Ice & Vice! not an ice cream float

WHAT: Love & Hate (root beer ice cream with ginger molasses bites throughout)
WHERE: Ice & Vice (Madison Square Eats)

Creativity: 😉😉😉😉😉
Presentation: 😎😎😎😎😎
Taste: 😋😋😋😋
Texture: 😜😜😜😜😜
Value: 😄😄😄😄
Overall Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THOUGHTS: Ice & Vice is known for their experimental take on ice cream (I had previously tried their popcorn flavored one last summer), so when I went with my friends to Madison Square Eats and saw their stand, I had to stop by! I asked what their special flavor was -

Them: "Root beer ice cream, with ginger molasses!" Me: "Sure! I'll definitely try it!"

I decided to get two scoops of it sitting pretty on a lovely 'Birthday Cake' ice cream cone by The Konery. My first taste of root beer ice cream was heaven.

My friends thought I was crazy. When I returned to them excitedly holding a giant ice cream cone, they initially thought from the brown shade it was coffee - nope! xD It's definitely root beer. Their reaction - "Ugh!". LOL.

I very much enjoyed root beer as the ice cream base - it was very lickable, and the ginger molasses chunks were swirled throughout. I didn't taste the ginger molasses very much until the second scoop - the molasses tasted fine, but texture-wise it felt like I was eating sand inside ice cream. I really didn't like that feeling. (Maybe that's why they named it Love & Hate?) Therefore, one icon off of Taste. Apart from that, I wouldn't hesitate to get it again.

Extremely happy with my un-root beer float ;D

24 Garrett Swirl

24 Garrett Swirl Celebrating Cornell's inauguration of President Garrett #CornellPresident

🍦...and a new ice cream flavor! 24 Garrett Swirl. Pretty good! It's mocha, caramel, & chocolate combined. I suggest you try it when it comes out at the Dairy Bar 👌🏻

Sprinkles: Last review for summer 2015!

WHAT: Sprinkles Sundae
One scoop of Cherry Vanilla ice cream sandwiched between Red Velvet cupcake top & bottom
WHERE: Sprinkles @ UES

Creativity: 😉😉😉😉😉
Presentation: 😎😎😎😎😎
Taste: 😋😋😋😋😋
Texture: 😜😜😜😜😜
Value: 😄😄😄😄😄
Overall Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THOUGHTS: DELICIOUS! Extraordinary combination of ice cream & cupcakes 😋 Cherry vanilla ice cream a little tart in my opinion. Cupcake was great :) I think this is a signature dish of Sprinkles, combining the best of both worlds.

A.B. Biagi's

🍦 summer is nearly over!! Aaaahhh! before it ends, here's to a few more ice cream & gelato reviews~

Up first, Gelato time! Would not have noticed this place if @itsinti hadn't pointed it out.

WHAT: Stracciatella, Vegan Almond
WHERE: A.B. Biagi's

Creativity: 😉😉😉😉
Presentation: 😎😎😎
Taste: 😋😋😋😋😋
Texture: 😜😜😜😜
Value: 😄😄😄😄
Overall Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THOUGHTS: One of the best gelato places I've been to so far. Taste is definitely delicious & creamy. Almond was my favorite. I also loved the cone itself, the cone pattern is cute & tasty!

Pinkberry!

Pinkberry is the way to go For FroYo

WHAT: Blueberry
WHERE: Pinkberry @ 14th St

Creativity: 😉😉😉😉
Presentation: 😎😎😎😎😎
Taste: 😋😋😋😋😋
Texture: 😜😜😜😜😜
Value: 😄😄😄😄
Overall Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THOUGHTS: Berry flavored frozen treats I find are the best way to cool off from a hot summer. This blueberry hit the spot for me. Raspberry & strawberry toppings were ok. Blueberries were the best toppings to pair FroYo with.

Mo Money, Mo Mango please!

🍦 Mo Money. Mo Mango. This is the flavor my friends @itsinti & @lv_leslie had, & I tasted a few spoonfuls of theirs. FYI this what I should have gotten. & would highly recommend to you

WHAT: Mo Money Mo Mango
WHERE: 10Below Ice Cream
Creativity: 😉😉😉😉😉
Presentation: 😎😎😎😎😎
Taste: 😋😋😋😋😋
Texture: 😜😜😜😜😜
Value: 😄😄😄😄😄
Overall Experience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THOUGHTS: Yummy!! Refreshing & flavorful. One star off due to wait time (1 hr +!!). Definitely better than Cookie Monster. Friends also agreed and exclaimed, "It's SO good!!" :)

Gelato ti Amo

What better way to cool off on a hot humid New York day than with gelato?

🔴 What? #Fig & #Pistachio gelato
🔵 Where?
Creativity 😉😉
Presentation 😎😎
Taste 😋😋😋😋😋
Texture 😜😜😜
Value 😀😀😀😀
Overall Experience 😊😊😊😊

💭 A small cute shop located in the Financial District. Scoops were generous - Fig was good and not too sweet; same with pistachio.

MELT #2 - S'Mores

🍦 Introducing a revised rating system for ice cream, beginning with this post! Ice cream & overall experience will be rated in six categories (out of a 5 ⭐️ rating, but with emojis 😊) to provide a better consumer review.

🔴 What? Graham cookies with chocolate marshmallow ice cream (special edition for#FourthofJuly!)
🔵 Where? #MeltBakery

(Out of 5 emojis)
Creativity 😉😉😉😉
Presentation 😎😎😎😎
Taste 😋😋😋
Texture 😜😜😜
Value 😀😀😀😀😀
Overall Experience 😊😊😊😊😊

💭 There is a giant 'frozen' marshmallow inside the chocolate ice cream. I think I would have preferred it to be blended with the chocolate instead of by itself. Since this is a special edition, this flavor is only available until the end of July! It's worth a try 👍🏻

Rock it out with Mikey's!

🍦 Double blueberry ice cream with red velvet cake pieces & cheesecake chunks - all sandwiched between red velvet waffles?? I'm in!

💭 quite delicious & creamy. Pretty good ice cream. Blueberry flavor was there - yet I felt it was more of a singular blueberry, instead of double lol. The red velvet cake bits I didn't taste much. Cheesecake chunks were a tasty addition. Red waffles complemented ice cream well. Next time I would like to try this flavor again in a cone. Also, as a note about this ice cream shop, their ice cream is inspired by pop culture. Definitely visit. I'm sure Steve Urkel would love this place.

📝 A

Gelato at Eataly!

🍦After running errands and purchasing "groceries" (snacks 😅), I was hungry and decided to get Eataly's gelato, which was nearby.

What I got: Tiramisu & Stracciatella

💭 Overall, not my favorite... Too icy. With tiramisu as the top scoop, the espresso was strong throughout. If I hadn't known it was tiramisu, I would have thought it to be coffee ice cream. I think I should have asked for tiramisu to be the bottom scoop, since when I tried the stracciatella, I barely tasted the sweet milk cream. I did, however, taste the dark chocolate bits mixed in. Especially since a large chocolate rock had not been broken and blended enough, and had to be bitten through like a chocolate bar. This made the overall experience of stracciatella (& tiramisu) too sweet and not an ideal ice cream experience.

📝 B-

Popcorn with Ice & Vice!

🍦 Popcorn flavored ice cream and a movie on a Monday night! Ice cream made by Ice & Vice. The name of the flavor is 'Movie Theatre' - buttery popcorn as the ice cream base, with crunchy raisins and chocolate chips. Perfect for a movie night with Bryant Park Film Festival!

📝 A-

💭 Unexpectedly tasty. Definitely tasted as if you were eating popcorn, but in cold ice cream form. A little weird at first, but loved it after first bite. I was hesitant because I generally dislike raisins, yet the raisins were actually okay. Since they were frozen, they were crunchy and didn't give much flavor. I guess they were there for texture? The chocolate chips were nice, but I wouldn't ordinarily pair them with popcorn, much less raisins. I liked this ice cream overall for its success in flavor.

Davey's Ice Cream

Daveys Ice Cream.jpg 🍦Reunited with a special friend last night, and celebrated with dessert, which in my book means ice cream :P

We went to Davey's Ice Cream, and I had roasted pistachio and s'mores*

📝 A- / A

💭 S'mores is a new flavor not on the menu yet - was good and chock full of what I'm guessing was large chunks of chocolate covered graham crackers. These chunks were fairly large (~1") and I had to eat them first before being able to lick the ice cream. Other customers there were really excited and loved this flavor after trying a taste, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

Roasted pistachio I loved. Real pistachios are blended in, which I liked - creating a natural brown hue instead of the artificial green you usually see with pistachio. Good texture & consistency, easy to lick

Would definitely eat here again! 😉

Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory

🍦Tasted ice cream from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory today! Flavors tried were vanilla, and vanilla chocolate chunk. (FYI: Other flavors on the menu were chocolate, chocolate chocolate chunk, strawberry, peaches & cream & coffee)

📝 B+

💭 The vanilla flavoring was subtle, and I would have liked it to stand out more - to be more 'vanilla-y'. Chocolate chunks added a nice crunchy texture to the overall ice cream experience. I liked the generous ice cream scoops (big +!), and the ice cream itself was very creamy, but also proceeded to melt quite quickly and ran all over my hand due to the heat today ;P I would give this place another try by tasting other flavors.

MELT with the Highline

🍦 Found MELT Bakery while visiting the High Line yesterday evening! Very excited as they sell ice cream sandwiches and locally source their ingredients.

What I got: the Lovelet - Cream cheese ice cream sandwiched between soft red velvet meltcakes.

💭 Size is decent - one could finish in 4-5 bites. Cream cheese ice cream is perfectly complemented by the soft (think cakey-like) red velvet cookies. Would recommend for red velvet lovers. As last night was fairly warm, it was great to walk the Highline with ice cream to cool you down :)

📝 A-