Category Archives: Frozen Dessert

There’s Always Money in the Banana Stand at Ample Hills Creamery

01 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by in Frozen Dessert, Ice Cream

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Always MoneyReaders. I am super excited. One of the best television shows of, dare I say it, ALL TIME is about to make its triumphant return. “Arrested Development” will debut its fourth and final season on Netflix beginning May 26. It is safe to say that I, along with many other AD nuts, will be shut-ins until we watch the whole season from start to finish. Better than having a hook for a hand though, right?

Luckily, the creative folks at Ample Hills Creamery, a wonder of a scoop shop in Prospect Heights, are also excited. Ample Hills is something like the Ben & Jerry’s of Brooklyn. They constantly churn out homemade, high quality, farfetched ice cream flavors with lots of textural mix-ins that are incredibly addictive. Their latest is an ode to the moneymaker of everyone’s favorite dysfunctional TV family: There’s Always Money in the Banana Stand.

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Shamrock Shake at McDonald’s

20 Wednesday Mar 2013

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Shamrock Shake

Let me start off this post by saying I was on a short road trip, and road trips make people do the weirdest things. Sing-alongs to 90s favorites like the boy bands (pick your favorite) and balladeers like Celine Dion. Getting trucks to honk their horns in a most juvenile fashion. Scarfing bags of Cheetos and beef jerky.

On this road trip, I didn’t do any of these things. (But I will not vouch for road trips prior.) I did, however, partake of another on-the-road oddity: The bizarrely delectable bounty that is the rest stop fast food court.

What is it about rest stop fast food that makes it so much better than fast food at any other time? Is it the diesel fumes of the nearby gas pumps interfering with our taste buds? Or maybe it’s the psychological imbalance that springs from hours in close confines with several other people that sharpens our pleasure senses. You want, no, need, fat, sugar, and salt, pronto! The rest stop blithely obliges.

So yes, you are seeing that image correctly. There, situated amongst the flying fish nuggets, is a seasonal favorite from McDonald’s. For those unfamiliar, I present to you the Shamrock Shake.

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Junior Awful Awful at Newport Creamery

02 Wednesday Jan 2013

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Junior Awful Awful

Apologies for last week. It’s all the Christians’ fault. They took me, a lonesome Jewish girl, into their home on Christmas and gave me gifts and fed me ‘til I was stuffed fat as a holiday goose. Between the eating and the sleeping and the chatting and the eating and the napping I completely lost track of time. An old house in suburban Rhode Island, where I was staying with N.’s family, is essentially a vortex where time stands still and a person can forget the day of the week. And so, I neglected to post.

But in case you didn’t get the picture, one thing I did plenty of over Christmas was chow down. Most of what I ate was traditional homemade fare – turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, spanakopita (Greek Christmas!), trifle, cheesecake – but N. did take me to a local Rhode Island ice cream joint, Newport Creamery, to enjoy a famed frozen treat with a provocative, intimidating name: the Awful Awful.

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Halo-Halo at Talde

17 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Frozen Dessert

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I have a confession to make. I am a fan of reality TV. Okay, not all reality TV, but I firmly believe that some reality TV is better than other reality TV. For example: Top Chef is (was) an excellent example of reality TV that showcased brute talent, unfettered ambition, and improbable setups that lead to astoundingly inventive creations, much like its Bravo forebear, Project Runway.

Inevitably, all of this talent, ambition, and creativity leads many Top Chef contestants, winners or not, to open their own restaurants. Such was the case with Dale Talde, cheftestant on Season 4 of Top Chef, who opened an eponymous restaurant, Talde, and a pork-centric bar, Pork Slope, within the span of a year, both in Park Slope. Of course, Pork Slope has no dessert on offer. Talde, however, now has two: a newly developed chocolate pudding, and the standby classic, halo-halo.

For anyone who remembers this moment from Top Chef, the choice becomes a no-brainer.


Halo-halo it is.

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Blueberry Semifreddo and Mascarpone Panna Cotta at The Leopard at des Artistes

19 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Frozen Dessert, Fruit

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One of the reasons I love New York City is the rapid change. Even in a bear economy, stores and restaurants bud, bloom, and then die, supplanted by the next new thing. It can be exciting and stimulating, manna for someone who thrills with the vibe of transition. But it also means that nothing can be held sacred. Old favorites can never be taken for granted, and the idea of a “classic” has an unusually temperamental tinge.

So when a colleague of mine suggested meeting at Café des Artistes for a leisurely lunch, I immediately recalled this history of this archetypal “Old New York” destination, opened in 1917 and renowned for serving some of the city’s elite.

Except that it wasn’t Café des Artistes anymore. It was reborn in 2011 as The Leopard at des Artistes.

Despite the jazzy, exotic new name, The Leopard at des Artistes maintains the stately feel of its predecessor. The large-scale murals covering the walls, a holdover from the Café days, remind you that this is still a place to bring your parents (or grandparents), assuming they are as well-heeled as the rest of the clientele.

If you are in the mood to linger and really want to treat yourself, The Leopard at Des Artistes is a perfect place to sit and enjoy a sumptuous dessert.

But choose wisely. The Leopard, despite its pedigree, has some standouts, but it also makes some rookie mistakes.

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Frozen Yogurt With Strawberry Cheesecake at Culture

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Frozen Dessert, Frozen Yogurt, Fruit

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Something you should know about me: I have an affinity for almost any frozen dessert. Ice cream, gelato, custard, yogurt, even those concoctions of questionable chemical origin. If I can scoop it, I’ll probably enjoy it. This is not to say I don’t have discriminating taste – I do – but I believe that for every time and place there is an appropriate and complementary cold confection.

I’m especially spoiled. I live in Park Slope, where I have quick access to some of the most notable scoop shops in the city. If I want ice cream with a clever, textured twist, I go to Ample Hills Creamery. If I want a more refined, ultra-rich cone, I stop by Blue Marble. And if I am aiming for something a little cleaner and just a smidgen healthier, I go to Culture for their tangy homemade frozen yogurt.

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