Venieros Pastry

Scrumptious pastry shop in manhattan's east village - Veniero's is a nice place to visit anytime of the day, any day, whether it's for a snack, after dinner dessert, or if you're on a date. I've even come here for lunch (and no, they don't serve lunch food here). Steeped in tradition, it's been around since 1894 and has been owned by the same family since their doors first opened. It has a very charming interior, with pictures of Frank Sinatra on the walls, aged tile gracing the floors, and tiny cozy tables all around. The line usually runs out the door and around the corner, especially on weekends, so the service is polite at best (they are good, though, in that they will give you as little or as much as you want, meaning they'll slice you a tiny sliver of cake, or a big one, depending on your mood). Try going on a weekday afternoon, or right before it closes (on my lucky days I get to try different things for free). Yay. Here you will find just about any kind of Italian dessert imaginable, at fairly reasonable prices. I'm a sucker for dessert, but I tend to shy away from desserts that are too sweet because I think it detracts from the flavor (and this happens more often than not). They make everything just right. There aren't that many places where I'll say that I'll eat anything�this is one of those places. Everything, from the cookies to the fresh fruit tarts to the cheesecakes to the cannolis, is so good here. I love their ricotta cheesecake (with a nice hint of lemon, dare I say it is so light I think it can be considered almost healthy�). Best ever. Also good are their custard-filled napoleans, fresh berry tarts, strawberry shortcake, and cannolis. Their mini desserts are also a pretty good value (they sell by the pound and you can get a bunch of different treats for the price of one normal dessert at other places). The only negative thing I have to say about Veniero's is that it has left my tastebuds imprinted with what the perfect cannoli tastes like - the filling is of just the right amount of sweetness and the crust is light and crisp. I've not been able to find an equivalent elsewhere, and have been searching for quite some time. =)