Battle of the babkas - by Sophie C
Hello and welcome back to Five Things I Ate! This week, it’s all about the babka, baby. Read past posts here, and please follow my Instagram, @fivethingsiate.
Chocolate homestyle babka at Zabar’s
I am slowly getting back to my writing routine after slowly crawling out of a stress/depression hole due to life circumstances. When that happens I honestly don’t really know what to write about because none of the food I have eaten feels interesting. Then I ate a slice of chocolate babka. When it feels like there is nothing to write about, I can always write about Zabar’s chocolate babka because it is the best. For me this is always the Gold Standard babka, even though I feel like Breads Bakery gets a lot of hype. I dunno how to explain it but it's the perfect amount of fudgy chocolate and crumbly streusel and rich without being too rich. Although, fascinatingly, apparently Zabar’s babka is made by wholesaler Green’s, and is just marketed under the Zabar’s brand, so whether you buy it from Fairway, Russ and Daughters, or (circa 2019) Whole Foods, it’s all the same?! I had no idea. The price has jumped up a lot from the time that article I linked was written (it’s now more than 13 bucks), but honestly it’s still very worth it, and just between you and me I’d pay a little extra for that Zabar’s label for better gift giving ;)
Slice of chocolate babka at Modern Bread and Bagel
472 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10024
This gluten-free slice was a wildcard contender in my babka lineup. I am by no means a gluten-free girlie, but I happen to live next to a very good gluten-free Kosher bakery, which sounds like an oxymoron but it is not. Usually, I find the texture of gluten-free baked goods to be slightly dry or gummy and off-putting, but I will say that Modern does a good job of sourcing alternative flours that truly taste like flour. Their bagels are pretty damn good, if I do say so myself, except for a slightly weird aftertaste/texture. This babka, however, really can’t be compared to the classic. While it’s not bad, by any means – with a nice, shiny exterior and plenty of chocolate – the crumb is a bit too dense for me.
Chocolate Brooklyn Babka at Trader Joe’s
Your local TJ’s – availability may vary based on location
Of course, I could not finish this Battle of the Babkas without mentioning Trader Joe’s “Brooklyn Babka.” I am not sure if this means that this babka is only available in Trader Joe’s within the vicinity of Brooklyn (readers– verify if you live outside of the NYC area?), or if it’s Brooklyn style, the same way you might run into a Brooklyn Boulders in Massachusetts. Further sleuthing online seems to suggest that the “Brooklyn” in the name refers to Brooklyn Brands, the supplier (although I still dunno if that means you won’t find this product in California). Apparently this is the same supplier for the brand “Lily’s,” sold at Whole Foods. Hmmm. The plot thickens. This babka seemed well-loved as a budget option online, but in my opinion it was a miss. Not sure if it suffers from the classic Trader Joe’s issue of having a very wide range of quality for the same product, or this one was slightly stale – but it felt a bit too eggy and dry for me.
Coconut French Toast Sticks at Modern Bread and Bagel
472 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10024
Coconut French Toast Sticks. $14.00. Coated in shredded coconut with coffee caramel sauce and vanilla coconut custard.
Not to worry about the dissing of the gluten-free babka above, because Modern Bread & Bagel might have the single best brunch menu item I’ve ever eaten in my life. These coconut french toast sticks are beyond delicious, gluten-free or not. I’m usually a savory brunch foods person through and through but these French toast sticks are so damn good. I really feel like “french toast” is an inadequate description of this dish. It’s more like deliciously sugar-coated fried donut sticks with not one but two dipping sauces. In some baked goods the gluten-free flour mix can be a negative (like the babka above, which is too dense) but for these French toast sticks it’s perfect because it makes them taste extra eggy and custardy and almost savory-sweet. There was one coconut dipping sauce that tasted a bit like coconut frosting, and another that I thought was some kind of dark maple syrup but apparently is coffee caramel sauce which is even better. Even though you are paying $14 for French toast sticks this actually was a ton of food, and I ate leftovers over two days, reheating them in the toaster/airfryer.
Khaliat Al Nahl at Qahwah House
Two locations, including 13 Carmine St, New York, NY 10014.
I was beyond excited to learn that my favorite Yemini coffee shop – Qahwah House – opened a second location in Manhattan near West Fourth Street. I was so excited that I went twice in one week, as it’s a super convenient location right off the train. The beverages are the main attraction here – the Adeni Chai is super rich and flavorful, the Yemini tea is warm and spicy (no dairy in that one), not to mention the coffees which I oddly haven’t even gotten into it. But, the real star of the show for me is the Khaliat Al Nahl, a delicious sweet-cheese filled bread. It’s a bit like a bubble bread, each little blob filled with cream cheese, and best of all, drizzled with sweet warm honey. It’s the perfect balance between sweet and slightly savory, very rich and the perfect warm winter treat.
XOXO,
Soph
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