As temperatures rise after a long, cold winter and signs of spring begin to appear throughout the city, it is a great time to check out some of the unique ice cream options New York City has to offer. From gelato to artisan ice cream sandwiches, there is no shortage of delicious frozen treats to help celebrate the arrival of spring.
Melt Bakery
If you want to spend an afternoon at a beautiful location with a cool dessert, check out Melt Bakery, one of the High Line’s multiple food vendors. Melt Bakery has a permanent store on the Lower East Side, but also sets up shop on the High Line during spring and summer months. Melt Bakery sells specialty artisan ice cream sandwiches that are delicious and also sustainable and locally sourced. With combinations that include cream cheese-flavored ice cream with red velvet cookies and green tea-flavored ice cream with ginger cookies, Melt Bakery on the High Line provides great treats with a view. (132 Orchard St. and the High Line above 15th and 16th Streets)
Grom
Hailing straight from Torino, Italy, Grom is the place to go for a taste of authentic Italian gelato. Grom uses the highest quality ingredients possible to create an exceptional product. It even has its own farm with almost 20 acres of land where it grows the fruit it uses in its sorbets and gelatos. Grom has three locations in New York City, including one in Greenwich Village. If choosing a flavor is difficult, go for a scoop of Bacio, which combines rich chocolate gelato with crunchy hazelnut chips — a favorite of Grom regulars. (233 Bleecker St.)
Big Gay Ice Cream
Featured on TV shows, food blogs and in magazines, Big Gay Ice Cream is worth the hype. The shop started out as just two men with an ice cream truck and a dream, but quickly turned into a New York obsession. The store offers quirky soft serve ice cream creations with catchy names to match, ensuring that any trip to Big Gay Ice Cream will be a good time. Sample the Salty Pimp, which is a vanilla ice cream cone with dulce de leche, sea salt and a chocolate coating or the American Globs, which combines vanilla ice cream, pretzels, sea salt and chocolate. (125 E. Seventh St. and 61 Grove St.)
Emack & Bolio’s
If you are looking for a classic yet delicious ice cream experience, try Emack & Bolio’s on West Houston Street in SoHo. The store offers a variety of decadent flavors such as grasshopper pie and peanut butter oreo, but what really makes this ice cream shop stand out is its selection of specialty ice cream cones. At Emack & Bolio’s, you can eat your ice cream in a cone dipped in chocolate or marshmallow and rolled in a variety of interesting and unexpected toppings such as Rice Krispies, Fruity Pebbles, coconut and Oreos. (73 W. Houston St.)
A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, April 22 print edition. Rebecca Riddle is a staff writer. Email her at [email protected].
