Build Your Brooklyn Cheesecake List: A Method

To build a Brooklyn cheesecake list, order the plain slice each time and score the crust, the filling, the tang, the sweetness and the finish from one to five. New York style cheesecake is dense, creamy and baked on a graham cracker crust, and a diner slice in July fades from memory within a week.

Why start a Brooklyn cheesecake list?

Because a list turns casual eating into something you can compare. Without notes, the last slice you ate always feels like the best. With notes, you can tell whether the slice in Park Slope really beat the one in Bay Ridge, and why.

A list is also fun to share. When a friend visits and asks where to go for dessert, you can hand over three entries instead of a shrug.

What counts as a cheesecake for the list?

Brooklyn is associated with the New York style: dense, creamy, baked in a springform pan and often finished with a plain top. But the borough also makes Italian ricotta versions, light and slightly grainy, and fluffy styles that sit between cake and custard. Put them all on the list, and note the style beside the name.

Keep the list to plain slices for the first round. A fruit topping or a candy swirl hides the base. Once you know a kitchen's plain slice, you can add flavors.

How to rate a cheesecake from fork to finish

Use five marks: crust, filling, tang, sweetness and finish. Give each a hit, a fine or a miss, and write one short line.

Crust is the base, usually crushed graham crackers, butter and sugar. It should hold together but crumble under the fork, and taste of toast, not of dust. Filling is the heart: look for a smooth, even texture without cracks or a rubbery skin. Tang is the sour note from cream cheese or sour cream, and it should wake up the palate. Sweetness should support, not smother. Finish is how the slice feels in the last bite and an hour later.

How do you taste a slice fairly?

Order the plain slice, and ask for it at the temperature the kitchen intends. A cheesecake that is too cold hides its flavor, so let it sit for a few minutes. Take the first bite from the tip, with crust and filling together. Then eat a bite of filling alone, and a bite of crust alone.

Drink water between slices if you taste more than one. A bitter coffee is a fine partner, but it changes the taste, so note it.

What should you write down?

Keep the note short. Record the date, the place, the style, your five marks and one line about the room or the service. Add the thing you would tell a friend: best crust, creamiest filling, too sweet, worth the line.

Take the note right away, while the taste is fresh. A phone note takes thirty seconds.

Does the setting change the score?

It can, and the list should say so. A slice eaten in a warm diner at the end of a long day tastes different from one eaten standing at a bakery counter on a cold morning. Add a short note on the setting, such as counter, table or takeout box, and on how hungry you were. If a slice travels in a box for twenty minutes, mention that too, since the crust softens. Over time you will see which scores come from the cheesecake and which come from the mood, and your ranking will be fairer for it.

How do you build a Brooklyn dessert ranking of your own?

After five or six slices, sort your list. Which had the creamiest filling? Which had the best crust? Which would you order again? A Brooklyn dessert ranking from your own palate is more useful than any list you did not make, because it reflects what you like.

Do not rush to crown a winner. The best slice may be different on a hot day than on a cold one. Allow a tie.

How do you share Brooklyn favorites?

Share the reason along with the name. Best crust, lightest filling or most tang is a clear reason that helps a friend choose. Keep a short list of your top three, and update it when you find something better.

If you have a group, hold a tasting. Each person brings a slice from a different counter, and the table rates them blind. It is a pleasant way to settle an argument.

What else should you read around Brooklyn?

For a place to eat first, the best pizza slices in Brooklyn page covers a quick lunch, the family friendly restaurants in Brooklyn page suits a table with children and the Brooklyn food halls and markets guide lists places to sample several desserts. The US guides page lists more cities.

Eating your way across New York? The Food in New York State page links every town we cover.

How this works in the app: Make a list.

Start the card with your next slice. Get the Mosey app, rate every cheesecake by crust, filling and finish, and build a list for your neighborhood that you can hand to the next friend who asks where to find a good one.