The battle for a benign, ice-cream eating dragon continues as the Post elucidates the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory vs. Nolita Ice Cream Factory showdown. It turns out that Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory owner Philip Seid contends his brother Henry ripped off the store's logo and flavors for the Nolita location. While Henry Seid's Original Nolita Ice Cream Factory has business cards that also list the Chinatown ICF's address, Philip Seid maintains the Nolita ICF is not affiliated to the CICF. Philip's daughter who works at the CICF explains that her uncle came to work at the CICF but after a few months "he left and basically took what he learned and opened another store. Now he's telling people he's affiliated with us, and he's not... He's family, but we don't even have contact with the man. He changed his number and isn't responding to us. I mean, this is just wrong." Philip Seid may pursue the action in court, but Henry Seid claims as a shareholder in the OCICF, he can take the logo and use it for his purposes. Gothamist would love to hear what an arbitrator thinks of this! Anyway, the Post gives Christina Seid the last word, as she says that Henry is relatively inexperienced with the craft of ice cream: "I can count on my hand how many times Henry made ice cream before opening his own shop. There's an art to ice-cream making. We think we've perfected it and have a high-quality product. His ice cream can give us a bad name." Has anyone noticed a distinct difference in ice cream quality between the two shops? David Yee at Tangentialism didn't, but maybe we need to do an ice cream taste test.
Photographs by David Yee





I was wondering the same thing, if someone we can complain to, but now I know!
i volunteer for testing!!
Two differences that I've noticed:
- The Nolita shop never seems to have Almond Cookie ice cream.
- The ice cream is more icy than creamy.
Forget arbitration. I think there's some rich material here for a Tarantino adaptation--ice cream style! Kill Bill 3: Cone Wars.
Maybe they should call the Manganero brothers for advice.
http://www.sicilianculture.com/news/2002-foodfight.htm
If the ice cream was any good, Henry wouldn't need to ride the coattails of the CICF. Good ice cream sells itself. Not to me, though. With the prices these guys charge for ice cream, I bought my own ice cream machine and freeze my own using Alton Brown's recipes for chocolate and vanilla ice creams from "Good Eats." I don't need these fancy flavors, although I do occasionally make chocolate chip, blueberry or cookies 'n cream. You haven't lived until you've tried ice cream that's been made with almost all heavy cream (with a bit of nonfat dry milk thrown in for even more richness and body). Better than Haagen Dazs at half the price.
The worst crime here? Ue of the word Nolita.
They might not have almond cookie but they have wasabi flavored ice cream that parties in your mouth
to brightliner's comment about selling good ice cream, i'd like to add that good service might also help NICF's cause.
i visited NICF on a quiet weekday afternoon shortly after it opened, before the family feud became public, and the guy working there (henry?) couldn't have been less friendly, even though i wished him luck, bought some ice cream, and asked about the connection to CICF (he hesitantly told me they were connected). hang on ... maybe *that's* why he was so rude! either way, i'm never going back there again. and the ice cream wasn't even that good.
Selling bootleg CDs, copying designer clothes OK... but no copying our ice cream!!!
^ hes an idiot, i happen to know people who work in both CICF and NICF and henry is the nicest person you can ever meet, the guy you met must not have been henry because he stays at the Flushing branch. and NICF has GREAT ice cream INCLUDING almond cookie, the ice cream at NICF taste the same if not BETTER, its also much much cleaner...
I'm a lawyer and a loyal follower of the real CHINATOWN ICE CREAM FACTORY. In response to the juvenille response above, even "if" Henry was a shareholder, he wouldnt be able to take that logo out of the corporation.
I actually referred some reporters to interview him and he declined for comment or he was downright inhosptiable. This shows that he is in the wrong.
It doesn't really matter because his places are dead. You can trick people once or twice, but people know what the real deal is.
Nolita shop, hm.. never heard of until now. i gotta try that place. omg thats so messed up. family betraying each other. whats wrong with that guy. i