The never-ending pursuit to find the top eats in any given food category has led social media to be set ablaze of late with the reported discovery of the "best chocolate chip cookie" in Vancouver.
The cookie in question is both a behemoth and an underdog, given its size and the fact that it comes from B.C.-based upscale grocery chain Fresh St. Market.
Fresh St.'s Downtown Vancouver location at Vancouver House opened in 2020. You'll find the cookies in the store's bakery section. Not only do you instantly smell the aroma of fresh-baked cookies when you enter the market, but also the shop keeps the cookies warm on a hot tray.
The hot tray method means every massive cookie they scoop into a paper sleeve comes out warm. They make two kinds of cookies: Chocolate Chip and Salted Caramel.
The taste test: Is this the best chocolate chip cookie in the city?
So is Fresh St. Market's "Ultimate" cookie truly the best chocolate chip cookie in Vancouver?
Clocking in at nearly the size of my hand-span, it is indeed large, but not terribly thick. The exterior is pleasantly crispy without getting too crunchy, and the cookie is very - very - buttery. This is a three-napkin cookie!
The inside is tender but not soggy and the chunks of chocolate melty in the initial minutes after purchase.
The Fresh Street cookie comes with walnuts, which is a polarizing addition. Personally, I'm in favour of walnuts in chocolate chip cookies. We can thank my grandmother's recipe for cementing it in my nostalgia-fuelled palate, but I happen to find the dusky, almost neutral sparks of walnut bits a welcome relief from the sweetness and richness of a cookie that is densely packed with chocolate.
Amidst its contemporaries in the Vancouver bakery scene making some of the city's tastiest chocolate chip cookies (Fife, Beaucoup, Purebread) Fresh St. cookie holds its own and makes a worthy contender in the field. Yes: This is one of the best chocolate chip cookies in Vancouver.
Don't sleep on its sibling, the Salted Caramel. The cookie base is butterscotch and almond, making for a mellower, less sugar-forward overall taste with a generous central patch of gooey caramel and a dusting of flaky salt.
Fresh St. Market is located at 1423 Continental St (Vancouver House) in Vancouver. The cookies retail for $4.49 apiece.
Video: Is this the best chocolate chip cookie in Vancouver?
@forkingawesomevia Is this the best chocolate chip cookie in Vancouver? This cookie is massive, buttery, and packed with chocolate and is kept warm on a hot plate before it is scooped in a bag for you. The cookies are about $4/each. Let’s give it a taste test! 🍪🍪🍪 #forkingawesome #vancouverbc #vancouverfood #chocolatechipcookies ♬ Come and Get Your Love - Redbone
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