Smart Cookies

MEMBERS OF THE CRIMSON STAFF gathered recently in a purely professional setting to inspect, eat, and comment on chocolate chip cookies from five Harvard Square shops.

The goal was to find the ultimate cookie experience. After much deliberation and boisterous mouth stuffing, the Best of Show was plucked from mediocrity to receive its fifteen minutes of fame.

Eight tasters from the news b investigated the important criteria of cookie consumption. Fifteen Minutes then stole the results which are displayed below.

Establishment  Au Bon Pain  Bruegger's.  C'est Bon  David's  The Greenhouse Cafe Physical Appearance  The Ugly Duckling of cookies. Dark, dry, crusty, cracked, and hard.  A baker's beauty. A very a attractive cookie--large, thick, and soft--with lots of healthy-sized chips.  Nothing special. Thin, hard, few chips visible.  "Wild topography." Chunky, muddy, soft like butter.  The classic look. Dark chocolate chips in a small, round, firm cookie. Smell  The cookie's scent is something of a turn-off. When in the Pain, go for eau de Sweet Cheese croissant instead.  Nonexistent, really. Perfect. Not too high, not too low.  Cinnamon stench.  Scrumptious.  Pleasant Chip-to-Dough Ratio  Out of control. Said one taster. "A tremendous amount of chocolate."  "Too doughy." This is mere Star Market material--"you can taste the preservatives."  Poor. Minimal chip action   Great. Lots of chocolate taste, yet not overpowering.  Wonderful. "The chocolate taste comes right through." General Observations  Exotic chocolate flavor. Not your basic milk-chocolate.  Far from chocolate chip cookie paradise, though it did possess a certain je ne sais quoi.  The bucket-o-cinnamon and "touch-o-nutmeg" eliminate the chocolate taste. This cookie's only redeeming french fry test--chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside.  Very rich. This cookie is "moist and plump," "greasy," and "heavy," "a lot of butter."  "Just a gosh darn good cookie." Very straightforward, no nonsense. ValueA fair deal at $.35 per ounce.  It's bargain, $.22 per ounce.  A fair deal. $.33 per ounce.  A rip-off. $.50 per ounce.  Fair deal. $.34 per ounce. The Verdict  This is definitely a chocolate lover's cookie, not a chocolate chip cookie lover's cookie.  "It's Keebler wannabe." "Where are the elves?"  Here we have a Cookie Identity Crisis. This sample vascillates between chocolate chip and oatmeal.  Rich and sinful. Its smooth, melt-in-your-mouth taste made this cookie a favorite.  The winner, handsdown. Comments  "Where' the cookie?" "If I wanted a candy bar, I would have bought a Milky Way"  "Looks can be deceiving."  "Where're the raisings?" "Too spicy." "It's trying to be an outmeal, but doesn't cut it."  "You can lose yourself in this cookie." "It rolls across your tongue and down your esophagus."  "Delicious." "Sex in a circle."