Ice cream is one of the best ways to beat the summer heat, or just to treat yourself any day of the year. Following are some of Brooklyn’s ice cream meccas.
The flavors at Ample Hills are like Ben & Jerry’s on crack. The Munchies (pictured above) combines rich, salty-sweet pretzel-infused ice cream with swirls of potato chips, pretzels and candy. With an adorable shop in Prospect Heights, a huge new ice cream factory and store in Gowanus, and a cart in Brooklyn Bridge Park, it’s worth seeking out.
Blue Marble’s Waffle Sundae | via Facebook
Blue Marble
While other Brooklyn ice creameries focus on crazy flavor combinations, Blue Marble is more about unusual flavors that make you wonder why no one ever thought to make them before, like their ridiculously good root beer ice cream. Founders Jennie Dundas and Alexis Miesen also started a small business program for women in Rwanda, the subject of a documentary called “Sweet Dreams.” Blue Marble has scoop shops in Cobble Hill, Prospect Heights, and Barclays Center, and can be found seasonally at Brooklyn Flea, Smorgasburg, and Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Strawberry Shortcake Sundae at Brooklyn Farmacy | via Facebook
Brooklyn Farmacy
If you’re in the mood for a sundae, check out Brooklyn Farmacy, a new old-school soda fountain shop where you can also get ice cream floats, shakes, malts, egg creams. One of their most decadent sundaes is The Cookie Monster, featuring mint chocolate chip ice cream, chocolate chip cookie crumbles, hot fudge, and fresh whipped cream, topped with blue sprinkles. We would like to add that their banana chocolate chip should be a standard ice cream flavor everywhere.
Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory’s very famous Butter Pecan | via Facebook
Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory
As classic as it gets, Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory only offers eight flavors: vanilla, chocolate, vanilla chocolate chunk, chocolate chocolate chunk, strawberry, peaches and cream, butter pecan and coffee. Share a banana split, or get a cone and stroll — both the Brooklyn Bridge Park and Greenpoint locations are great spots for WWL (walking while licking).
A scoop of PB&J on top of a scoop of chocolate chocolate chunk at OddFellows
OddFellows
If it’s crazy flavors you’re after, OddFellows in Williamsburg is the place. Sample the famous chorizo caramel swirl, the miso cherry, or the — wait for it — sesame kumquat pumpernickel. The very friendly scoopers encourage you to try a bunch of flavors before settling on one, and their more standard flavors, like chocolate chunk or coffee crunch are just as delicious as peanut butter and jelly.
The classic Swingle at Steve’s Authentic | Steve M. via Yelp
Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pies
Okay, it’s not ice cream, but one of the best frozen treats in Brooklyn is the Swingle at Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pies in Red Hook. The Swingle is a tiny key lime pie, frozen on a stick and dipped in dark chocolate, and it’s one of the most insanely delicious things you can eat.
Choose your cone wisely | via Van Leeuwen Ice Cream
Van Leeuwen
Compared to other artisanal ice cream shops, with their crazy ingredients and oddball combinations, Van Leeuwen stands out with its subtler, more refined flavors. Its Earl Grey tea and ginger flavors, for example, are creamy and delicious without being overwhelming. They also make a very good vegan ice cream, and you can order an ice cream float made with iced coffee. They have shops in Boerum Hill and Greenpoint (and, at the moment, a pop-up shop in Williamsburg), in addition to their trucks that roam around the city.
Take two of these, add ice cream
Jacques Torres Ice Cream
The thing to get at Jacques Torres Ice Cream is the ice cream sandwich, made with their ridiculously chocolatey chocolate chip cookies. The shop is open seasonally in Dumbo. Make sure to sample Wicked, a spicy chocolate flavor with some real kick.
Ice Cream Trucks
Just listen a moment during the summer months and you’re very likely to hear an ice cream truck somewhere nearby. (Just hope that it doesn’t park outside your apartment, or you will be hearing the Mister Softee jingle on loop for the next two hours.) You won’t find a salted caramel anything on the menu, but you really cannot go wrong with a chocolate vanilla twist with chocolate sprinkles — or jimmies, if you’re so inclined.