College is hard (most of the time.) Sometimes you need a little pick me up between classes, but either due to time constraints or just sheer "I only got 2.8 hours of sleep last night" laziness, you don't really want to go that far for some Cheat Day eats. That's where we come in.
If you have a sweet tooth like us and are constantly on the hunt for the best bakeries near campus, look no further because we've got you covered.
1. Pasticceria Rocco
Yep, you definitely can't go wrong with this one. As soon as you step in you are overwhelmed with an enormous amount of pastries – each one looking better than the next.
The line moves fast here so in order to save you from staring around utterly lost and confused, order the cannoli. They fill the cream into the cannoli upon ordering to guarantee freshness
2. Sweet Corner Bakeshop
You know that common belief that eating a cookie will make everything better? Well it's true when you go to this bakery. Their sea-salt chocolate chip cookie is heavenly. It's baked to the perfect consistency and has a soft, chewy center with a firm crispy outside. The chocolate chips are perfectly melted and combined with the pop of the sea salt makes for a truly mouth watering sweet.
They offer a couple of different cookies like Red Nutella Bomb and M&M and the classics like Snickerdoodle, Oatmeal, and Chocolate Chip. Chances are you'll devour this cookie in under a minute, and if you feel that guilty about it the bakery is only a couple blocks from the High Line.
3. Breads Bakery
Nestled on 16th Street right between Palladium and Carlyle, Breads Bakery is not one to miss. Pastries and breads line the walls, the counters, the windows...everywhere you look. Breads Bakery rose to fame for their chocolate babka – a Jewish cakey bread usually filled with cinnamon or chocolate – and let us tell you, Breads Bakery has babka mastered.
4. Union Fare
Union Fare is a new posh restaurant that recently opened two streets down from Breads Bakery, on 18th Street. In addition to their incredible menu, atmosphere, and service, the restaurant also features smaller grab-and-go food stations, (similar to Eataly) on 17th Street. One of the best items that Union Fare's bakery has to offer is the croissant. Flaky and incredibly sweet, you can't go wrong with any of their innovative flavors, including birthday cake, Oreo, red velvet, and green tea (pictured below).