforting, but a little unconventional. After I finished my shift at my restaurant internship a few nights ago, I decided to go on a walk around my neighborhood. It was snowing and colder than I anticipated and I instantly wanted something warm to drink. 

A few steps from my apartment is the newly opened Brodo. Although it looks as though there may be coffee or hot chocolate in the cup in the picture above, it is actually filled with bone broth. Yup, you read that right, bone broth. I was definitely hesitant about drinking pure bone broth, not knowing exactly how it would taste, but I absolutely loved it!

Bone broth is nourishing, warming and filling. I ordered the Hearth Broth made with chicken, turkey and beef broth. If you wish you can also add in flavorings such as turmeric, garlic or ginger juice. The broth has a mild, yet rich flavor that immediately warms your bones on cold and snowy New York nights. I'm sure I will be drinking it throughout the winter.

Now, I will end this post raving about the chocolate babka from Bread's Bakery. The Union Square Holiday Market is in full swing right now and that not only means hours of shopping at unique gift stalls, but also sampling the tempting treats at the food stalls there.

My mom visited me a few weeks ago and we went to the Holiday Market to do some Christmas shopping. While we did walk away with some gifts, we also walked away with lots of treats, this piece of babka being one of them.

This babka is one of the best bites of pastry I have ever had. It is completely addicting, full of chocolate and has a wonderful texture. The minute my mom and I took our first bites we looked at each other in awe and both began to wonder what the bakers at Breads put into their babka to make it so good. I suppose we will never know, but that's ok with me because I can easily walk up to Union Square whenever I have a craving for some warming chocolate babka and grab myself a slice. Gotta love living in NYC!