Where to find the best cold desserts of New York
The great thing about NYC is that your options for places to eat is endless. And guess what, that’s also the worst thing about NYC. How do you know what is really good? I got you covered in the area of cold desserts.
1. Dominique Ansel Bakery. Flatiron. A frozen watermelon sorbet served inside a watermelon with chocolate chips instead of seeds. So adorable. You can’t go wrong with anything Dominique Ansel but I do encourage you to skip the lines for the cronut and just go for the other things. I have stood in line for the cronut at 6am to be let into the shop at 8am. It is not worth it. Almost everything else that he makes, requires no line, and is delicious. He has a few soft serve menu items but my fav is the watermelon.
2. Big Gay Ice Cream. East Village. The sassiest ice cream shop in NYC! I got the Salty Pimp: Sea salt dulce de leche ice cream dipped in chocolate! My favorite fun ice cream shop. They offer many options with classic favorites such as the Mexican Affo’gay’to. Waited in line for 20 minutes but once you ask for your order it almost come immediately. Worth it.
3. Melt Bakery. Lower East Side. I grew up eating ice cream sandwiches so it’s always a pleasure to see artisan ice cream sandwiches. Two salty chocolatey chewy cookies and one scoop of ice cream for $4 is a great deal. The ice sandwiches are already made and ready to be taken so there is no waiting in line here. Grab and go. All the sandwiches are great.
4. The Good Batch. You have to search for these desserts around NYC but when you find them it’s worth it. These are ice cream sandwiches taken to the next level. They use soft cookies, thin waffles, flattened coconut macaroons and other creations as the cookie and the ice cream flavors change with the season. They offer pick up of desserts, ice cream sandwiches at the Smorgasburg and in some retail locations.
5. La Newyorkina. West Village. I bought her book “My Sweet Mexico” a few years back and have been following her ever since. You can find her pops in several places around the city but it usually changes. If you want this chamoyada you have to visit the Brooklyn Smorgasburg on Saturday her shop in the West Village. This treat is not for everyone. It has a lot of chili. But we Mexicans love it! Happy to see it in NYC. She also has ice creams.
6. Rice to Riches. SoHo. Rice pudding or arroz con leche is a very Latin American dessert consumed both cold and hot depending which country makes it. Rice to Riches has the classic vanilla, cinnamon or coconut but also rum raisin, tiramisu, hazelnut and son on. It’s a store fully dedicated to rice puddings! And they let you try before buying. All the flavors are great.
7. Il Laboratorio de Gelato . Lower East Side. I would say this is the best gelato shop in NYC. There is always a line here and with good reason: they always have great flavors and always a Latin flavor. This time around I spotted Mexican cinnamon gelato.
8. Peoples Pops. These guys are the pioneers of the modern cold pops in NYC. I always catch them at the Brooklyn Smorgasburg but you can find them all over the city. They bring local seasonal flavors to their cold pops and have also started making shaved ice. YUM. They also sell to some retailers – take a look at their website to find them.
9. Ice Riders NYC. These guys make shaved ice using a bicycle and that’s cool on it’s own. They also have tamarind shaved ices which is a very popular Mexican flavor. Their shaved ices are beyond refreshing on a hot NYC day. They only do events so you have to hunt them down.
10. Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream. When you want classic with a twist, this place is it. Some ingredients here that you won’t see anywhere else: Japanese white bread, meringue, chia pudding, peanut sauce, jimmies, Vietnamese coffee, pickled pineapple. I had the burnt honey vanilla. It was before my workout so I figured honey was better than sugar These guys have two locations one on West Houston and another on Rivington.