Serious Eats: New York
Sugar Rush: Cheesecake from Monteleone's Bakery
Monteleone's many cheesecake fans had to go cold turkey when it closed for renovations a few years ago, shortly after I included it in my cheesecake round-up in the Times in 2004. It finally reopened a couple years ago, and the slightly crumbly but still creamy cheesecake is just as good as I remember it.
If you go (and you should) ask for the Sicilian cheesecake sold by the pound. The slab in the photo weighed over half a pound, and five Serious Eaters had no trouble polishing it off (mind you, after an afternoon of grubbing in the neighborhood).
Monteleone's Bakery
355 Court Street, Brooklyn NY 11231 (b/n President and Union Streets; map)
718-852-5600