Eileen's Special Cheesecake

On our list of the best dessert spots in New York.

Eileen began testing her family's cheesecake recipe in her own apartment before opening a wholesale bakery in December 1975 and moving retail into 17 Cleveland Place a year later, when cheap rent on what she called 'our lucky corner' suited a business just finding its footing on a then-empty block. Proximity to Little Italy helped the storefront take off, and within a few years it had won a spot on a citywide best-bites list and the top ranking in a local radio poll. It was named one of the best cheesecakes in America in 2019, and it's still made by hand and baked fresh daily, with pickup at the counter or shipping nationwide through Goldbelly.