Junior's Restaurant: Incredible Cheesecake

One of the places I was most looking forward to trying during our trip to New York was Junior's Restaurant. I first learned about Junior's a few years ago when it was featured on the Food Network in one of the first episodes of Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Bobby talked about how Junior's made some of the best cheesecakes you would ever find and he challenged them to a cheesecake throwdown. At that time, the owners at Junior's were excited about the launch of their newest flavor, the Devil's Food Cheesecake. I'd been dreaming of trying a slice of this cheesecake ever since.

Our first night in town, we took advantage of the opportunity to walk around Times Square and the opportunity to walk over to Junior's. They have a large restaurant with a full menu and tons of seating and we contemplated going to the restaurant, but then decided to the shop beside the restaurant where they sell desserts from a counter and offer patio seating. At first, I was tempted by all the different flavors of cheesecakes that looked so good, but I stuck my guns and ordered a slice of the Devil's Food Cheesecake.

We waited for a table, took some pictures of our cheesecake, and then took the first bite...OH MY GOODNESS! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! THIS IS INCREDIBLE!

Side note – I think when you really enjoy something, whether it is art, sports, music, food, etc. there are moments when you have experiences that are difficult to describe. When an art lover sees an incredibly inspiring piece or when a sports fan sees a remarkable performance by an athlete, it can leave you speechless. As someone who loves food, this cheesecake was one of those experiences for me.

The Devil's Food Cheesecake at Junior's is a combination of chocolate cake and cheesecake. There is a (generous) layer of cheesecake, chocolate icing, and a (also generous) layer of chocolate cake, and then it is topped with my chocolate icing and chocolate shavings and chips. To some, it would probably be considered an overload of chocolate. The chocolate cake was perfect. It was moist and rich and everything you want in a chocolate cake. The icing provided even more chocolate flavor and was not too sweet or sugary. And the cheesecake was that wonderful "New York Style" cheesecake that was creamy and rich. A bite where you combined all of these elements (which was difficult because the slice was so big) was a heavenly experience.

I have no idea how Junior's Restaurant didn't win in their episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay because I don't know how he could have created a cheesecake better than this one. If I'm judging, this is the best piece of cheesecake I've ever had...hands down.

For more reviews, check out my blog: From Ballparks to BBQ.