Photo by Brian Kachejian
Unlike the vast majority of the world, or at least the cookie world, I have never had a cookie from Crumbl. I have read about it many times and seen countless social media videos about Crumbl cookies, but I had never actually experienced one. Now, let’s get this straight: I love cookies. It’s one of my downfalls. Trying to lose weight is not easy when you’re eating cookies. Cookies are loaded with fat, so why do they have to taste so good? Well, not all of them do. Is Crumbl one of the ones that taste so good? Here is my honest answer.
To start, I walked into a Crumbl store in Manhattan’s West Village. A woman working behind the counter said hello and then disappeared. As I stood there waiting for her to come back and help me, I noticed a bunch of kiosks off to the side. “Hmm,” I thought, “maybe I’m supposed to order on them first.” It would have been helpful if the woman had told me that, but I guess she assumed I already knew. The modern world can be a little challenging for people like me who are in their sixties. My kids always remind me that I don’t know what the heck I’m doing anymore. Everything is an app now, even paying at some restaurants. You don’t hand them cash anymore; you just tap your card on a little device sitting on the table. So I went over to the kiosk and figured it out the best I could.
I ordered three cookies, three for ten bucks. It’s funny how prices have gone through the roof, and we almost don’t even flinch anymore at the idea of three small cookies costing ten dollars. “These had better be pretty good cookies,” I thought to myself, and right there, before I even took a bite, I started to become biased, which I do not like to do. I chose three cookies that looked pretty good, and before I knew it, the woman came back with a pink box, handed me my cookies, and said, “Thank you very much.”
Lucky for me, there were some empty chairs outside where I could sit and record my video review for this article, which you can watch below. I ordered three cookies: the first was chocolate chip, the second was s’more, and the third was a caramel apple cookie that looked really good. I was very excited to try them because I had heard so many great things. First up was the chocolate chip cookie. I took a bite, took another bite, thought about it for a little bit, and tried not to be biased based on my shopping experience. But in the end, I couldn’t help but spit out the word “yuck.” Chips Ahoy cookies taste better than this, and I can get twenty-four of them for the price of one of these.
Next up was the s’more cookie. This was the one I was most excited about because so many people have raved about it. You know what? It tasted just like a chocolate chip cookie. I was very disappointed in this one. The third and final cookie was the caramel apple, and as you can see in the video below, I didn’t even talk about it because it was so bad.
The internet and social media apps like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have created many overhyped food experiences, especially in New York City. I think many people who visit New York City for the first time are so excited about simply being in the city that their food experiences get hyped up by the thrill of being in the greatest city in the world. For people like me, born in Manhattan, raised in the Bronx, and living in New York my entire life, this stuff is no big deal. I am used to great food in New York. I am used to great delicatessens and excellent bakeries owned by individuals who pour their heart and soul into what they do every single day. I am sorry, but with all the amazing bakeries in New York, at least for me, it is a waste of time to go to a place like Crumbl and get cookies that do not even compare to our supermarket cookies.
Okay, see you next time.
