Like muffins, New York City scones are a great excuse to eat cake for breakfast.  Or, depending on where you get them, to eat cookies in the morning.  Or, basically, to have dessert any damn time of day you want.  We have an especially wide array of different types here in the city as New York is truly the Madagascar of scones.  Anywho, here is my list of 12 recommended scones.

I’ll start with my favorite scone, the raisin scone from Payard. [Payard is closed, try Francois Chocolate Bar for pastry- no scones or bread to date 3-1-2010] A very thin crisp shell with a sweet soft Challah-like inside.  The aroma of the center of this scone is one of the great food pleasures for $1.50.  Notes: Go early or they won’t have any left.  More on Payard.

The Maple scones from Blue Ribbon Bakery are almost like shortbread cookies. They are very small, sweet and flavorful with a thin layer of frosting.  Perfect if you are not in the mood for a full-on bread bomb.  More desserts from Blue Ribbon.

The goat cheese and herb savory scone from Clinton Street Baking Company has a thick, crunchy, textured crust and a very salty and flavorful inside.  This is a big scone that is fun to eat in the same way ripping off pieces of French bread is.  More Clinton Street Desserts.

Perhaps I should not have included the tiny savory biscuit-like scone from Dovetail since it’s only available with their delicious brunch.  However, it left an impression on me so I felt it deserved a spot.  Chewy on the edges like a buttery chocolate chip cookie but 100% savory almost like a cornmeal grain, butter rich biscuit that’s been cooked on a griddle.  More from DessertBuzz 5-star Dovetail.

The savory bacon cheddar scone from Bouchon is a highly textured and flavorful creation worthy of the Bouchon name.  More like a small specialty bread, this scone is not at all crumbly or buttery.  Notes:  You must go early to get these as they can be dry if you get them in the afternoon.  Check with the staff if you go after 12:00 to see when it was baked.  Also for god sakes, get a pastry here if you go.

The  chocolate strawberry scone from Alice’s Tea Cup packs tons of delicious dark chocolate and fresh strawberries.  Their crust is thick and the inside reminds me of buttermilk pancakes with starwberries and chocolate.  They are the biggest scones and most filling in this feature.  Perfect for fueling up for a long walk around Central Park.  Notes: ask for a hot one. It simply DESTROYS!   More from Alice’s Tea Cup.

The chocolate scone from E.A.T. definitely has some croissant in its bloodlines.  Very buttery, light  and flaky (um, like the inside of a good croissant?).  This is the opposite of the dense Clinton St. or Alice’s Tea Cup scones.  Notes: The dark chocolate in this scone is simply outstanding.  More from E.A.T.

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The organic cranberry scone from Le Pain Quotidien is like a muffin but with an interesting glazed soft exterior that makes it stand out.  The tart cranberries and low sugar content also keep this from becoming too sweet. Notes: if you like your scones to be very distinctive from muffins you might not like this scone. More dessert from Le Pain Quotidien.

Forget the name of the scone I am going to describe here and just go buy one and enjoy it.  The vegan (yes vegan) chocolate chip scone from Whole Foods is really just a big thick less dense chocolate chip cookie that you can eat for breakfast.  It has coconut inside and some other great textures to go along with excellent dark chocolate chips and a crunchy crust, all for $1.79.  Notes: I said forget it’s vegan!  More Whole Foods here.

The currant scone from Bouley Bakery is a work of baking and culinary art. The cookie-like exterior is not buttery but is perfectly browned.  The inside is crumbly and not too sweet.  Like a less-sweet, less buttery slightly more dense shortbread cookie.  Notes: Try some other items while you are down there – almost everything is superb.

No review on New York City scones would be complete without the monster offering from the Levain Bakery.  A thin but crispy exterior layer and a super buttery smooth interior.  When hot, these scones are hard to beat in the more traditional category.  Notes: Monster size means you won’t need more food for hours.  Pair it with one of their world famous cookies and you could feed the entire Army Core of Engineers.  More Levain.

Honorable mention goes to the Street Sweets Truck oat currant scone.  Very textured, flavorful and extremely fresh, this is a perfect morning scone to go with your coffee.  Cake-like although not particularly scone-like in texture, you couldn’tt eat it as a stand alone dessert.  One to try if you can figure out where the truck is parked.  Try Midtown Lunch to see where their spot is.

Like many New Yorkers I like to walk.  I’ll trek many miles to try out a new bakery or restaurant where there’s rumored to be good dessert. But if you’re from out of town and have limited time to devote to eating dessert or you’re just mad lazy, head down to Clinton St.  You can sample a great selection of the best desserts and bakeries all within a few short blocks.

If you’re a real foodie, or in from out of town for a special occasion you  have to check out the tasting menu at Wd-50.  If you want to sample the cutting edge of molecular gastronomy without dropping $250 on a meal just sit at the bar and have a dessert and a drink.  Don’t forget to ask for a tour of the kitchen if it’s not busy.  Wd-50 is at 50 Clinton Street.   I have already cast my vote for the Clinton Street Baking Company’s sweet scones and cookies but their savory goat cheese and herb scone also rocks.  Clinton Street Baking Company is on 4 Clinton Street.

If you’re in the mood for something different slip into Luxee [Ed's note: Luxee is closed but try Dessert Truck Works located in their old space on Clinton St. ] for one of their unique organic or vegan desserts.  Don’t be scared!  Chef Yoshi Shirakowa has over 18 years of experience in pastry, and headed the pastry line at a 3-star Michelin restaurant in Japan.  The New York Times called the chef’s special caramel apple “a masterpiece” – though they were terrified by the green forest parfait which is a chocolate mousse whipped with avocado.  If you’re too much of a wimp to try one of those you can’t go wrong with the Brownie (pictured above).  Luxee is on 6 Clinton St.

Then there’s Falai Panetteria (79 Clinton St.) and Falai Restaurant (69 Clinton St.).  The chef/owner, Iacopo Falai, is a former pastry chef from Le Cirque 2000, and that is pretty much all you need to know.  They do have a bar here so conceivably you could go in and order just the superb desserts, but the place is always so packed you would have to try a stunt like that at an off hour or risk getting jumped.

The breads and sweets from Panetteria are out of this world when fresh–many LES restaurants buy their breads from here.  They also have unusual desserts for a sit-down cafe.  I don’t have any pictures (gasp!) but this New York Times piece describes them well.  A cool space too.

I have to mention Cocoa Bar because their desserts and chocolate selections are really great.  They have a rich, dark, alcohol spiked hot chocolate that holds its own against any hot chocolate in the city.  However, the speed of their service resembles the episode of Bugs Bunny where Bugs is being chased by a mad scientist trying to steal his brain and they accidentally ingest ether so they’re going in super slow motion.  Cocoa Bar is at 21 Clinton St.

Here’s a map to the DessertBuzz Clinton Street tour:

View DessertBuzz Clinton Street Food Tour in a larger map

Everyone knows Cocoa Bar is a cool place to mack on desserts at night, but did you also know they sold original creative chocolates that are perfect for Halloween?  Take the eyeball fudge pop above.  It had a dark chocolate crust, a thin layer of marshmallow and a chocolate fudge inside. Cocoa bar is located here.