Best ice cream in NYC?
I love ice cream. Love it. I do love soft serve but recognize that the best is creamy, flavorful and usually hard.
Where can I get great ice cream in NYC? (We are not talking tasty delight here folks, or Mr. Softy for that matter).
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25 Comments:
have you tried the frozen custard at shake shack?
cybercita at 10:33PM on 06/18/09
You're talking ice cream not gelato, not custard, not frozen yogurt, and not soft serve ice cream? I feel that overall NYC might be a little lightweight on the non-gelato/non-froyo front.
Because Chikalicious Dessert Club has some great vanilla soft serve ice cream. And the custard at the Shake Shack is great! But it's not ice cream, it's custard.
kathryn at 11:02PM on 06/18/09
come check out Blue Marble and the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory in Brooklyn as well as the Van Leeuwen ice cream truck on 7th ave (park slope) on Saturdays.
avryan at 6:38AM on 06/19/09
Ciao Bella (technically gelato), Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory in DUMBO, Van Leeuwen (who also have a truck on Bedford Ave in Wmsburg on weekends now), Chinatown Ice Cream Factory (weird-awesome flavors).
producestories at 8:02AM on 06/19/09
Yep Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.
bobbob at 8:26AM on 06/19/09
i like "sundaes and cones" (weird flavors) on 10th street and "ronnybrook dairy" (classic flavors) in chelsea market.
for pints, there's an ice cream place in columbus, ohio that is truly the best in the country - it's called jeni's. they will ship it and also i think dean and deluca recently picked them up - so you might be able to get a pint from a d&d store.
kristin314 at 8:55AM on 06/19/09
Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
.....try the Almond Cookie!!!
Abis144 at 9:12AM on 06/19/09
Echo the Factories - Bklyn Ice Cream and Chinatown Ice Cream. Latter faves are red bean and taro!
savecara at 9:14AM on 06/19/09
I have a friend who doesn't like Chinatown Ice Cream factory because its "too creamy". How can Ice Cream be too creamy????
My favorite flavors there are almond cookie and black sesame
(ok sounds gross.. but its so much like the creamy cold version of Black Sesame Soup)
green tea, mango sorbet, ginger, red bean, lychee, taro. They have a lot of fruity flavors too.
engmcmuffin at 9:47AM on 06/19/09
I also am a fan of Sundaes and Cones for regular ice cream. But Chikalicious definitely has the best soft service vanilla ice cream I've ever tasted. And Jacque Torres for icecream sandwiches.
LHSK12 at 10:02AM on 06/19/09
If you're at the South Street Seaport foodcourt, or at Penn Station, get great ice cream cones at Sedutto. My favorite flavor is cappachino. Also, if you can find LaSalle brand (pints sold in some supermarkets and convenience stores), you might find it (as I do) to be better than Haagan Daz. Their cherry vanilla and dolce la leche is great!
SavtaShayna at 10:39AM on 06/19/09
Hey, this is Ryan at Jeni's.
Couple things:
(1) You *can* order pints online from Dean & DeLuca (and from us, directly), but you can't get pints at physical D&D stores.
(2) You can, however, pick up pints of Jeni's at Foragers in DUMBO.
Thanks for the love, kristin314 -- much appreciated :)
ryanatjenis at 10:54AM on 06/19/09
I'm more of an Otto gelato fan, but I also love the ice cream at Payard (pistachio and caramel flavors) and Maison du Chocolat (salty caramel, chocolate). Maison du Chocolat only serves icecream during the summer and I've only seen it at the Madison Ave. branch.
Ortolan at 11:20AM on 06/19/09
P.S. Here's today's piece from Tasting Table:
http://tastingtable.com/ecs/801.htm?sid=53834
ryanatjenis at 11:49AM on 06/19/09
My favorite ice cream shop is the aforementioned Sundaes and Cones (here's a post about my fave flavors). I don't know that the necessarily make the best ice cream, but they make my favorite flavors (generally only found at Asian ice cream shops): taro and black sesame.
However, my favorite "frozen anything" shop in the city is L'Arte del Gelato, which I go to waaaay more than S&D. Their pistachio is my favorite. Otto's gelato is even better (except for the pistachio!), but it's not as convenient to go to since its a restaurant. L'ARTE ALL THE WAY!
Aaaand the frozen custard at Shake Shack is great.
Robyn Lee at 11:50AM on 06/19/09
oh, yes, maison du chocolat has amazing chocolate ice cream... amazing!
cybercita at 11:52AM on 06/19/09
Shake Shake (though technically custard) and Cones (though technically gelato) are good spots. However, I will say that you can't knock Mr. Softee when it's a sunny Summer afternoon in the city and you just need something to take the edge off...
meem21 at 12:33PM on 06/19/09
I'm on the bandwagon for Blue Marble & Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.
Trois Pommes Patisserie in Park Slope on 5th Avenue. They made my ice cream wedding cake last year and it was amazing.
Have you had Uncle Louie G's? it's good, but not as good as the three above.
Also Jacques Torres now has an ice cream shop in Dumbo, have yet to try it.
sjpalmer at 4:40PM on 06/19/09
I know it's vegan, but Lula's Sweet Apothecary (www.lulassweetapothecary.com) is really outstanding. On most flavors you don't miss the dairy and it can go toe to toe with most of the other places people have mentioned.
sahmad550 at 1:03PM on 06/21/09
I really enjoy the ice cream at Otto's, as well as at Grom (I know everyone knocks it for the price, but some of the flavors are really good e.g. Torrone). L'Arte is probably where I end up most convenience for flavors/location/consistency reasons - I like the mouthfeel the best, I think it's the only place from where I can finish a whole one myself.
Vegan: Stogo's is really excellent, I liked Lula's as well and it's good if you prefer chunkier flavors.
firni at 9:47PM on 06/21/09
For me, personally my list goes:
Gelato: Grom. I want to try Otto's though.
Soft Serve: Momofuku's creamy flavors (Rosemary this month is nice)
Ice Cream: Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
Vegan: Lula's, for sure. I know Stogo's mentioned too, but Atlas Cafe also had some vegan ice cream last time I checked.
SpatulaQueen at 1:58AM on 06/22/09
I know that Cones is primarily gelato, but they do a Latin American corn ice cream that is DEE-licious.
But yeah--my ice cold treat place of choice is absolutely L'arte del gelato, although I'm also a fan of Shake Shack custards.
klg19 at 12:57PM on 06/22/09
That's great that Jeni's got a shout-out on a New York discussion! I can't even buy Jeni's in-store, in Cincinnati so I'm pretty jealous right now.
Anyway, back to the discussion, I was curious about New York ice cream too because I'll be visiting Brooklyn in 2-3 weeks. I heard Jacque Torres' new ice cream place is pretty good. Anyone know?
earlybirdkate at 1:03PM on 06/23/09
I also like Blue Marble - just had the cinnamon flavor this weekend at the Brooklyn Flea and thought had just the right hint of cinnamon without being overpowering (a difficult feat for such a strong spice) and more importantly, it was wonderfully creamy and rich. Like ice cream should be :)
YummyInTheCity at 12:36AM on 06/30/09
You have to get to this great boutique called Borne Confections, they sell all kinds of luxury confections and they serve the most incredible gelato. They are on Park Ave btw 58 and 59th st, it’s so creamy and delicious. It is only served it in this boutique, it’s called Taste Gelato Artigianale. They make an amazingly creamy sorbet which my lactose intolerant friends love. You have to check it out…
kararosa16 at 12:56PM on 07/15/09