Zabars - Gourmet groceries/housewares 80th and Broadway

[KeithA]

I recently read the short, good history of Zabars written by one of the family members who own and still run the store, and so when I was nearby I had to stop in. Great selection of everything and there is a cafe next store for grab and go bagel sandwiches. I had just had breakfast and was returning to DC in a few hours, so this trip was mostly baked good. The store made rugelach sold by the piece/pound at the bakery counter was a mixed bag - cinnamon was soft and good (not great) but the chocolate was a bit hard and not so tasty. Much better were the packaged Zabar brand mini black&white cookies and the chocolate babka. The cookies were soft and so good - 100 times better than the one's I picked up in a touristy fancy bakery near my hotel in Times Square a few months ago. The babka was EXCELLENT!!! It looks like a pretty good Green's babka, but oh my is it good. Not fancy like Breads Bakery or other places - just classic, rich chocolate babka. I should have, but my stomach is glad I didn't buy 2.