Acknowledgments

My sweetest thanks to…

• Alan Rosen, my co-author and Junior’s owner, who personifies Junior’s to me. He strives every day to be The Best…and so does everyone around him. To slice that perfect slice of cheesecake, to make the highest sundae topped with that perfect mountain of whipped cream, to ice the most spectacular six-layer cake you have ever sunk your fork into. Because Alan Rosen cares…he cares that everyone who comes to Junior’s, or orders a cheesecake by mail, or makes a dessert from one of our recipes remembers it as being The Best they have ever mixed, baked, stacked, iced, sliced, tasted, and served.

For our third book, this one exclusively on desserts, Alan always found time to share his knowledge, the Rosen tradition, and his love of Junior’s with me—especially everything sweet. Over many plates of blintzes (the most heavenly ones ever!), I listened and learned as he described step by step, then showed me, scoop by scoop and slice by slice, how to make desserts the Junior’s Way—the highest, the biggest, the richest, the creamiest, and the yummiest ever. For Alan, and all the Rosens, the most important thing is perfection in everything Junior’s makes, serves, and sells.

• Everyone at Junior’s—Alan, his father, Walter, his brother Kevin, and all the Rosens who shared memories of Grandpa Harry; Brooklyn restaurant manager Allen Fleming, who showed me how Junior’s makes their Broadway skyscraper ice cream soda; and others on the Brooklyn staff: Executive Chef Adam Marks; Hastings Stainrod; Chef Krzysztof Chachler (brownie icing expert); Luis Mendez (expert rugelach baker); Colette Swanston-Harris (fabulous sourcer of Junior’s facts and photo props); and Times Square location restaurant manager Miles Ellis, as well as the rest of Junior’s extremely skilled family of bakers, cake decorators, chefs, sous chefs, waiters and waitresses, counter servers, office staff, and soda jerks, who always seemed to go out of their way to make me feel as though I “just came home” the minute I walked through the door. Without everyone at Junior’s, our three cookbooks would never have been written. And because of them, New Yorkers, visitors, and customers worldwide can enjoy dessert the authentic Junior’s Way.

• Bakery Manager Jason Schwartz and Quality Control Manager Armando Gurango, who invited me into the bakery to see first-hand how the bakers at Junior’s whirl raspberries into cheesecakes, shower cakes with ganache, pipe towering peaks of buttercream by hand onto thousands of cupcakes, and lovingly tie red ribbons about every Tiramisu Cake before it leaves
the bakery.

• Master Pastry Chef Michael Goodman, who shared his scrumptious recipe for Brioche Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce and priceless tips from his storehouse of baking knowledge to help this pudding come out the same delicious way every time.

• Bob Hunt, who shared his egg-cream know-how on measuring, stirring, and “bouncing seltzer off a spoon” to get that perfect white foam on every egg cream that Junior’s serves.

• Nancy Weinberg, the marketing whiz who is helping to expand Junior’s into more and more locations, the QVC® home-shopping network, mail order, Internet, and wholesale channels. Somehow she found the time to track down a photo or a cake fact that answered another question about the traditional Junior’s Way.

• Pam Hoenig, food editor extraordinaire, who, like me, has believed in the Junior’s Way for years and once again has helped me visualize and perfect every printed word of this dessert book—from helping us select which of the countless Junior’s delicious desserts to include, editing each recipe until it was perfect, contributing her invaluable food knowledge, and always being as close as my computer to advise along the way.

• Carolyn Mandarano, senior managing editor at Taunton Books, who helped visualize and translate the Junior’s story into this beautiful book that you can now read, bake with, enjoy, and give as a gift. She was always there, supporting, advising, and managing the creation of this book, along with the extraordinary creative staff at Taunton, including Carol Singer, Alison Wilkes, Katy Binder, and Lynne Phillips.

• The Photography Team: The delicious photographs scattered among these pages required an exceptional team highly skilled in photographing food, especially desserts: photographer Mark Ferri and his digital technician Jamie Slater; food stylist Leslie Orlandini and her assistant Jennifer Jung; and prop stylist Francine Matalon-Degni.

• The Public Relations Team: Getting the word out about this book to you, the reader, takes a highly qualified team of public relations professionals. Many thanks go to executive vice president Bruce Bobbins from Dan Klores Communications and the food publicity team at Taunton, including Janel Noblin and Allison Hollett.

• And most of all to you, the reader, who believes in and loves Junior’s desserts—from the “regulars” who come frequently for dessert and coffee and bring their family and friends, to presidents, politicians, celebrities, not-so-famous folks, journalists, experienced bakers, and those discovering baking and tasting Junior’s desserts for the first time. Each of you makes the many hours of working alongside the Junior’s bakers, translating their recipes into consumer-size ones, writing, kitchen testing, and tasting well worth every fabulous bite! —Beth Allen

The Story ofJunior’s

Our story begins on Cherry Street, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. In 1895 my great-grandfather Barnett Rosen and his wife, Sarah, moved into a tenement building there from the Ukraine and got a job working twelve hours a day in the Wilson & Company slaughterhouse on First Avenue and Thirty-Eighth Street. Six children soon came along, two daughters and four sons. Grandpa Harry (Hershel), who would become the founder of Junior’s, was born in 1904.

My great-grandmother, who was ten years younger than my great-grandfather, was an energetic, resourceful, and very wise woman who was always doing good deeds for others, especially her children. She taught them to seize every opportunity and to make the very best of what they had. With her encouragement, Harry and his oldest brother, Mike, worked every day after school at Marchioni’s Ice Cream Parlor on Grand Street. They were allowed to spend 50 cents of their earnings each week however they wanted to; the rest their mother wisely and safely squirreled away, and in just two years Sarah saved up $1,500. With those savings, she bought the boys a partnership in a luncheonette on Duane Street and Broadway when Grandpa was only 16 and Mike 18. Later, when the owner decided to retire, they bought him out. Soon their luncheonette became known for having some of the best sandwiches and sodas in Manhattan, and they began to expand, until they owned five luncheonettes. In need of a name for the business, my Grandpa Harry thought of a manufacturer of stainless-steel luncheonette equipment called Enduro—and the Enduro Sandwich Shops were born.

Grandpa Makes the Move to Brooklyn

In the late 1920s, Brooklyn was bustling. By day, thousands of longshoremen worked on its waterfront. Brooklyn also had a vibrant nightlife, with people drawn to the beautiful Beaux Arts Albee Theater, opulent Fox Theater, and the Paramount Theater, which seated more than 4,000 and towered over the corner of DeKalb and Flatbush Avenue Extension. This is where my grandfather decided to open his next Enduro Sandwich Shop. His bride-to-be, Ruth Jacobsen, wasn’t so convinced, saying “Harry, what are you thinking?” Grandpa looked at her with a smile and replied, “If I listen to you, my darling, we’ll be wearing cigar boxes for shoes.”

In February of 1929, Grandpa Harry and Mike opened their Enduro in Brooklyn, in a small storefront rented from the Dime Savings Bank. It had only a few tables and a counter, but it soon became the place for Brooklynites to enjoy a steaming bowl of homemade tomato soup and a Jewish deli-style overstuffed sandwich: brisket of corned beef, roast beef, or hot turkey—take your pick. Business was good.

Ruth and Grandpa married and returned to Brooklyn from their honeymoon just as the stock market crashed. Grandpa Harry and Mike lost a lot of money (a couple of hundred thousand dollars, a major fortune in today’s dollars), so they decided to sell their Manhattan shops and put all of their efforts into the Enduro in Brooklyn.

The Enduro Goes Upscale

In the early 1930s, Prohibition was repealed, which brought the breweries—and jobs—back to Brooklyn. This spurred Grandpa to expand, adding a cocktail bar and elevated bandstand, which turned his little luncheonette into the Enduro Restaurant and Café. The menu offered fine dining at its best: sirloin steaks, chops, side dishes like Duchess potatoes, and Enduro’s parfait for dessert. By then, Grandpa had two sons—my Uncle Marvin, who was born in 1930, and my dad, Walter Rosen, born in 1934. Uncle Marvin began working at the restaurant in 1941, when he was eleven, and my dad in 1944, at age ten.

With the start of World War II, the Brooklyn Navy Yard was in full swing and in 1943 Grandpa and Mike ex­panded the Enduro to an even larger space on the same corner, much like Junior’s today, with a vertical Enduro marquee. But by 1949, the servicemen were gone, as were the crowds that fueled the Enduro’s success. With the restaurant deep in debt, Mike decided to cut his losses and called it quits. But my grandmother challenged my grandfather to invent something new.

“All You Want. As You Want It.”

In reinventing the Enduro, Grandpa took his inspiration from family-style restaurants that served breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This new Enduro menu would feature home-cooked meals and offer everything that Junior’s is known for today—great breakfast, homemade soups, overstuffed deli sandwiches, and towering fountain desserts. Gone would be the nightclub look; in its place would be clean, sleek lines, light wood counters, modern-looking hanging lamps, and bright orange Naugahyde booths and chairs—the real ’50s look. It would be warm and welcoming—a place you would want to come back to again and again.

But there was a problem. Grandpa was broke. With his new concept in hand, though, many friends offered to help, like Julie Palumbo, a contractor, who, on a handshake, agreed to supply materials and work on spec until the new restaurant was up and running. (Grandpa never forgot Julie!) But what to name this new restaurant? Grandpa decided to call it Junior’s.

Junior’s opened on Election Day, November 7, 1950—and a tradition began. Grandpa gave his customers what they came for—home-cooked food, impeccable service, and, most of all, his welcoming smile. And the folks kept on coming, from early morning until the wee small hours of the night. From creamy egg salad to fresh brisket on rye, they loved it all. Junior’s was up and running!

Great Food Means Great Desserts

Grandpa knew that if Junior’s was going to be a truly great restaurant, it had to have the best desserts around, so he hired Danish-born baker Eigel Peterson to turn out specialties for his new restaurant. The pair soon became a familiar sight in the bakery. Everywhere Grandpa went, he would bring back something he liked—a sweet bread one day, a three-layered devil’s food cake the next, berry pie another day. Then he and Eigel would spend hours in the bakery not trying to replicate it but rather to make a version that was even better—what we call The Junior’s Way today. Many of those first desserts are still on the menu, made using the very same recipes—fresh strawberry shortcake, cherry crumb pie, fresh strawberry cream cheese pie, and, of course, the Original New York Cheesecake, which didn’t appear on the menu until the 1960s.

Brooklyn Changes and
Junior’s Stays

In the 1960s, there seemed to be tension everywhere,
including Brooklyn: civil rights demonstrations, the
Cold War got even colder, the Paramount and Fox theaters closed (the Albee held out until the mid-1970s). During the ’60s, many businesses and Brooklynites left Brooklyn, but Junior’s remained and became a destination restaurant, the main attraction on the corner of Flatbush Avenue Extension @ DeKalb.

In 1968, Uncle Marvin and my dad took over the day-to-day responsibilities of Junior’s. Marvin’s daughters, Sheri and Beth, and son, Jeffrey, as well as my brothers, Brett and Kevin, and myself all were born during these years. Three of our longest-tenured employees joined the business around this time: Camille Russo in 1960, Mary Blevins in 1962, and Fred Morgan in 1972. In the 1970s, Kevin and I started helping out at the restaurant—Kevin first helped Camille set the Danish on the bakery trays; then he joined me in doily-separation duty.

We’re #1!

In July 1973, Ron Rosenbaum wrote in the Village Voice, “There will never be a better cheesecake than the cheesecake they serve at Junior’s…it makes, as Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks once said, ‘your mouth want to throw a party for your tongue.’ ” That fall, without us knowing it, New York magazine set out to find the best New York-style cheesecake. They rated twelve different cheesecakes for freshness, quality of ingredients, and taste. The judges unanimously chose Junior’s cheesecake as the Champion Cheesecake of all cheesecakes in New York City. We even beat out the cakes from the famous Stage Deli and Ratner’s. We had won the Cheesecake Olympics!

Upon hearing the news, we ordered orange “We’re #1” buttons and after the magazine hit the stands, our business doubled. By 1977, the bakers at Junior’s were baking cheesecakes morning, noon, and night. Folks began arriving daily for a taste of our comfort food and a slice of our now world-famous cheesecake. New York politicians like mayors Abe Beame and Ed Koch made Junior’s their “official” Brooklyn headquarters (this tradition has continued with mayors Dinkins, Giuliani, and Bloomberg). Then the celebrities came. We’ve had the privilege of serving Elvis Presley, Joe Torre, Robert DeNiro, Ron Howard, Nathan Lane, P. Diddy, Jay-Z, even Bill Clinton. But the real celebrities are you, our regular customers!

Save the Cheesecake!

Our story has not been all roses. At 1 a.m. on a hot August night in 1981, a fire broke out and destroyed Junior’s. Luckily, all 50 employees and the 75 customers in the restaurant at the time got out safely. Firemen worked all night to extinguish the fire. And as they worked, onlookers chanted “Save the cheesecake, save the cheesecake!” But in the end, there was little left of Junior’s but ashes.

We started rebuilding right away. Our staff—from bakers to cooks to waiters—showed up, even though they knew they would be out of work for months. Everyone pitched in to save the cheesecake. We began almost immediately to bake our cakes using spare oven space in the old Barton Candy factory on DeKalb Avenue. We sold them as fast as we could bake them at our Cheese Cakerie, which we opened in the Albee Mall nearby. Day by day, cake by cake, we saved Junior’s and our cheesecakes!

Nine months and three days later, Junior’s reopened on May 27, 1982. It had the same Junior’s look, but was bigger and better than ever: three floors and 27,000 square feet. There was room for 450 seats instead of 350, plenty of extra space for larger parties, a fully stocked bar, even a sidewalk café. We updated our kitchens and refurbished the bakery. Dignitaries came out for the opening. Borough President Howard Golden proclaimed the day “Junior’s Day.” Grandpa was there too, of course: thanking God, thanking Brooklyn, thanking everyone for coming. Customers came from near and far—they lined up from early in the morning until late at night for a slice of our cheesecake. No one seemed to mind waiting. It was just like Grandpa always said: “Give folks what they want, when they want it. If you do that, they will come.” And that day, we found out they would wait for hours for a slice of Junior’s cheesecake!

Junior’s, Bigger and Better
Than Ever!

I came home to Junior’s in 1993 to join my brother Kevin, who had been working there full-time since 1988. Kevin and I, the third generation of Rosens, began making the day-to-day decisions of running the business. We continued to do a flourishing business in downtown Brooklyn, but also started selling cheesecakes through mail order.

In 1999, Mayor Rudy Giuliani dedicated the corner of Flatbush Avenue Extension @ DeKalb in honor of my Grandpa Harry, the event coinciding with the publication of our first cookbook, Welcome to Junior’s!

In 2000, we opened Junior’s in Grand Central Station in the heart of New York City. In 2006, we opened Junior’s Times Square, on 45th Street at Shubert Alley, between Broadway and 8th Avenue. Whether you’re seeing a Broadway show or just out on the town, stop by for a nosh. We’ve brought the whole Brooklyn experience to Manhattan—in an uptown sort of way, complete with a spectacular dining spot.

Our newest restaurant is at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods, in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Enter right off the lobby and step into our grandest Junior’s yet, with all the glamour and excitement of the Foxwoods Casino.

In 2007, we published our second book, Junior’s Cheesecake Cookbook, by Beth Allen and me. As with the first book, we heard from readers all over the country about how excited they were to be able bake a Junior’s cheesecake at home—and impress all of their friends!

Celebrate 60 Years with Us!

After 60 years, we decided it was time to write our third cookbook, to celebrate with you—our readers and friends—what we’re all about . . . where we’ve been, what we’ve learned, how we’ve grown, what we’ve accomplished, and what makes us The Best. We wanted to pay homage to my grandfather Harry, my father Walter, and my uncle Marvin—for without them, there would not be a Junior’s at all…it would not exist.

So we’ve gathered together a collection of our very favorite Junior’s desserts. We’ve included recipes for our luscious lemon meringue pie (reimagined as individual tartlets), our mountain-high ice cream sundaes and triple-rich malteds, our famous fresh strawberry shortcake, creamy rice pudding, and, of course, the cheesecake that made us famous, our Original New York Cheesecake, all adapted for the home kitchen. In addition, we developed some brand-new recipes just for this book, desserts you won’t find on any of our Junior’s menus or via mail order, like Boston Cream Pie, Brioche Bread Pudding, and The World’s Smallest Hot Fudge Sundae. We’ve also brought back desserts Junior’s used to offer on its menu in the 1950s, when it first opened, like Banana Whipped Cream Pie and Nesselrode Whipped Cream Pie.

We want to give a great big sweet thank you to all of our customers during these first 60 years—from our regulars who keep coming back and bringing their friends and family to our mail-order customers and visitors from other states and countries. And a sweet “hello” as well to those who are discovering Junior’s for the first time. We promise that, at Junior’s, you will always find great home-cooked food and great cheesecake, every day—all you want, as you want it, just as my Grandpa Harry promised! You are very important to us…for at Junior’s, we care.

—Alan Rosen