There is really never a wrong time or season to eat ice cream, but summer seems to inspire even the most casual of frozen treat lovers to tuck into a scoop or three of something sweet. And although all of the great parlors in our Best of NYC list are still as great as ever, there have been some new ice cream developments that deserve your attention this summer.
Pondicheri (Scott Lynch / Gothamist)
Pondicheri Anita Jaisinghani and Ajna Jai's acclaimed all-day cafe and bakery already does many things well (the cookies are superb), and now that they've added ice cream to the menu there's no excuse not to go here all the time. These semi-sophisticated flavors (there's Moringa Mint, for example, but also Choco Chili Cookie Dough) are lively, the ice cream base dense and creamy (though dairy free!), and each scoop is rolled in a topping (like pistachios, pictured) before getting plopped into a handmade cone that's been embedded with seeds and flowers.
Located at 15 West 27th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues (646-878-4375; pondicheri.com)
Oddfellows (Scott Lynch / Gothamist)
Oddfellows Coffee and Cream Sam Mason has been spreading the ice cream love far and wide of late (there are now five scoop shops, plus pints at Whole Foods), but the best Oddfellows news has to be the Coffee and Cream parlor that he opened this spring on East Houston. Not only is the place itself as summery and comfortable as can be—sitting at the big window sill, feet dangling onto Mulberry, is totally my spot through September—but it also sells a dozen different "regular" flavors, excellent soft serve, and all kinds of coffee drinks, including a lovely affogato and an eye-opening milkshake.
Located at 55 East Houston Street, at the corner of Mulberry Street (646-756-4377; oddfellowsnyc.com)
Camp Cookie DO (Scott Lynch / Gothamist)
Camp Cookie DO The insanely popular DO, which still regularly attracts block-long lines to its raw-cookie-dough store on LaGuardia Place, has moved into one of the Chef's Club Counter spaces in SoHo for the summer with a Summer Camp theme. The cookie dough—which, frankly, is too much for me on its own—is neatly paired with ice creams, puddings and silly toppings for three different sundaes. This spot also features first-rate, enthusiastic staffers. Open through August 31st only.
Located at 62 Spring Street, with the entrance on Lafayette (campcookiedo.com)
Morgenstern's (Scott Lynch / Gothamist)
Morgenstern's Summer Scoop Stand Nick Morgenstern's parlor on Rivington is one of the top ice cream joints in the city, but for most of the summer, especially at night, the lines are just too long to even consider going here. Enter the new Morgenstern's on West Houston Street, which isn't open yet, but until it is you can step right up to this cute cart parked in front and get that same great ice cream with no wait and a nice chill vibe. It's open until midnight on the weekends, too!
Located at 490 LaGuardia Place at the corner of West Houston (morgensternsnyc.com)
Ice & Vice (Scott Lynch / Gothamist)
Ice & Vice Yes, I know we bring up Ice & Vice for seemingly every list, but these are the facts: Paul Kim and Ken Lo are not only the best ice cream makers in town, but they also never stop creating new things for all of us to eat. For example, the new summer menu, just released last week, featuring five new booze-based flavors like the swoon-worthy Amaretto Sour (orange Tang, almond, Mister Katz's rye cherry) and Pina Colada (soursop, Owney's rum macaroon). Try them all on this nifty sampler plate, made from a Konery cone!
Located at 221 East Broadway just east of Clinton Street and at the I Scream! kiosk in Times Square (iceandvice.com)
Milk and Cream (Scott Lynch / Gothamist)
Milk and Cream There have been a lot of gimmicky ice cream spots opening downtown over the past couple of years, but Milk and Cream Cereal Bar is the one that consistently delivers high quality sugar satiety. Either create your own soft serve monster from among the dozens of cereals, toppings, and drizzles, or make life easy and get one of their signature blends, like the limited-edition Food Baby Special, featuring vanilla ice cream with blended-in Oreo-O's and Kidzels, then topped with more of the same, plus Goldfish and Rice Krispie Treats. It's not subtle, but it will make you happy (and slightly delirious).
Located at 159 Mott Street between Grand and Broome Streets and in Gansevoort Market at 353 West 14th Street (milkandcreambar.com)
Salt and Straw (Scott Lynch / Gothamist)
Salt and Straw at Daily Provisions Out on that other coast you can get this Oregon-based ice cream in any one of 15 different locations, but here in the big city Salt and Straw is only available at the Union Square Cafe adjunct, Daily Provisions. There are usually three flavors available for scooping, and they're all superb: a rich and creamy Double Fold Vanilla, a crunchy Joe Coffee with Freckled Chocolate, and a tangy Strawberry Cheesecake and Rye. Or go really nuts and plop one on top of one of their amazing crullers.
Located at 103 East 18th Street, just east of Park Avenue South (212-488-1505; dailyprovisionsnyc.com)
Bonsai Kakigori (Scott Lynch / Gothamist)
Bonsai Kakigori It's technically not ice cream, but the kakigori at Bonsai is truly sublime. Using a hand-cranked machine imported from Japan, owners Gaston and Theo get a remarkably ethereal texture to their mound of shaved ice, and the fruity juice and hidden crunchy bits are all freshly made and balanced with care. One of the most delightful, refreshing frozen treats in town.
Located at Canal Street Market (265 Canal) and weekends at Smorgasburg (bonsaikakigori.com)
Dez (Scott Lynch / Gothamist)
Dez Another not-actually-ice-cream entry, but definitely new and well worth seeking out, is the yogurt soft serve at Dez, the Middle-Eastern fast-casual spot that just opened in Nolita. Chef Eden Grinshpan is starting with only one flavor each month, but if what's on tap right now—smooth and tangy Walnut Honey with a collar of sweet and chewy homemade Kadaifi—is any indication of future offerings, I'll be back with frequency.
Located at 227 Mulberry Street between Prince and Spring Streets (inthedez.com)
Made Nice (Scott Lynch / Gothamist)
Made Nice You could go to fancy-pants Nomad Bar and eat the Milk and Honey ice cream sandwich for $14, or, here's a much better idea, you could just pop into chef Daniel Humm's counter-service restaurant Made NIce next door and get a bigger version in sundae format for just $6. Milk-flavored soft-serve, house-made honey brittle, shortbread, and meringue, with a sprinkle of sea salt and a few squirts of robust buckwheat honey... it's totally decadent, totally delicious.
Located at 8 West 28th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues (212-887-1677; madenicenyc.com)
Mister Dips (Scott Lynch / Gothamist)
Mister Dips Andrew Carmellini's airstream trailer burger-and-ice-cream "shack" is well into its second summer in Williamsburg's Vale Park (the second story lawn and patio area at the William Vale Hotel complex), and after multiple visits so far this season I can confirm that everything here is still really good. Any of the Dairy Dips—basically soft serve with a candy shell and fun add-ons—feel like a special treat, but my favorite remains the Jacker Crax, which is popcorn ice cream covered in two kinds of butterscotch.
Located at the William Vale Hotel, 111 N 12th Street at the corner of Wythe Avenue (misterdips.com)
Mah Ze Dahr Umber Ahmad's magical West Village bake shop is one of the best places on the planet to eat cookies, doughnuts, and almost-sticky-buns, so it stands to reason that their soft serve, tapped into a homemade cone and studded with fresh baked goodies, would also be heavenly. And it is! Get some cookies for later, too.
Located at 28 Greenwich Avenue, just north of West 10th Street (212-498-9810; mahzedahrbakery.com)
