"There’s often a line inside Eileen’s Special Cheesecake, but you shouldn’t let that deter you. It moves quickly, and there’s ample standing room to eat along the counter inside this narrow Nolita storefront with cheerful royal blue accents. The pastry case has more than a dozen cheesecake flavors, like red velvet, cookies and cream, and mango (and more by special order). All are airy and adorably decorated, but the salted caramel cheesecake is the bakery’s bestseller, for good reason. The caramel flavor is deep and complex, and best of all, the cake is topped with crunchy sugar and then lightly torched, for a surprising, and welcome, hint of bitterness. You can buy standard-sized cheesecakes at Eileen’s, which was established in 1974, but the real stars are the cheesecake tarts, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. They’re the perfect portion to avoid feeling uncomfortably full, or better yet, to make sure you have room for seconds. photo credit: Molly Fitzpatrick" - Molly Fitzpatrick
