Stefanie Y.
Yelp
My family friends swear that Orwashers has the best babka in NYC. I'm more a fan of their ciabatta muffin breakfast sandwiches, but that's the beauty of a very good bakery: with such a large variety of baked goods freshly and expertly baked, everyone can find something they love.
Anyways, back to the babka: the taste and texture reminded me of Asian milk bread - a light sweetness and a tender, pillowy crumb that tears in long shreds. The filling, described as "sticky bun", has a hint of cinnamon, a lot of brown sugar, and walnuts scattered throughout. It's not the dense, usually intensely sweet and filling-laden babka that I'm used to, but it is very, very good - so good that I doubled back in the afternoon to buy another slice.
The ciabatta muffins were likewise very light and tender, with none of the sometimes overly-chewy toughness of traditional ciabatta, and yet the flavor was unmistakably ciabatta. They taste excellent with jam and butter, and even better with egg and ham. We tried twice to buy a bunch in the afternoon and they were sold out both times, so come early if you want to try these! I didn't have a chance to try the doughnuts, but heard that they are excellent filled with raspberry jam (which is piped to order).
Service is fine - fairly fast if not very friendly. The tight quarters and uptight clientele we encountered also left me feeling lukewarm about eating in - I had placed my breakfast sandwich at the counter, then left to get my coffee from the pick-up area. When I returned to eat my breakfast, a father with his two kids, who had arrived after me, glared at me and moved his kids down one seat as if I was the harbinger of the plague. People also bring their strollers in and get inexplicably upset at you when they run their strollers into your feet while you're standing in line - happened to me twice out of three visits. Probably more of a place to grab and go - and Central Park offers a spacious outdoor picnic space just a few blocks away!