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I know I'm wrong, but this peanut butter hot chocolate is what I've always imagined a butterbeer would taste like. It's violently sweet, slightly thicker than the average hot chocolate, with a subtle undertone of my favorite breakfast butter.
Price: $5.95
Location: Union Square
Home of the famous compost cookie and cereal milk soft serve, Momofuku Milk Bar also serves a solid cup of hot cocoa. Mild in sweetness, this hot chocolate is the only one I felt I could finish and not need to jog 5 miles to work off. The charred marshmallows add a pop of extra sweetness, but the rich foam swallowing up the lil' treats was probably my favorite part.
Price: $4
Location: Multiple locations
The hot chocolate itself is pretty meh, but delightful clumps of hot chocolate powder in the shape of a paw print make this an iconic cup of choco. Instead of mixing it into the drink, let the powder concentrates melt in your mouth like microscopic chocolate sprinkles.
Price: $4.25
Location: Multiple locations
When I worked close to Jacques Torres' SoHo location, I used to treat myself to this smooth, velvety happiness-in-a-cup after an especially hard day of work. It's milky and sweet, and just thick enough to make you want to smack your lips a few times after every sip. You can also make it at home, if you can't get enough.
Price: $3.50
Location: Multiple locations
If Marie Antoinette were to have a favorite cup of hot chocolate, this would be it. Served in a delicate ceramic cup, this decadent drink is pure, housemade hot dark chocolate, served with a mini pitcher of your choice of almond, soy, or plain ol' whole milk. Pinky up!
Price: $5
Location: Multiple locations
If ice cream married hot chocolate, this drink would be its delicious love child. The dark chocolate is the thing to get here — it's creamy and super pillowey — kind of like cool whip. The best part is the dollop of cold, thick whipped cream that refuses to melt.
Price: $5.80 with whipped cream
Location: Multiple locations
Oh my god, this one is hot chocolate royalty. Made with Valrhona cocoa nibs, cocoa butter, heavy cream, sugar, milk, and a pinch of salt, this $9 creation tastes like a hot chocolate version of one of those fancy foiled squares of chocolate they serve you in espresso bars. Indulge slowly, and chew on one of the 'mallows before they melt into a floating layer of sticky white goo.
Price: $9
Location: 1170 Broadway & 28th Street, New York, NY 10001
I love mint chocolate chip ice cream, so this one's an instant like. Baristas whip up the creamy dessert by steaming round chips of mint chocolate, along with milk. It's creamy, with an aftertaste that is faintly minty — basically the kind of crisp drink you want to sip while you explore this quiet stretch of the Lower East Side.
Price: $5.00
Location: 21 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002
This place obviously wins for presentation. Drinking my hot chocolate with spoonfuls of whipped cream made me feel like a hot chocolate connoisseur. Also, even though this hot chocolate is clearly more decadent than Swiss Miss, something about its from-scratch recipe made me feel strangely nostalgic.
Price: $5
Location: 132 Spring St, New York, NY 10012
It's your favorite cupcake flavor, in hot chocolate form! The barista here makes this drink by steaming dark chocolate chips, red velvet powder, and a squirt of Hershey's syrup with milk. The same powder is also dusted on the whipped cream. The result is a piping hot mug of buttery sweetness perfect on a crisp fall day.
Price: $5.50
Location: Multiple locations
Drinking a hot chocolate here is like drinking beer at a brewery. This store is located IN a chocolate factory, so you can gaze at all the Willy Wonka-esque machinery while you sip on your pure, raw hot chocolate.
Price: $4
Location: 288 Seigel St, Brooklyn, NY 11206
Okay, so I'll be honest — this hot chocolate is your standard grocery store mix, served in a heavy mug. The cool part is the whipped cream, which frosts the mug in fun, dense, decorative swirls. Also, this place has all of the Italian pastries you'd ever want, so you can pair your drink with a sfogliatella.
Price: $4.50
Location: 289 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211
The bestselling order here is the Mild Aztec, a hot chocolate as complex as an aged wine. That's because along with cocoa beans and sugar, the powder is made out of everything from cinnamon and chipotle chile to anis and ginger clove. To most people, that basically translates to a slightly savory hot chocolate that's thick AF and really fun to eat-drink.
Price: $4
Location: 67 Guernsey Street, Brooklyn, NY 11222
This is totally subjective, but this one was my favorite hot chocolate out of the bunch. This melted Lindt of a drink is milky and creamy, but with a spicy kick you catch at the back of your throat. It's as if they dropped a red chili pepper at the bottom of every cup. I really don't know if I can go back to normal (bland) hot chocolates after this.
Price: $3.25
Location: 1652 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10028