around town: milk bar harvard square

while i've been hearing about milk bar for what feels like 20 years, i've never been to the flagship NYC location. so when i found out that the beloved dessert shop was opening in harvard square, i had to pay it a visit. word on the street is that as a result of purchasing the building, the owners put crema, a neighboring independent coffee shop, out of business. if true, that's pretty shitty—i adored that place and have been on a zillion dates there and have a bunch of happy memories associated with it. but, nothing good ever lasts, so i figured i'd give the new (commercial) kid on the block a shot.

 because it only opened, like, last week or something, the line was almost out the door upon my arrival. 

 oh, and it's a hybrid bakeshop AND pizza joint (stylized as "&pizza") because i guess that's trendier looking. but the line is for both? and then you split off, depending on what you want? slightly confusing for a first-timer. didn't try the pizza this time around, but it smelled absolutely delicious.

while you wait, there are temptations for impulse buys everywhere, from cookie mix to cookbooks.

i finally got up to the counter, and ordered a cornflake, chocolate chip, and marshmallow cookie and a cereal milk latte. apparently, the soft serve and milkshakes are where it's at, but it was 30 degrees out and i just can't do ice cream (or iced coffee, even) in the wintertime. at all. i know, i know, i'm weird. oh, and then there was this delightful tip jar:

 my biggest gripe is that there's absolutely no room to sit down unless you're getting pizza, which i imagine is by design considering the amount of traffic that comes through. but i was all excited to curl up with my treats and read and relax for a bit, and my dreams were quickly shattered and i had to go back into the freezing streets of harvard square instead. rough!

latte and cookie for reference:

both were good! the latte, true to its name, tasted like the slightly-sugary remnants of your cereal bowl as a kid with a nice touch of espresso, but wasn't overpoweringly sweet. i PROBABLY didn't need to eat the entire cookie in one sitting, because it was...a lot. but i did it and i don't have any regrets (and i'll almost definitely do it again in the future).

see you in the springtime for soft serve, milk bar.