Give me ice cream or give me death. Everyone has "their" food, the one thing they cannot live without... For a lot of my friends, it's cheese, or wine, or both. My palate may have stopped maturing in 1994, but honestly, to me there is nothing better than a melty cone, a cup of creamy ice cream, a sundae with caramel, or anything (and everything) in between. And I get it-- the city gets cold in the winter. Like, find-alternate-routes-so-I-don't-walk-through-the-astor-place-wind-tunnel cold. But don't tell that to my tastebuds, because I'm craving it year round.
Here are my favorites. You should go to...
Ample Hills Creamery if you want: local, small-batch, creative flavors
Instagram via @amplehills
Locally sourced, locally made, locally loved. Ample Hills is awesome because everything is made in batches in-store. Last time I was there, I was walking towards the back of the shop, and a door wafted open to reveal the Brooklyn equivalent of Willy Wonka's Factory. They're super cool about letting you try as many of the unusual flavors as you want, and believe me, this is key, because you will want to.
Order this: Snap, Mallow, Pop. If you like Rice Krispie treats like me-- extra marshmallowy-- then this is heaven. It's a deconstructed version of the classic: unbelievably creamy, gooey marshmallow ice cream with buttery, crunch krispies. Putting bakesales out of business everywhere. [Gowanus & Prospect Heights, Stand in Brooklyn Heights]
Ralph's if you want: amazing soft serve, or the best sundae you will ever, ever have. ever.
Instagram via @ralphsfamous
Ralph's is my happy place. I know they say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and it's true, because Ralph's is only open May to November (translation: get yo butt there asap). You may wonder, does Ralph's have the creamiest soft serve that makes Mr. Softee seem irrelevant? Yes. Does it have the most delicious flavors of Italian creme ice? Yes. Is Ralph's edible heaven? Yes, it is.
Order this: A twister. This is the best "sundae" you will ever eat-- I use quotations, because it shouldn't even fall into the sundae category because it's better than anything you've ever had-- and it's all in the cream, not the toppings. A twister is a layer of soft serve (either vanilla or chocolate), 2-3 flavors of Italian creme ice (my favorites are graham cracker crunch with either peanut butter or pumpkin pie), and then more soft serve to top it off. However good you can imagine this is... multiply it by 100. [Kips Bay/Murray Hill]
A.B. Biagi if you want: vegan ice cream, fresh ingredients
I stumbled into A.B. Biagi recently, having had it on my list of places to try for a while. I love almond anything, and decided to try the Almond gelato despite it being vegan (and I've found alot of vegan ice cream is either too dense or too chalky). This was outta-this-world-home-run-hitter amazing. It might be my top scoop in Manhattan right now.
Order this: The vegan almond flavor! Also, they make amazing ice cream sandwiches in Brioche buns in a special press-- aka, warm, crispy outer bun, cold, creamy inside. Aka perfect.
Honorable Mentions...
Big Gay Ice Cream if you want: a cool concept or an awesome chocolate bonnet. Order this: Salty pimp (amazing dulce de leche and salted chocolate bonnet coating) or American globs (a chocolate bonnet with pretzels and sea salt) [West Village, East Village/Alphabet City]
Grom if you want: gelato, unique flavors. Order this: Crema di Grom (their signature flavor, which is a combination of fruits, salty/nuttiness, and fresh cream) [West Village]
Berthillon if you want to: travel to Paris for ice cream. Just had to put it on, because It's the best of the rest. [Paris]
What are your favorites?
The Cool Posts
Lately I've been feeling like a muffin manda. Maybe it's the fact that it's warm and summer and berry season, or maybe it's my undying love of breakfast foods (aka breakfast breads), but I have been trying every muffin under the sun. Until now. I've finally filled the muffin recipe void in my life.