Happy Ice Cream Sandwich Day: Here’s 5 Ways To Celebrate!
Everything seems to have it's own special "day" in 2013, so why should that most brilliant summertime creation, the ice cream sandwich, be any exception? It shouldn't. As has been well documented, I eat a least one serving of ice cream every day, and as such have tried more than my fair share of these frozen treats all over New York City.
Here then, are five noteworthy ice cream sandwiches from points near and far. One qualifier: I am not a fan of the euro-style "brioche" ice cream sandwich, in which perfectly excellent scoops of sweet deliciousness are placed between two pieces of bread. So you will see none of those here, even though some people seem to like that style. Anyway… to the list!
Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich at Francois Payard Bakery
The Astoria-based food fanatic Foodtika alerted me to these ingenious creations by renowned baker Francois Payard, and I'm really glad she did. The concept is simple: take a pair of rectangular macarons, pile some appropriately-flavored ice cream or sorbet in between, done. I had the Mango Coconut last night at the FPB on Houston Street, and it really hit the spot, mostly because Payard's macarons are so good, and bring a nice chewiness to the ice cream party. Visit Francois Payard Bakery online for more information and all their NYC locations.
The Build-Your-Own's at The Coolhaus Truck
There's a Coolhaus truck which travels all over the place, a Coolhaus cart that's usually parked near the Museum of Natural History, and pop-up Coolhaus kiosks and such at events and festivals. But wherever Coolhaus lands, my advice is start constructing one of these huge cookie-and-ice-cream treats and dig in. Sometimes I get their suggested concoctions (always with a punny architectural name); sometimes I build my own (Chocolate Chunk Pretzel cookies; Salted Caramel ice cream, anyone?). But either way, I always walk away happy. Visit Coolhaus truck online for more info, a complete menu, and their locations.
Chocolate Chip/Hot Fudge ChikaLicious Monster
Most people, when raving about the ice cream treats at this consistently first-rate East Village spot (an offshoot of the always-mobbed ChickaLicious proper across the street), mention the ones made with eclairs. And these are good, no doubt. But since the ChikaLicious chocolate chip cookies are among my favorite in the city, I usually get the ice cream sandwich in which they function as the "bread." Plus: there's hot fudge involved. Because even if the vanilla ice cream is somewhat lackluster, and the hot fudge pour sometimes miserly, the ChikaLicious ice cream sandwich offers a great excuse to eat two of the amazing cookies. Visit The Desert Club online for more info and complete menu.
The Creative Combinations at Melt Bakery
You can find the Melt cart every summertime Saturday at the Hester Street Fair, every day on the High Line below the Standard Hotel, and there's also now a storefront on Orchard Street, where they also do all of their baking. My suggestion: seek these guys out. The Melt folks not only bake a killer cookie, and make their own explosively flavored ice cream, but their pairings are always worth trying, and almost always worth getting again. Flavors rotate, but personal favorites include the Cinnamax (Cinnamon Ice Cream surrounded by Snickerdoodles) and the Lovelet (Red Velvet "Meltcakes" with Cream Cheese Ice Cream). Visit Melt Bakery online for more infomation!
It's It, The Beloved San Franciso Treat
I admit I'd never even heard of the It's It icecream sandwich until this summer, but apparently its been a cult favorite in San Francisco since the 1920's. No matter: I know about it (or should I say It's It) now, and man am I hooked! It's It are prepacked ice cream sandwiches that as far as I know are only available here in NYC at the always-a-party Rippers bar and burger joint on the boardwalk at Beach 86 in Rockaway. Rippers has them in three flavors of ice cream–vanilla, chocolate, and mint–held in by crunchy/chewy oatmeal cookies, the whole thing completely covered in dark chocolate. It is sweet and gooey and totally awesome, especially after a day in the sun.
Posted in NYC Dining, Top Picks | Tagged coolhaus truck ice cream sandwich • dessert club chikalicious • francois payard bakery ice cream sandwich • happy national ice cream sandwich day • ice cream sandwich nyc • it's it ice cream sandwich • melt bakery ice cream sandwich
