Johnny Iuzzini, pastry chef at Jean-Georges and Top Chef: Just Desserts contestant, revealed his favorite desserts to Patrick Huguenin of the New York Daily News. Our Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies made the number four spot on his list!

“The cookies at Levain are big and bold, which helps the bakers achieve the perfect balance of texture. ‘There’s something for everybody in this cookie,’ says Iuzzini. ‘It’s just the right amount of crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.’”

In honor of National Bakery Week, starting June 28th, Amanda Sakuma of the New York Daily News lists the best neighborhood dessert destinations. Levain Bakery is listed as the Best Cookie joint and she suggests the Chocolate Chip Walnut, calling it a “large gooey mess hearty enough to be a meal.”

 Everything in the place is bread-based except for the big, lumpy cookies, which weigh one-third of a pound apiece. Chocolate-chip-walnut, chocolate chocolate-chip walnut, chocolate peanut-butter-chip and oatmeal raisin… they go as fast as they are baked. (July 25, ’98)