Gay Ice Cream

It's been a few weeks since my trip to New York City but I can remember much of the detail like it was just yesterday. The smells of Little Italy, the brightness of Times Square, the filth of Chinatown (KIDDING...not really), and the flavors of many of the great restaurants we visited are still vivid in my mind. One of the places I still remember well is the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop.

 

When we found Big Gay Ice Cream Shop in the East Village of Manhattan, we had already surpassed a point of ridiculous gluttony for the day. We were beyond stuffed and it was uncomfortable to walk around because we'd eaten so much. Naturally, and probably for my own safety, I didn't think I would be able to handle trying any ice cream at Big Gay Ice Cream Shop. I had also just passed on ordering an Egg Cream from a nearby shop that was known to serve some of the best egg creams in the city.

 

The concept at Big Gay Ice Cream Shop is really cool and different from most ice cream shops. Instead of serving a variety of flavors of ice cream, Big Gay Ice Cream Shop serves traditional soft serve flavors and combines them with an assortment of gourmet toppings. Some of the toppings include: Toasted Curried Coconut, Olive Oil & Sea Salt, Nutella, & Key Lime Curd. They also offer other items from local businesses, such as ice cream sandwiches and macaroons. There are a number of flavor combinations on the menu and many have some sort of name that is politically incorrect, but it's fitting for a place named "Big Gay Ice Cream Shop."

 

Everything about the shop seemed awesome and the ice cream they were serving looked great, but we just didn't think we could handle eating any more...until we were given one for free. I guess one of the employees had made a mistake on an order and walked up to us and offered us a giant ice cream cone that was dipped in chocolate and full of pieces of pretzels. We thanked the person and grabbed a couple spoons and found a bench outside where we could sit and try this incredible looking creation. The soft serve chocolate ice cream was creamy and delicious and the toppings were perfect. The chocolate coating created a hard shell and the saltiness from the pretzels and sprinkles of sea salt were a wonderful balance to the sweetness of the soft serve and chocolate shell. I went from not being able to eat another bite to not being able to stop eating this massive ice cream cone. Don't worry – I wasn't able to finish it...I left some pieces of the cone sitting in the dish!

 

I'm not sure how they did it, but I really liked eating soft serve that was infused with pretzels. It seems like a simple concept but I can't think of any other place that does anything like it. If there is such a thing as gourmet soft serve ice cream, that's what they are serving at Big Gay Ice Cream Shop.

 

For more articles, check out my blog: From Ballparks to BBQ.