5 NYC Ice Cream Shops You’ll Melt Over

A variety of 6 different types of ice cream floats with different colored straws
Photo Credit: https://biggayicecream.com/

This city is filled with so many places to treat your sweet tooth. In these hot summer days, there is nothing I’m craving more than some ice cream. I’m not talking about plain vanilla, ordinary old chocolate or everyday strawberry. I’m talking about flavors you can’t even pronounce! With National Ice Cream Day happening this weekend (July 17th!), there’s no better time than to check out these one-of-a-kind ice cream shops, putting the flavor back into our favorite frozen treat.

A cup of ice cream knocked over on a table
Photo Credit: https://biggayicecream.com/

Big Gay Ice Cream

We can all remember chasing down the ice cream truck when we were younger. Well, the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck/Shop does us all the favor of staying in one spot. These guys add a twist to our childhood favorite soft serve ice cream. You can choose from the endless list of toppings and enjoy your own creation. Or you can choose from the menu of signature creations – which may take some bravery to try but they are all guaranteed satisfying.

Rows an rows of multi colored popsicles
Photo Credit: https://www.pop-bar.com/

Popbar

Head over to the Lower East Side on Carmine Street to feed the inner child in you with a very unique kind of popsicle- Gelato on a stick! The Popbar is full of surprises and they never have the same flavors available more than twice in a week. Flavors changes daily except for strawberry and pistachio. Let’s not forget about the three-step process to creating your own myPop. First, you choose any one of their flavors made from scratch right on site. Next you choose your toppings out of hazelnut, almonds, shredded coconut, pistachios, granola, coffee grains and chocolate sprinkles. Lastly, you’ll choose a dipping sauce out of milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate. And yes, you can double dip!

Four ice cream cones of various flavors inside of Chinatown Ice cream shop.
Photo Credit: https://empireguides.com

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

The Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory has created their reputation of “undeniably delicious” ice cream around ancient history. The invention of ice cream dates back to the Chinese during the Tang Dynasty with both mythical and abstract legends. Wherever it all began, the Chinatown Factory has put some exotic Chinese twist on our favorite dessert. Their regular flavors are exotic to our palates: Wasabi, Zen Butter, Green Tea, Durian, Avocado, Black Sesame, Lychee (my favorite!) and so much more. For all the safe-buds they do have a variety of exotic flavors including Pistachio, Oreo Cookie, Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, and Rocky Road. All of these flavors are created right in the shop from scratch and made from an old family recipe. The Ice Cream Factory is a family run business for over 28 years now. Two thumbs up to Philip Seid and his daughters Christina and Katherine for keeping the tradition alive in NYC!

New York City Holey Cream donut ice cream sandwich with crushed oreos on top
Photo Credit: tripque.wordpress.com

Holey Cream

If you’re looking for a sweet pastry to accompany your ice cream, you should check out Holey Cream on Ninth Avenue. Holey Cream specializes in ice cream, sundaes, milkshakes, cupcakes, brownies and dare I say.. the Original Donut Ice Cream Sandwich! Their extensive ice cream menu includes homemade favorites such as Java Guatemala made with exotic Guatemalan espresso beans and Belgian dark chocolate and also Dulce De Leche made with caramel and sweet cream. Along with my ice cream, I created my own milkshake with one scoop of butterscotch praline and two scoops of butter pecan and a freshly baked brownie to top it all off.

A hand holding up an ice cream cone with an american flag wrapper in front of the brooklyn bridge
Photo Credit: lailaloves.co.uk

The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory

Not everyone likes to be so daring and try new things. Some of us are fanatics of those reliable and always fulfilling flavors that we’re used to. Offering ice cream with a spectacular view of the Brooklyn Bridge and our beloved city, the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory is a sweet place to go to on a nice day date. They like to keep it classic and simple. The menu consists of the Neapolitan trio, butter pecan, coffee, and peaches and cream. The production of this delicate and delicious ice cream is only made at their two locations in small batches.

And 2 Bonus Ice Cream Treats!

On July 17th (i.e. National Ice Cream Day!), Davio’s Manhattan will offer guests a special afternoon treat to make their day a little bit sweeter! From 2:00pm -5:00pm, Pastry Chef Luis Rojas will offer one complimentary scoop on the front patio. Flavor choices include house-made Coconut Sorbet, Banana Gelato or Salted Milk Chocolate Gelato.

Regardless of where you choose to get your scoops, make sure to stop by the pop-up museum that is sure to delight, The Museum of Ice Cream, opening July 29th in the Meatpacking District through August 31st. Ice cream tastings with flavors provided by Black Tap, OddFellows Ice Cream Co. and others, are included in the price of admission. I have a feeling we’ll all be breaking out into a little song that goes something like this: “I scream! You scream! We all scream for ice cream!” Happy National Ice Cream Day, NYC!

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Posted in manhattan living, NYC Dining |