The great brew houses and burger joints scattered across the country are always highlighted in road trip guides. But chocolate chip cookies, those gooey symbols of all that is wholesome and right about America, always seem to get the shaft. Not today. The cookies from these eight bake shops scattered from coast to coast are worth the stop on any road trip.聽
Flour Bakery and Cafe (Boston, Massachusetts)
World renowned pastry chef Joanne Chang鈥檚 many different creations鈥攆rom Milky Way tarts to triple chocolate mousse cake鈥攈ave made her 14-year-old in Boston鈥檚 South End a Beantown tourist institution alongside the Duck Boats and Fenway park. But it鈥檚 her brownie-like double chocolate chip cookies (made with silky, artisan Tcho chocolate) that truly stand out.
Levain Bakery (New York, New York)
Bite into a thick chocolate chip walnut cookie by on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and there鈥檚 no way to keep your hands or face clean. Baked to molten perfection and using what seems like about a stick of butter for each cookie, these confectionery creations are shipped all over the world for $27 a four-pack, not including shipping.
Salty Tart (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
The six-year-old 聽in Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis, and its top-rated pastry chef Michelle Gayer, are known for their coconut macaroons, nicknamed locally as 鈥渃rack-aroons.鈥 But the traditional melt-in-your-hand chocolate chunk cookies are just as addictive.
Smoke Daddy Rhythm and Blues Barbecue (Chicago, Illinois)
, as it鈥檚 called, in Wicker Park has been the Windy City鈥檚 most famous barbecue joint for the past 20 years. What鈥檚 more of a secret is its dessert: the giant chocolate chip cookie, baked and served in an iron skillet, and topped with vanilla ice cream.
JD鈥檚 Chippery (University Park, Texas)
Students from Southern Methodist University in University Park outside Dallas have been flocking to this for more than a quarter-century. Its traditional-tasting Toll House-style chocolate chip cookies are carefully baked in small batches during the day鈥攏ot just early in the morning鈥攖o keep them super-fresh and flavorful. You can call ahead with your cookie order so you don鈥檛 go there empty-handed.
Santa Fe Cookie Company (Denver, Colorado)
The Santa Fe Cookie Company in downtown Denver doesn鈥檛 advertise or have a web site. It doesn鈥檛 even handle your money, most of the time. Payment works on the honor system鈥攄rop $1 into a plastic jug, and then drop three chocolate chip cookies into a paper bag for yourself. The cookies are worth the lines that form early and often.
Milk (Los Angeles, California)
On an evening on the town, save room for dessert at , an old-fashioned ice cream parlor and bake shop鈥攚ith a modern gourmet flair in Los Angeles. The Ooey Gooey Double Chocolate cookies (made with bittersweet chips) are its most famous offering but are best served with coconut ice cream and chocolate sauce as part of the Warm Ooey Gooey Chocolate Sundae.