Eileen's Special Cheesecake

My parents have been going to Eileen's Special Cheesecake for years and years and years, and it's definitely one of their favorite places to go for a special occasion.  I've had their cheesecakes before once or twice, and I've always liked it.  I'm not really a cheesecake person, but I always enjoyed those occasions when there was a cheesecake from Eileen's sitting on our dining room table for dessert.  When I told my dad that I wanted to start visiting and blogging about different bakeries and specialty food shops in New York City, he pretty much ordered me to make a stop at Eileen's, saying that it was a tiny shop that was full of character and delicious cheesecakes.  Having only eaten Eileen's cheesecakes in my house and never actually been there, I figured it would be an excellent idea. 

Conveniently, one day last week when I checked my email, there happened to be a Google offer for $10 worth of Eileen's Special Cheesecake desserts...that's just too perfect.  I bought it that second and planned on going Saturday afternoon.  Yesss, weekend plans were complete! 

Eileen's is located in downtown Manhattan, and from the outside and across the street, the store looks a bit lackluster.  However.  Once you cross the street and stand in front of the store, that all changes.  The storefront has artwork painted on the sides of the doors, and the windows have fun pictures painted on them, and the store really looks so much more alive and adorable.  When I went, there was even the Eileen's Special Cheesecake delivery car parked out front. This little cheesecake shop looked promising.

My dad was not kidding when he said the store was tiny...it really was!  The store is pretty narrow, but from the front you can see through to the back kitchen area, which looked pretty nice.  There's limited seating in the front of the shop, and there's a nicely-sized glass display case showcasing all their cheesecakes and mousses. Everything looked so good!  Despite the store being so small, I immediately fell in love with it.  It just had a very cozy and inviting feeling, and the people working there were very friendly, and that's always a plus.  

I wasn't sure what I wanted to get when I walked in (this is a pretty common occurrence though).  I knew I wanted several of the mini cheesecakes (at $3.50 each they're not bad at all!), but picking the flavors was tricky.  My parents are the type of people that ONLY like plain cheesecake...as in a plain cheesecake with no fruit topping...I know, I find that weird too.  I obviously couldn't just get a plain cheesecake.  While I was waiting in line and trying to come to some sort of rational decision as to what to do with myself, I overhead the first customer in line debating whether or not she should get a raspberry cheesecake for the dinner party she was going to that evening.  She said she wasn't sure if people would like raspberry or not.  A different customer overheard the same comment, and told her to just get the cheesecake with raspberry topping.  "Come on, it's from Eileen's," he said.  "It has to be good."  She ended up buying the raspberry cheesecake, and I figured this guy had some pretty sound logic. 

I ended up following this guy's advice, and got a mini cheesecake with raspberry topping.  From past experience with Eileen's cheesecake, I knew the actual cheesecake part underneath the topping would be delicious, and it was.  The raspberry topping was delicious too.  Like...really delicious actually.  It wasn't very sweet, which is something that I always look for in any dessert, because I'm just particular with how sweet things are, so this raspberry topping was awesome.  It paired nicely with the rich cheesecake beneath it.  Cheesecake #1 was a success.

Cheesecake #2 was a mini chocolate cheesecake.  I love chocolate way too much, so there was no way I was going to miss the opportunity to eat a chocolate cheesecake from Eileen's.  It didn't disappoint.  The cheesecake itself actually tasted like chocolate, and the chocolate cookie crumb crust was very nice.  I'd say that cheesecake #2 was a success as well.

For my final purchase, I ended up trying a key lime mousse.  Now, I really, really, really love key lime and am always ready to try anything that has a key lime flavor.  However.  This mousse was just a tad disappointing.  Don't get me wrong, it was still delicious, but I can't say it was on the same level of awesome-ness as the two mini cheesecakes I had tried before.  It was good, but not fantastic.  Cheesecake (mousse technically) #3 was alright.

Overall though, I loved my trip to Eileen's, and I definitely plan on going back again soon. The mini cheesecakes aren't expensive at all, and they're small enough for me to consider them a perfect afternoon snack or a small dessert.  What do I recommend? Skip the mousse and head straight for the cheesecake and you won't be disappointed.  Unless you really like mousse, then just get that.  If you're getting cheesecake, the cheesecake with raspberry topping is a sure-fire hit.  As much as I love chocolate, I gotta say that I really really really loved the raspberry cheesecake more.  It was so classic, so timeless, and just simply delicious. Sorry mom and dad, you guys just don't know what you're missing out on when it comes to cheesecake fruit toppings, because Eileen's raspberry cheesecake is just outstanding.  I mean come on...it's from Eileen's.  It has to be good.