Cocktail Hour: NYC’s Best Summer Treats Are More Than Milkshakes
New Yorkers of old once had only fire escapes and shaved ice to cool themselves off in the summer. Fortunately for us, we live in the age of air conditioning and…gourmet shaved ice? Anything frozen will help you beat the heat, but these cold NYC dishes are worth a desert crossing—or at least walking a few blocks at noon.
Ice Cream Sandwich at Coolhaus: Have you ever been eating Wasabi peas and thought, “Boy, I wish I could get this in between two maple cookies?” Now you can! Combining adventurous tastes with homemade, organic, locally-sourced ice cream, this food truck lets customers mix-and-match cookie type and ice cream flavor for the most delicious sammies in the city. They also have more traditional tastes, like Tahitian vanilla ice cream on a chocolate chip cookie, or bananas foster on peanut butter. But the Skor Bar cookies with potato chips have a great salty crunch. http://eatcoolhaus.com/new-york/
Mexican Bulldog at Blockheads: Take a frozen margarita made with Sauza tequila and then turn over a bottle of Corona in it. Add a shot of sangria. The more you drink, the more the Corona drains out, the more amazing it becomes, so you drink more…this goes on until you don’t feel the heat, or much of anything else. http://www.blockheads.com/
Chocolate Stout Float at The Chocolate Room: A grownup version of a classic. This Brooklyn dessert heaven pairs their homemade ice cream with a selection of the richest, darkest chocolate stouts from Brooklyn Brewery and other microbrewers. If you love mint—and I mean LOVE it, like you could swallow a handful of it raw—get the mint ice cream. It will make you disown every other over-sweetened fake you’ve ever tried. http://www.thechocolateroombrooklyn.com/
Slush at Kelvin Natural Slush Co.: It’s just ice and flavoring, right? Yes and no. The Kelvin food truck is one of the hottest (pun intended) food destinations this summer, thanks to all natural sweeteners (no corn syrup!) and super fresh fruit puree mix-ins like white peach and carmelized pineapple. For extra cooling power, make it a Float with a scoop of Blue Marble ice cream, another Brooklyn treasure. I wish I could comment on Kelvin from experience, but I’ve never seen it without a line halfway down the block. http://kelvinslush.com/
