Gavin, the Elf

So we just got back from our spring break trip to New York City.  There was a lot of walking.  Lot of walking.... But we had the best time discovering the city and stumbling upon the coolest things we weren't even setting out to see.  I'll share some pictures here, but first, a story.

Surely you remember this iconic scene from Elf? It's one of our favorite movies. And apparently our son has a little "Buddy" in him.

You see, my husband LOVES Trip Advisor. He won't eat out in a city if he hasn't checked out every restaurant in 4 square miles.  He spent a LOT of time "researching" while we were in NYC. And one of the places he had been dying to go since before we even got there, was the Levain Bakery. It's a tiny little bake shop with a giant cookie. You literally squeeze in the door, and then walk out with a huge cookie that is warm and gooey. They literally look like muffin tops. They are LARGE.

There are three locations, but the one we went to was west of Central Park. It was our next to last day in New York and we were finally reaching the mecca of cookies. Do you see how small it is? We couldn't even get it in the picture. Well, that is MOSTLY because of the young lady who WOULD NOT MOVE off the bench for us to take a picture.  Like we might steal her spot.  Whatever.  New Yorkers.

After we snapped the photo, we SQUEEZED (and I mean LITERALLY) down the 5 steps into the bottom of the brownstone where the bakery is located. Do you see the lady's face through the grates of the bench?  Yah, she's underground.

And there, like the heavens opening and the angels singing hallelujah, were the cookies we came for.

Those, right there, my friends, are a little chunk of heaven.  And the sweet girls working the counter?  ADORABLE. Spunky and fun. Those skinny things tried to convince us that they eat 2-3 of these everyday. I'm calling bull.

And right about this time, while we're chatting it up with these uncommonly friendly cookie sellers, my son blurts out in a loud voice:

CONGRATULATIONS!  You're NUMBER ONE on TRIP ADVISOR!

BUDDY Gavin. Because you have to eat the Levain cookie on a brownstone stoop or you're not really experiencing New York.