Eileen's Special Cheesecake • 1974

Eileen Avezzano turned her signature family recipe into a wholesale operation from her apartment in 1974, and the demand never stopped. Her light, airy New York-style cheesecake — now available in over 30 flavors — spawned a cult following that keeps lines wrapped around this Nolita storefront. Each cheesecake still follows that original recipe, the kind of creamy perfection that Food & Wine calls essential to any conversation about New York City cheesecake.