Summer may not officially begin until next Sunday, but the sticky weather these past few days has signaled that ice cream season is most definitely here. It seems like a new ice cream shop opens just about every month these days, and each new debut highlights a fresh attempt by these artisan creameries to out-crazy each other. Whether you prefer your ice cream paired with peanut butter, gin, or gravitate towards old-school simplicity like chocolate and vanilla, here are 10 local ice cream creations you may want to take a bath in sample responsibly.
1. Ample Hills & Baked: Black and Walt Ice Cream Sandwich
This ultimate Brooklyn mash-up, which was just added to the menus at Ample Hills and Baked, combines classic New York black-and-white cookies from Baked with quite a filling indeed by Ample Hills Creamery. Their vanilla malted ice cream is rolled in malted chocolate Rice Krispie crunch and sandwiched between two layers of gooey hot fudge before being placed on the black and whites. Named for Ample Hill’s cow Walt (in turn named for Walt Whitman, of course), the sandwich is available all summer at Baked at all three Ample Hills locations. Baked: 359 Van Brunt Street, bakednyc.com; Ample Hills: 623 Vanderbilt Avenue, 305 Nevins Street, and Pier 5 in Brooklyn Bridge Park, amplehills.com
2. Oddfellows: Ants on a Log Sorbet
3. Butter & Scotch: Gin Milkshake
This new Crown Heights cocktail/dessert bar churns out enticing options on both the sweet tooth and boozy fronts, but we like it best when they combine the two. In honor of National Gin Day (which, as you surely know, was this past Saturday), Butter and Scotch created this weekly special with Caorunn Gin, vermouth and vanilla and strawberry ice cream. 818 Franklin Avenue, butterandscotch.com
4. The Good Batch: Caramel Rice Krispie Ice Cream Sandwich
Upping the ante on the ice cream sandwich front quite a bit, this newcomer includes two cookies crafted out of caramel and Rice Krispie bits, and sandwiches perfect vanilla ice cream in between them. Available at both Smorgasburg and Good Batch’s new Clinton Hill location. 936 Fulton Street; thegoodbatch.com
5. Robicelli’s: Custard-Coffee Craziness
This Bay Ridge bakery is better known for their cupcakes, but they’ve been doing a whole lot of experimenting with frozen custard lately, and we’re liking the results. There’s a strawberry shortcake sandwich– frozen vanilla mascarpone custard topped with fresh strawberries, a drizzle of passionfruit sauce, and served on a sugar-caramelized Martin’s potato roll. But what we really all want is an excuse to eat ice cream before work, right? So you have to appreciate this recent invention: frozen vanilla mascarpone custard submersed in Stumptown coffee, Nutella mouse and chocolate syrup. Ask for the “secret Internet coffee” to try this off-menu item, seen on video here. Also, Allison Robicelli tells us that she’s perfecting a “Toronto Bar,”–an update on the Klondike bar which is one of their signature brownies split in half, filled with frozen custard and dipped in a chocolate shell. Hell. Yes. 9009 Fifth Avenue, robicellis.com
6. Elsie’s Parlor: Figs, Almonds, Honey and Mascarpone Ice Cream
The Crown Heights space formerly home to Crosby Coffee has been repurposed into this ice cream and donuts outpost, a spinoff of the recently opened Elsie’s coffee operation a few avenues over. This one has all the great donuts from the first shop, with added exciting ice cream flavors ranging from excellent basics (cookies and cream) to more inventive options like this super-rich, foodie-friendly cone. 667 Classon Avenue, elsiesgoods.com
7. Yum’s The Word Ice Cream Cake…with Live Storytelling
I know–all of your friends are suddenly asking you to come support them at their live storytelling shows, and you’re wondering, when did this become such a thing? But you’re in luck, because this particular show has ice cream, too. Each month comedic storyteller Robin Gelfenbien puts together a birthday party-themed evening complete with stories from guests who have ranged from Joy Behar of The View to NPR’s Ophira Eisenberg. The evening always ends with one of Gelfenbien’s homemade ice cream cakes. And these are serious cakes, too. Past flavors have included salted caramel truffle and banana split cake. Held at Le Poisson Rouge in the Village, the next show is coming up this Wednesday. yumsthewordshow.com
8. MilkMaid Tasting Room: Grady’s Manhattan Ice Cream
This subscription artisan ice cream service (yes of course, that’s a thing) recently opened a brick-and-mortar tasting room in Carroll Gardens. There’s a rotating lineup of flavors on hand, and right now they have pretty much the most Brooklyn-y one we’ve ever heard of: the Grady’s Manhattan, which is Grady’s cold brewcofffee ice cream mixed up with a drop of Kings County Distillery’s Manhattan cocktail. 204 Sackett, milkmaidicecream.com
9. Brooklyn Bell’s the Local: Black Caramel Lava Ice Cream
This little shop on Classon Avenue in Crown Heights turns out a steady lineup of just-crazy-enough flavors, from whiskey-vanilla to a recent blend of brittle, ginger, almonds, crisped rice, pretzels and papaya known as “It’s Crackin.” But the solid, can’t-go-wrong standby is their black lava caramel: Hawaiian lava salt blended in with caramel ice cream. 843 Classon Avenue, brooklynbell.com
10. Peter Pan: Ice Cream Donut Sandwich
We can’t possibly close without mentioning a Brooklyn classic: Greenpoint’s longstanding Peter Pan Donut and Pastry Shop. In case you didn’t know, these old-world donut purveyors are always happy to slice your favorite cake donut in half and fill it with a scoop of Haagen-Dazs. 727 Manhattan Avenue; peterpan-donuts.com
All photos courtesy venues.