CHEESECAKE REVIEW: Veniero’s Pasticceria

My search for the best cheesecake in New York continues….

Before the world of Twitter and food blogs, I discovered a heavenly little old-school pastry shop on 10th Street. It had been there for over a hundred years so it was not much of a discovery, but I stumbled upon it myself. For me, it was my discovery. And they had the most wonderful cookies and cannolis. It was a true Italian gem in the East Village and it belonged to me.

That was never the case, but I liked to think it did. Nowadays anybody who considers themselves a true New York food obsessive has been to or at least heard of Veniero’s. I don’t feel cool any longer.

But it’s been quite a while since I’ve re-visited. I’ve branched out and moved onto other food discoveries (mostly thanks to that big bad Internet). But now that I’ve been focusing on New York cheesecake, it was time to return to my first New York bakery.

I’m sure it’s because I’ve gotten older and more cynical, but some of the charm has been lost for me. The wait staff was half asleep and the cheesecakes were less than perfect. I ordered both Italian and New York-style and took a seat in the quiet dining room.

The Italian slice featured a beautiful layer of caramelization on top and a mediocre crust. However, I found this cheesecake to be overly sweet with a gritty texture throughout. It also had strange coconut notes. Not sure where that came from. I wouldn’t say the sweetness was unpleasant, but it just overtook any tart cheesiness.

I was definitely more interested in the New York-style cake since that’s the standard when it comes to these reviews. This one was a round white block with no browned contrast anywhere. Here the cheesiness was prevalent and the sweetness was really muted.

Taking bites of this reminded me of eating blocks of Laughing Cow cheese wedges as a kid. It was almost as solid as that with more density than creaminess.

Before I claim that Veniero’s is not as good as I remember, I’ll need to come back and taste their cannoli. That was my jam here. I’m not sure I ever tasted the cheesecake in those older days. Regardless, I now have the resources (and the experience) to explore the entire world of New York food. And I can safely say this is not the last stop for cheesecake.

Does Veniero’s Pasticceria have the best cheesecake in NY? Before my horizons were broadened, I might have said definitely, but now that I know better, I can only rate it a 6 out of 10 for the dense sourness in the NY-style and the gritty, overly sweet Italian version.