Food

30 Years, 30 Ice Creams – Week 3

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23 days down, 7 to go. 20 ice creams down, 10 to go, maybe 11, if you don’t count Sip Sak, below. But now it is crunch time. All bets are off. Also, all non-stretch pants are off. I’m officially 3 ice creams behind, but I am picking up speed. I have the next 2 days off of work thanks to the Jews and their cheesecake holiday (more on that later), and I plan on filling them with ice cream, ice cream, and more ice cream. Here’s what I have discovered, I like a complicated ice cream, a mix of flavors, some salt and sweet, some crunch and creamy. After 20 ice creams, you have to do more to impress me than simply sticky a dairy (or non-dairy) product in a cone. I am becoming quite the ice cream connoisseur. I am also counting down the days until my life no longer revolves around frozen treats.

TL;DR

This week was my actual birthday! I am officially 30 years old. Luckily, I started this quest on May 7th, so I have 7 more days to pick up some slack. I also have 7 more days to find my long-lost metabolism, which I am pretty sure I left in my 20’s, somewhere around 22. I have been really sick for the past week, and that has gotten in the way of my taste buds, my energy, and my drive to stuff my stomach with frozen goodies.

This week I went to an old-time soda fountain for AMAZING sundaes. It was the best place I have been so far, and I gave it a 9.5, in case somewhere in the next week lives up to the elusive perfect 10. The next day, I went to  Turkish restaurant and had an off-menu lava-cake-like halva-stuffed ice cream dome. It was unique, to say the least. The next day I had a two-a-day (not the gym, god forbid), where I went to Wowfulls for aesthetically pleasing, but gustatorily sub-par waffle ice cream, and Snow Days, for shaved ice cream, something I had never experienced. It was like tasting actual snow, that sort of tasted like ice cream. Low in flavor, high in mental confusion. Think: Dippin’ Dots.

Friday I had a date night with my favorite emoji boyfriend at Cool Mess, where we picked our flavor and toppings, and made the ice cream on the table in front of us! VERY cute date idea, if you don’t mind the kids running around everywhere. Who doesn’t like a date that involves and activity, sweets, and a server who offers to take boomerangs of you!? Saturday, I went to Pier 6 in Brooklyn for Ample Hills ice cream. The view was fantastic, but unfortunately I was too sick to taste the ice cream. Rating of flavor was done by my trusty BFF. The next day was birthday celebration, where I topped off the week with a personalized Carvel Cake, reading, what else but #30Years30IceCreams. Without further ado: Week 3.

Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain – Old School Soda Shop Sundaes (@brooklynfarmacy) May 22, 2017

Aesthetic (9.5) Flavor (10) Texture (9) Overall (9.5)

Brooklyn Farmacy and Soda Fountain is housed in a 1920s apothecary store in Brooklyn. It has only been open since 2010 as a soda fountain, but you wouldn’t guess that by walking in. It feels like going back in time. Even the waitresses, or “soda jerks,” seem old-timey. The sundaes though… to DIE for. They were MASSIVE. Three of us went after spin class, and we had a case of “eyes bigger than bellies” when we ordered 2 sundaes to split. First, we got the Mr. Potato Head, featured on Food Network, which has vanilla ice cream, peanut butter, and warm caramel sauce, topped with whipped cream and surrounded by salty potato chips. WOAH WOAH WOAH. I am a chip girl myself, so this was pure heaven. The salt, the sweet, the caramel, the crunch, the melty peanut butter. AMAZING. Best flavor combo so far on this journey. Then came the big kahuna: the 99 Problems sundae. It was a warm brownie, topped with chocolate ice cream, “doused” in vanilla milkshake, topped with a dark chocolate coconut shell, whipped cream, shaved chocolate and a cherry. This thing was literally larger than my head. See below. Unreal. Between the brownie, and the coconut hints of the chocolate shell (they use coconut oil to harden it), and the vanilla milkshake… I have never had anything like it before. HIGHLY recommend. Also, if you buy a Jerk shirt, you can get free egg creams forever! Or buy Fox’s U-Bet syrup in store, and make them yourself at home.

Sip Sak – Ice Cream with a Halva Crust (no official Instagram but you can find geotagged photos here) May 23, 2017

Aesthetic (9) Flavor (6) Texture (6) Overall (7)

This place may not count toward my 30 places, since it is not technically known for its ice cream. However, the restaurant is amazing. So I recommend it with or without the ice cream. It’s a Turkish restaurant with a famous chef known for his off-menu items and Michelin stars. Luckily I went here with a friend who spoke Turkish and she took care of all of the expert ordering. She got Semolina Halva for dessert, which was a pine nut-enriched semolina crust over a dome of creamy ice cream (also off-menu). It was like a Turkish version of chocolate lava cake. The texture of the halva was not my favorite but the ice cream was creamy and a great “cherry on top” of a delicious meal. Also, I always like a hot crust/cold ice cream juxtaposition.

Wowfulls – Hong Kong Egg Waffle Colorful Instagrammable Ice Cream (@wowfulls) May 24, 2017

Aesthetic (10) Flavor (7) Texture (6) Overall (7)

I love me a good waffle ice cream. Last week when I went to New Territories, a patron there told me that Wowfulls had better ice cream, but worse waffles; he was right. The waffle was almost too well-done, so it was crunchy, not fluffy. However, this was a beautiful ice cream. We got the crazy vanilla, which was three colors, but tasted like vanilla. The ice cream was great, the toppings were great (condensed milk, whipped cream, fruity pebbles, mini gummy bears and strawberries), but the waffle was sub-par. Service was fantastic; I was waiting there for 30 minutes for my friend and the workers chatted with me and let me taste as many flavors as I wanted. Overall, I’d say Eggloo or New Territories tasted better, but Wowfulls has a custom painted wall from @jgoldcrown just for photos. You can’t compete with that. Oh, and color-changing spoons! Made my night.

Snowdays – Shaved Ice Cream with a Yetti Twist (@snowdaysnyc) May 24, 2017

Aesthetic (9) Flavor (7) Texture (7) Overall (7)

Second stop of the night. This was something different and interesting in a weird way. It was like shaved ice, but creamy like ice cream. It’s a combo of Taiwanese and Korean shaved ice, with a fluffy texture of snow, but creaminess of ice cream. They produce these small batches of ice cream blocks every day, then shave it into cups to order. We got the smallest size possible (which was HUGE), in a YETITRACKS(TM) flavor, which is basically like cookies and cream. The whole place has a Yetti theme, which makes for great photos and adorable cup creations. Extra points for them because we picked the three allotted toppings, and they added Pocky sticks for free for effect (again, always tell them you will blog about it!). Overall, it was a different-tasting experience, not my favorite type of texture, but it was a great value for the money and super cute in photos!

Cool Mess – DIY Ice Cream on the table (@coolmessnyc) May 26, 2017

Aesthetic (7) Flavor (7) Texture (8) Overall (9)

This place has been on my list of date ideas for over a year, and I finally got my emoji-bf to accompany me. In theory, I guess it’s a place for kids and kids’ parties, and I think we were the only people there over the age of 15 without kids that were under the age of 5. Oh well. The kids clearly know where it’s at. We picked a vanilla base, and added Oreos, bananas, cookie dough and OF COURSE plenty of rainbow jimmies. It only took 8 minutes of waiting for our ice cream to finish freezing. Probably a long time for kids, but just enough time to instagram/boomerang/snapchat for a girl newly in her thirties. As far as price goes, it’s a bit steep for ice cream ($29.95 for two people), but we had a really fun time and it was a great cheap date, relative to other things! You can’t go to a movie for that, and we got to eat our creation. The flavor wasn’t anything outrageous, but the fun experience (and great company 😉 ) knocked this place up to an overall 9. Plus they had their own Snapchat filter. (Also, expert tip, they sell DŌ cookie dough there, if you don’t want to wait in line for an hour.)

Ample Hills Creamery – Funky Flavors (that I couldn’t taste) with a View (@amplehills) May 27, 2017

Aesthetic (8) Flavor (8) Texture (8) Overall (8)

I ran into a problem here: Ample Hills has many locations, but I really wanted to go to this one on the water for the photos. Main problem: they are only open during the day, and mostly only on the weekend! By the time I finally got around to going, I was sick and I couldn’t taste anything. We got Munchies flavor (pretzel-infused ice cream with clusters of Ritz crackers, potato chips, pretzels and M&Ms) and Oh Fudge (Vegan, non-dairy chocolate with coconut milk and a splash of rum). Luckily, I had my best friend with me as a tasting buddy (the flavor is ranked by her). You know what they say about how your other senses are heightened when you lose one? Well that is true. I really enjoyed the texture, and the photos came out great! Aesthetic of the ice cream itself wasn’t anything special, but with the Freedom Tower and Brooklyn Bridge behind it, it was really something. After enjoying some nothing-flavored creaminess, I went home and went back to bed with some Dayquil.

Carvel Cake – Birthday Celebration Hashtag #Fun #30Years30IceCreams (@carvelicecream) May 28, 2017

Aesthetic (10) Flavor (7) Texture (9) Overall (8)

The pièce de résistance of the week: the Carvel Cake my big sis got me for my birthday! And of course she had it iced in the only best way possible: #30Years30IceCreams. I had people over to my rooftop for my big 3-0 celebration, and we could not have had a birthday celebration without ice cream. It was a typical half vanilla-half chocolate with chocolate crunchies in the middle (the best part!). It was a beautiful sunny day, and it was a great break from the sangria-drinking. I also have a LOT left in my freezer. I can have a piece every week until my 31st. Do like Drake and turn my birthday into a lifestyle.

My best friend also hand-baked mini cupcakes and iced them, and stuck them in sugar cones to look like mini ice creams. She knows the way to my heart. Technically that doesn’t count as ice cream, but they were so precious (and DELICIOUS) so I included a few photos below.

It is the home stretch. This Mucinex DM better start working ASAP because I’ve got some catching up to do! Wish me luck and send Kleenex my way.

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Long Legs and other Personal Problems

Dirty Nerdy Thirty

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Today is my 30th Birthday!! This is supposedly a huge milestone. Personally, I have felt 30 for a while, mostly because I’m one of the last of my friends to turn over this leaf. But I have also felt 30 for a while because of these things:

  • My hangovers last multiple days. I don’t just mean into the afternoon, I mean into the NEXT DAY’S AFTERNOON. No amount of fried food helps, either.
  • I prefer sleep to alcohol. Friday nights in have become a regular thing.
  • The pregame has been supplanted by the pre-nap. If you expect me to leave my house after 9 pm, I require a nap at least from 6pm-8pm.
  • I have started referring to the times I used to drink and party in past tense. “I used to go here and do that.” “Oh, I remember those days as if they were 5 years ago.” (They were.)
  • Everything cracks. My ankles, my shoulders, my elbows. I am physically falling apart.

That last one is semi-true, but also, I just ran a half marathon with a sprained ankle, so I guess I can’t complain too much about my body failing me. A lot has changed in the 30 years that I have been alive, though. Remember making mix tapes? As in, recording songs off of the radio? Trying so hard not to catch the DJ’s voice at the beginning, and praying that they didn’t cut the end of the song off with a dumb advertisement? We went from there, to CD’s and discmans, and from there to mp3’s, Napster and Kazaa (that BSB single was totally worth the computer virus), ipods, and now just listening to everything on our phones. As old as I sound by saying this, times have really changed.

Yesterday, I had a big celebration for my birthday and my parents came. The theme was “Nerdy Thirty” and my dad totally stole the show. It wasn’t just the socks and sandals (which definitely helped), or his name tag from a work conference where it said he was “between jobs” (omg), or the light shorts and Hawaiian shirt (also helped), but the star of the outfit was the contents of his pocket. First, he brought a paper that he stole from a gas station on his way to NYC. It was the tear-away calendar they use to check ID’s for buying cigarettes. It said, “Born After this date? NO TOBACCO. NO E-VAPOR”. And the date was 5-28-1998. 1998!!?!! WHAT?? People born in 1999 are now full, smoking, voting citizens in some states? That totally blew my mind. That means that NEXT year, people born in 2000 will be 18!!! Also surprising, the fact that my dad stole this paper off of the tear-away calendar and now this poor gas station will be one day off for the next 7 months of the year. Hopefully someone realizes before December 31.

Another thing in my dad’s pocket, and the real star of the party, was a floppy disc. He said, “I wonder what’s on here, does anyone have a computer that can read one of these things?” And everyone just started laughing hysterically. Times really have changed. My friend sent me a Facebook memory screen shot this morning from 2013, when a friend had asked me if I was staying in NYC forever. I said, “For now. Until I decide I want a boyfriend, because let’s be honest, I will NEVER find one here.” So, a few things have changed, as I roll up to my 2-year anniversary with emoji-bf. Thank god for OKCupid. I’ll tackle that in another post.

I hope to make 30 look good. My manicure lady said I don’t look a day over 25, but then she told me she was 35 and she has a 14-year-old son, when she looks 14 herself, so maybe her age judgment is a bit off. Here’s to a fun year of new technology and 3-day hangovers. You can find me in bed. All day.

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Food

30 Years, 30 Ice Creams – Week 2

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WHEW! Here we are again, 1 week later, 20 pounds heavier. Ok, perhaps that is a MINOR exaggeration. I have been doing a lot of “salad for lunch, ice cream for dinner.” Maybe I will become one of those Instagram health influencers soon. I think I’m on to something here. Keep following along on my Google Map, updated in real time. As people have found out about my quest, they have been giving me suggestions, and my list continues to grow. My poor, pre-diabetic body.

TL;DR

This week in NYC brought incredibly high temperatures. Wednesday through Friday we hit 90 degrees and above. Perfect ice cream weather. I ate one less ice cream than last week, and I managed to eat only one per day, with the exception of Tuesday. Tuesday I had 2 people to share with so I felt like I was basically on a diet. One per day is definitely easier on the stomach, but keep sending the pepto my way. This week I tried my first rolled ice cream of the journey, my first gelato, my first vegan ice cream, AND my first milkshake. I also visited two places with unicorns in them. 2017 is officially the year of the unicorn, so I feel like I’m doing all of the right things. I tried the unicorn frappuccino, mostly for the Instagram photo, and I am happy to report that both unicorns I encountered this week were better than that horrific liquid pixie stick.

On Monday, I went to Blossom Ice cream in Brooklyn for lavender-infused rolled ice cream, on Tuesday I went to City Cakes for a half pound red velvet stuffed cookie gelato sandwich. Also on Tuesday, I went to Big Gay Ice Cream for the infamous Salty Pimp cone and a few photos with unicorns and Golden Girls. I skipped Wednesday (GASP), and on Thursday, I was back in Brooklyn for Van Leeuwen’s handmade ice cream, one scoop regular, one scoop vegan. On Friday, I went to New Territories for some incredibly Instagrammable treats, and on Sunday, I went to Brooklyn Bell with my new favorite fitness/fun/culture/food combo activity, Runstreet.

I learned a very valuable lesson this week: If you tell the employees that you will tag the place and you plan on blogging about it, they make your ice cream extra pretty! (Feel free to use this tip in the future, even if you’re not blogging.) Make sure to scroll all the way through to see all of the Instagrammable moments! One thing is for sure, I need to get a manicure, STAT. So many photos of my hands! Without further ado, week 2 of #30Years30IceCreams!!

Blossom Ice Cream – Lavender-Infused Rolled Ice Cream (@blossomicecream) May 15, 2017

Aesthetic (9) Flavor (9) Texture (9) Overall (9)

Rolled ice cream is to dessert, what hibachi is to dinner. It always tastes better because you get to watch them make it! This started as liquid, but after pouring it on the cold stone, flattening and mixing and rolling, it was a super fun treat. We went after spin class, so I felt like I earned it. Also, one of the girls from class (my ice cream buddy of the night) bought it for me for my birthday! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, #IfItsFreeItsForMe. Tastes so much better that way. We got the wild berry lavender flavor, and since it was free unlimited toppings we got blueberries on top (in addition to the blueberries that are mashed up in it), coconut shavings, and condensed milk. YUM. It had a super creamy texture since it started as a liquid, and so pretty! Check out my Instagram for some boomerangs of the rolling in action.

City Cakes – MASSIVE Red Velvet Cookie Gelato-wich (@citycakes) May 16, 2017

Aesthetic (7) Flavor (7) Texture (7) Overall (7)

This thing was BIG. The cookie itself boasts a half pound of red velvet, cream cheese stuffed goodness. I was definitely glad I brought two people along to share. Emoji bf and big sis in tow, we ALMOST managed to finish it. The gelato was sub-par. It was from Amorino, which was around the corner and is still on my list, but I haven’t been there yet! The gelato flavor was fiordilatte, which the website says is “authentic and pure,” and “gives proper justice to fresh whole milk.” Honestly, it just tasted bland to me. Also, the cold gelato sort of ruined the cookie, because it would have been softer and gooey-er without the cold gelato on it. Cookie was an 8, gelato was a 5, average of a 6.5. I’d recommend it if you want something huge, but if you are a cookie purist, get it without the gelato.

Big Gay Ice Cream – Super Creamy, Dipped Soft Serve (@biggayicecream) May 16, 2017

Aesthetic (4) Flavor (8) Texture (9) Overall (7)

Somehow, after the half pound red velvet cookie, we were still up for another adventure. We walked 15 minutes (thank goodness), and went to Big Gay for the first time ever. We had to get the salty pimp, since that’s what this place is known for. It’s vanilla soft serve dipped in chocolate hard shell, with swirls of dulce de leche. As far as aesthetic goes, it was ugly. It’s tough to make dipped soft serve pretty. But the soft serve was SO CREAMY. I have begun to realize that I have a soft spot for soft serve. Pun intended. The best part of this place was the decor. Unicorns and rainbows as far as the eye can see. They really committed.  And I had no idea before going that there would be Golden Girls everywhere. The second most popular cone is called the Bea Arthur, and there was a Pop Art Warhol of Sophia on the wall. Even the choking poster had Dorothy from the Golden Girls, giving the Heimlich to a unicorn. If I was rating the decor, this place would be an easy 10.

Van Leeuwen – Local Vegan and Regular Scoops (@vanleeuwenicecream) May 18, 2017

Aesthetic (6) Flavor (9) Texture (8) Overall (8)

This place was another recommendation from one of my Spinning participants. It’s all about balance, right? There was a line out the door so I knew it was going to be good. All of the ice cream is made from scratch in Greenpoint, Brooklyn (extra points for local). The menu was half regular flavors and half vegan. The regular scoops are made of only fresh milk and cream, cane sugar, and egg yolks, and the vegan scoops are made with house-made cashew milk, organic coconut milk, organic extra virgin coconut oil, organic cane sugar, pure cocoa butter, and organic carob bean. Unfortunately, the Vegan Blackberry with Salted Palm Sugar Cake was sold out for the day (it  looked especially Instagrammable from my research), so if you plan to go here, go early in the day! We settled for two scoops: Black Sesame, Ash, Chocolate Cake (regular) and Cookie Crumble Strawberry Jam (vegan). Again, I mentioned that I’d be blogging about it, so they made it extra pretty (pro tip!). The black sesame was surprisingly tasty and had huge chunks of chocolate cake that tasted like brownies, but the real surprise here: I liked the vegan one better! It didn’t taste much like strawberry, but it had coconut pieces, and the cashew milk gave it this delicious nutty flavor. Texture was pretty creamy as far as non-soft serve goes. The only reason the aesthetic rating is low is because it’s no frills, unlike my next place.

New Territories –  Crazily Photogenic Treats (@newterritoriesny) May 19, 2017

Aesthetic (10) Flavor (6) Texture (6) Overall (7)

All frills, basic flavor. This place has a very small menu, but everything on that menu deserves its own Instagram following. I went with a friend here, luckily, so I was able to try the infamous Unicorn Parade Milkshake as well as one of their famous bubble-waffle-ice-cream-creations, U-be Trippin, extra points on the name pun. The Waffle had ube syrup in it, and was handmade, then topped with earl grey ice cream, condensed milk, animal crackers, whipped cream and fruity pebble sprinkles, and a butterfly, all edible. Every single part of it was great, especially the handmade waffle. But beware that it does melt quickly because of the hot waffle, so have your phones out and ready! The Unicorn milkshake was nothing more than a vanilla milkshake, but the photo was worth everything. The mug was dipped in chocolate and covered in rainbow jimmies, and the inside was half coated in purple ube syrup. It was topped with 3 different marshmallows on top of Pocky sticks, whipped cream, fruity pebbles dust, a rainbow-shaped marshmallow, and an edible butterfly. It didn’t taste any better than a normal vanilla milkshake, but the photo made it absolutely worth all $12. Definitely substituted this for dinner.

Brooklyn Bell – Mom and Pop, On-Site-Made, Small Batch Ice Cream (@bkbellthelocal) May 21, 2017

Aesthetic (7) Flavor (8) Texture (6) Overall (7)

I went here as part of one of my new favorite fitness/fun/culture activities, Runstreet! After more than 4 miles running and looking at art, this ice cream tasted fantastic. We started and ended our run here, which gave us something awesome to look forward to. Their website boasts the “freshest old school ice cream made in Brooklyn,” and it’s hand-crafted in small batches that are made daily in the store! It really is a local gem, and a total mom and pop shop (he is a computer programmer and she is a lawyer, with an ice cream hobby)! I got brown sugar whiskey vanilla with chocolate sauce (because I earned it). The flavor was really unique and intriguing. It wasn’t as creamy as I was hoping, considering it’s homemade each day, but as far as no-frills ice cream goes, it was pretty darn good. Go and support local businesses! Special thanks to Marnie from runstreet because I wouldn’t have found this place without her.

13 ice creams down, 17 to go, I’m only 1 day behind schedule! Does anyone want to work out with me? Or roll me to the next 17 places?

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Long Legs and other Personal Problems

Gemini Season

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I’d like to take a quick break from ice cream reviews to update you on the countdown until my big 3-0. TEN DAYS!!! And Sunday is the beginning of Gemini season, so as they say in one of my favorite movies, GIRD YOUR LOINS. According to the always-reliable Wikipedia, Geminis have a “volatile temperament,” but that is only the beginning of it. According to astrostyle, geminis “fly their freak flags at full mast.” I’m not sure I’m a huge fan of that characterization, however true it may be. A Gemini is characterized by the symbol of The Twins. Most people take this to mean that they have multiple personalities and you never know which one you will get. Famous Geminis include Kanye West, MK & A Olsen, Tupac, and of course my birthday twins, Melo (3 years before me) and JFK (70 years before me, he’d be 100 this year!!). And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for Geminis — ask what you can do to avoid them. And their unpredictable personalities.

I am not totally sure if I believe in Zodiac signs, but I’d like to explore what it means to be a Gemini, and whether the double personality thing has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Some people interpret this “dual nature” to mean that you are two-faced, but I don’t really think that’s true. For me, I think it means that I have a good side and a bad side, and it’s a one-way street. You can be on my good side, and get dropped to the bad one. But if you’re on the bad one, it’s over for you. Example: my cheating ex-boyfriend. 10 years later, he could save me from a bus pummeling toward me, and he’d still be on my bad side. Alternatively, he could get run over by that same exact bus, in front of me, and I wouldn’t bat an eye.

I will say, however, that if you are on my good side, I will bend over backwards for you and I believe I’m a pretty good friend. You’ll have to ask a few people to verify this opinion, but in general, if you’re on my good side, you can always count on me. There is no in between. Ex-boyfriends, ex-roommates, there’s no question each of you know which side you stand on. If you aren’t sure, ask yourself this one simple question: Do I speak to anymore? Mystery solved.

My big sis is also a Gemini, and I’m not sure what her thoughts are on her zodiac sign, besides the fact that I stole her thunder by coming into the world a few days before her 5th birthday (what an a-hole, AMIRITE?). My family is full of Geminis, in fact, 2 of my 4 cousins are Geminis as well. Maybe my family just chooses to procreate around the same season and all this astrology stuff is BS. All I know for sure is, don’t get on my bad side, you’ll regret it… FOREVER.

Now back to ice cream. 10 down, 20 to go!

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Food

30 Years, 30 Ice Creams – Week 1

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Week 1 of #30Years30IceCreams has officially come to a close and all I can say is WOAH. According to everything my mom said growing up, with the amount of sugar I have consumed I should be hyper for weeks, but I am exhausted. It’s a lot of work eating that much ice cream! I think I have picked up about 20 new Instagram followers, and zero blog subscribers (looking at YOU Pop Bar employees who said you’d subscribe! WTF!). Meanwhile, my 30th birthday looms closer every day, and I am trying to take advantage of whatever is left of my waning metabolism rate.

TL;DR

7 days down, 7 ice creams consumed, so I am right on track. I taught spinning on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and attended a class on Saturday. Overall, I probably still gained 5 pounds, so I’m right on track with that, too. My mom is V proud, in case you were wondering.

I went to Holey Cream on Sunday, Häagen-Dazs on Tuesday, Emack and Bolio’s on Wednesday, and then Morgenstern’s, Soft Swerve, Dominique Ansel, AND Pop Bar on Saturday. Best photo award goes to Holey Cream with honorable mention to DA, and best flavor goes to Soft Swerve, but each one had something great to boast (HELLOOO Häagen-Dazs was free, my favorite price). Speaking of price, I created a new tag on my mint.com for money spent on ice cream, so I’ll keep you apprised of that situation as well. It all tastes better than vodka though, and I haven’t had any time to drink, so at least there’s that. See, mommy? Not all bad things coming out of this adventure.

I brought along a couple friends throughout the week to share the sugar, calories, and dollars spent. If you try this at home, I highly recommend bringing sharing buddies. For Holey Cream, I had my emoji-bf in tow, and on Saturday, 2 friends did a spin class with me at Peloton (fittingly themed the #RideOfShame) before we embarked on our ice cream journey so we could spin away a few calories. Emphasis on FEW.

Saturday was pouringggg rain all day long. My toes were wet and frozen before we even started tasting ice cream, but it was totally worth it because there were no lines! Nothing scares away a line-loving tourist like 17 hours of nonstop rain. But as they say at the USPS, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” In plain English, we were determined. And rewarded! We had some great surprises along the way: Soft Swerve gave us free stickers to put on our cones (helllooo insta), we found an Empanada Mama along the way for a mid-sugar-coma-break, it happened to be the Cronut’s 4th birthday, so Dominique Ansel had free treats, AND Pop Bar had a 7-foot popsicle on the wall for photo opps. Speaking of photos, make sure you scroll through all the ratings and commentary to see the fabulous pictures! Without further ado, Week 1 of #30Years30IceCreams.

Holey Cream – HUGE Doughnut Ice Cream Sandwich (@holeycreamnyc) May 7, 2017

Aesthetic (9) Flavor (7) Texture (6) Overall (7)

This was the official start of my ice cream tour. I dragged my boyfriend here (see below) as a quick dessert date, and boy am I glad I did, this thing was HUGE. Sharing required. The wall was painted with the steps to make your masterpiece, although the workers didn’t follow them in order. FAKE NEWS. Gist of it was 1- pick a doughnut 2 – pick an ice cream flavor 3 – pick an icing 4 – pick a topping. There weren’t actually doughnut choices, so that made my life easier, as decisions are not my strong suit (why do you think I’m going to ALL of these ice cream places instead of picking a few?) My emoji-faced-boyfriend basically only likes cookies and cream ice cream, so that step was decided for me. Then we picked Nutella as icing, and rainbow jimmy sprinkles, because Instagram. Obvi. Ultimately, I’m not a huge fan of donuts so I was pleasantly surprised with this deliciousness. The ice cream was just regularly scooped, so nothing great on texture. Definitely recommend, if at least for the photo and the quantity.

Häagen-Dazs – Free Cone!! (@haagendazs_us) May 9, 2017

Aesthetic (6) Flavor (7) Texture (6) Overall (6)

This wasn’t on my original list but #IfItsFreeItsForMe (one of my life mottos). Free Cone Day was this past Tuesday, and it couldn’t have been more perfect timing. It was my one day off from spinning all week, which left me plenty of time to wait in line. (More on my increased Spin schedule to compensate for these calories at a later time.) I went to the HD across from Columbia, which was probably a dumb move, since college students have no money to BUY ice cream and plenty of time to wait for it. Oh well. The line took 20 minutes and I brought a book. Plus, maybe we saved some bees while we were at it. Häagen-Dazs wanted their “customers” to “pay it forward by planting wildflowers native to their region to help keep bees buzzing,” according to their news release. I got midnight cookies and cream, which was delicious but sort of hard in texture. Also I don’t really care for cones but I felt I could throw it away and save some calories because it was free. #WinWin. Also #Waste but oh well.

Emack & Bolio’s – Beautiful (but not delicious) Dipped Cone (@emackandbolios) May 10, 2017

Aesthetic (7) Flavor (5) Texture (5) Overall (5)

This place is known for its dipped cones. I picked fruity pebbles because I liked it as an Eggloo topping a few months ago, and it’s pretty for a photo. For the ice cream, I picked Space Cake, which is cake batter ice cream with short bread cookie pieces and chunks of red velvet cake. Sounds amazing, right? Well, it looked amazing. The ice cream was good, not too hard, not too soft, but also nothing too special. The cake batter did taste like cake batter, not very sweet, so it depends what you like. Gearing up for a full week of sugar, I was thankful for the lack of sweetness. Full disclosure, I am not a huge cone-lover, and this place is specifically known for its cones, but even knowing that, I was #NotImpressed. The cone was hard and the fruity pebbles tasted a bit stale. Overall rating: eh.

Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream – Black Ash, Black Everything Ice Cream – (@morgensternsnyc) May 13, 2017

Aesthetic (6) Flavor (6) Texture (8) Overall (6)

I’ve seen pictures of this dark black ice cream for ages and I always wanted to try it. I didn’t even know what flavor it was. Good news: it wasn’t licorice, which I was dreading. Bad news: it was coconut ash, which literally got EVERYTHING black: napkins, hands, shirt, and teeth!! If you thought red wine teeth were bad, I looked like I’d been smoking cigarettes for 300 years and then used tar as mouthwash (see below). But it tasted great. It was a subtle flavor and incredibly creamy. They hand-make each batch, so they are served out of these little containers that look like leftovers. I felt bad asking for a sample because they had to take out those containers, but the workers didn’t seem to mind. There was a middle-aged man in a full suit there, who brought a photographer to take pictures of him eating ice cream. I asked him if it was for his new tinder pic, but he said they were “making a zine.” Then he sauntered out, photographer and pink pocket square in tow. New York is so weird.

SoftSwerve – Purble Ube Super Creamy Soft Serve – (@softswervenyc) May 13, 2017

Aesthetic (8) Flavor (8) Texture (8) Overall (8)

“New York’s Yammiest Ice Cream.” Also the creamiest. I went with the swirl ube purple yam and macapuno coconut in a black chocolate cone. The workers here were so friendly, and they offered multiple times for us to try any or all of the 4 flavors. Extra points there (figurative points, since I’m not actually rating service). I tried the matcha, didn’t love it, but I think that’s just because I don’t love matcha in general. The ube was awesome and I loved the purple color! Again I got a cone, but only for the photo. It was supposedly “black chocolate” but it tasted like cardboard to me (loss of points for flavor/lies there). But where they lost in cone flavor, they won in creamy soft serve. Plus they gave us stickers to put on the napkin around out cone. Looked beautiful on my Instagram.

Dominique Ansel Bakery – Off-menu DKA Salted Caramel Ice Cream Sandwich – (@dominiqueansel) May 13, 2017

Aesthetic (9) Flavor (7) Texture (7) Overall (8)

My research paid off. If anyone looked through my google search history at this point, they’d definitely think I was a diabetic at best, someone starring on My 600 Pound Life at worst. But guess what, it worked. Because I found this off-menu gem by stalking their Instagram. In fact, after I ordered it, multiple people were staring and asking what it was. First of all, you can’t go wrong with a DKA (“Dominique’s Kouign Amann”). In their words, it’s a “tender, flaky, croissant-like dough with a caramelized crunchy crust.” In my words, it’s AMAZING. Then add salted caramel ice cream??? (There was a choice of vanilla or chocolate too, but come on, duh.) Then we added a side of a chocolate chip cookie and milk shot. Better than rum, if you ask me. AND to make it even better, it was the 4th birthday of the cronut (who knew?! Well, YOU would have, too, if you followed their instagram) so they brought out free cronut holes in special flavors to everyone in line! As I have said before, #IfItsFreeItsForMe. It was still pouring rain, so the line only took 4 minutes. During that 4 minute wait, we got to eat free cronut holes and watch a pastry chef using a blowtorch to make their famous frozen s’mores on a stick (it’s literally served on a smoked willow wood branch). AWESOME experience overall.

Popbar – Handcrafted Gelato on a Stick – (@popbar) May 13, 2017

Aesthetic (7) Flavor (4) Texture (4) Overall (6)

This was our last stop of the day, and luckily it wasn’t too too sweet because I was about to collapse from hyperglycemia. They had many choices for gelato, all made with real fruit and a few ingredients. They are all also kosher (you hear that, rabbis?), gluten and preservative free, and have no artificial coloring. We went with the chocolate banana gelato stick, and dipped it in dark chocolate, then hazelnuts on one side, and pistachios on the other. The texture was hard, tasted more like a popsicle and less like gelato. The flavor was subtle, which is good after 3 other ice creams, but I probably wouldn’t go there if I was craving something sweet. It wasn’t my favorite of the day, and it was very difficult to hold and take photos, which is always determinative to my final rating (one more shoutout here to the loopy cell phone case). They did have a cute oversized popsicle for photo opps, though (see below).

I had zero ice creams yesterday, so I’m already officially behind for the week. To be continued…

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Food

30 Years, 30 Ice Creams, The Beginning

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In case you did not know, I am turning 30 HUGE years old in exactly 18 days (but who’s counting). Since I tend to quote Friends at least 3 times a day, I started to think about The One Where They All Turn 30, and how Phoebe accomplished all of her goals by the time she turned 30 (except one), including bouncing one mile on a Hippity Hop. If you have been following my blog, you will know that I ran a half marathon 2 weeks ago. That was really the only thing I had set to accomplish. But then I remembered the draft email I had made last year with ice cream places I wanted to visit in New York, food capital of the world, and also the city in which I happen to reside. This seemed like a much more fun thing to accomplish than running 13 miles. The list had about 15 places on it, but I am a firm believer in “go big or go home,” so I decided to add on. My list now exceeds 30 places.

The rest is history, I found my #ThisIs30 endeavor: it begins with copious amounts of calories, and indubitably ends in a sugar coma. You can follow my quest in real-time here on this google map. I don’t even have a sweet tooth. I can eat an entire bag of hot Cheetos and Takis in one sitting, but I am also the annoying girl who eats 2 bites of a cookie and puts it back (ask my mom, it INFURIATES her). This is not really an idyllic mission for me, but that’s where the challenge comes in.

Ideally I would have liked to hit 30 places by the time I turned 30 (May 29), but I started 7 days late (May 7), so I decided to settle for 30 places within 30 days (by June 6). I am currently taking all suggestions for hashtags for this epic quest (WRITE THEM IN THE COMMENTS!), but for now, you can follow my adventures at #30Years30IceCreams. I am also taking applications for ice cream buddies, as I have already realized I will need to share ice cream if I even attempt to finish this.

I will update you weekly on my progress. Since Sunday, I have experienced three (I AM SO BEHIND) and I will post a week-end summary on Mondays. I will be reviewing each mission on a scale of 1-10 in 4 categories: (1) Aesthetic (2) Flavor (3) Texture (4) Overall. At the end, I will rank them. Quick disclaimer here that I am not a professional food critic. But I am human, and I do have taste buds, so I’m pretty sure I qualify as something (obese by the end of this, most likely).

Last year when I started my list, I tried to go to some of the places, but without as much drive as I have now. I will begin here by reviewing the places I went to in the past year, but before I began my official adventure. These technically do not count toward the challenge but ALSO TECHNICALLY they are ice creams, and I did have them by the time I turned 30, so without further ado… #30Years30IceCreams.

10 Below – Rolled Ice Cream (@10belowicecream) June 25, 2016

Aesthetic (9) Flavor (8) Texture (10) Overall (9) 

This place is awesome. Hands down. It was my first foray into rolled ice cream (more to come, do not fret), and it was totally worth it. First of all, it’s dinner and a show (or dessert, at least). They make it right in front of you. Pouring, spreading, crushing toppings, mixing in, spreading again, rolling, stacking in the cup… it’s a lot of manual labor. Definitely deserves an extra tip. And the texture – WOAH. This ice cream, since it is never sitting in a big freezer vat, is SO CREAMY. I’ll admit, I only went to this place for the photo (who can resist a good Instagram), but the texture completely blew me away. Worth it, worth it, worth it. The only reason this place isn’t a 10 is because I am waiting for that PERFECT ice cream. I’m determined.

Black Tap – Photogenic Milkshake (@blacktapnyc) July 22, 2016

Aesthetic (9) Flavor (6) Texture (7) Overall (7)

Ok, so this technically isn’t ice cream. But it has ice cream in it, and it looks AWESOME. Everyone has seen photos of these online, so of course it was #1 on my list last year. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to boast about after the photo. I had seen so many options of milkshakes in the photos online and on Instagram, so I was disappointed when I arrived and there were only 3 choices. We picked the prettiest one (as one does, since the photo is obvi the most important part). The flavor was so-so. We got cookies and cream, which was fine, but nothing to blog about. The cotton candy was eh. The candies stuck to outside were not good at all. Sort of like off-brand fake M&M’s your weird neighbor gives you on Halloween , and you then give away to your younger brother. Overall disappointing, but worth the photo.

Chikalicious – Melty Churro Cone Soft Serve (@chikaliciousnyc) July 31, 2016

Aesthetic (6) Flavor (5) Texture (5) Overall (5) 

Soft Serve + Summer = disaster. It was super hot in the place, and it melted so fast, we barely got a good photo. TRAVESTY. I mean, why else are we here? Also, NAPKINS GUYS. Do not forget. The place is super small, so you order and then GTFO. Do not forget the napkins before you flee. The churro cone was too hard and crumbled everywhere. Since we had to eat outside, a bird pooped on me while we ate. TBH this probably had an effect on my overall rating. Luckily I had one lone napkin left.

Serendipity 3 – Frozen Hot Chocolate (@serendipity3nyc) Aug. 2nd and 13th, 2016

Aesthetic (7) Flavor (7) Texture (6) Overall (7) 

I had lived in New York for 6 years and never been here, but then I went twice in a month because I had people visiting. (New Yorkers: we all do this, right? Ignore everything in our city until someone comes to visit and begrudgingly go to the Top of the Rock with them? It is a cool view, though.). Anyway, the frozen hot chocolate was not technically ice cream. It counts though. I thought it would taste like a chocolate milkshake, but it actually tastes like frozen hot chocolate. So A+ on lack of #alternativefacts. It looks pretty, too. And it’s HUGE. But practically speaking, that’s a lot of whipped cream, and a heck of a lot of “hot” chocolate. It could have used some pizzazz. Like a waffle or something (see below).

Eggloo – Amazing Hong Kong Egg Waffle Ice Cream (@myeggloo) Jan. 22, 2017

Aesthetic (10) Flavor (9) Texture (8) Overall (9)

Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES. So good. You had me at waffle. Add Fruity Pebbles and Pocky and Oreos on ice cream? I died and went to heaven. And then I came back because I still have a lot of ice cream to try. But seriously, go to this place. And it basically counts as breakfast, because waffles. Duh. The texture with the waffle-ice cream combo is amazing. The waffle didn’t get as soggy as I thought it would get. I will warn you that it’s a bit awkward to simultaneously hold and eat and take a photo (fork for the waffle? or spoon for the ice cream? loopy case for phone-holding?) so bring your dexterity skills.

This concludes my (retrospective) first installment of #30Years30IceCreams. Follow my progress here, and I will be posting a Week 1 recap on Monday. If I do not, or if I am MIA from Instagram for a full day, call EMS. And alert them that it is most likely my insulin levels. Wish me luck.

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Long Legs and other Personal Problems

“Saving” Money Using Mint.com

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HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!! How much money am I going to spend today on margaritas? It’s no secret that drinking is expensive. And living in NYC, there are so many other things that cost money. You’re always either paying with time or money, and since no one ever has any time, the question is always how to save money. Recently, I started using mint.com, and I have not been more addicted to a website since I discovered Facebook. I have the app and I sign on twice a day. It’s that serious.

Here’s how you use mint:

  1. First, you import all of your accounts. So easy having everything in one place!
  2. Then you create settings so they email you every time a large purchase is made. What an awesome idea! You can keep an eye on your credit card security!
  3. Then, you go through every single transaction you made and you create categories. The OCD in me LOVES this step. Carefully put each expense in a category. Such a sense of satisfaction when everything is labeled!

Things are fabulous! Ease of use, fraud alerts, categories, color coding, SO FUN!

And it IS all fun and games until you realize that it’s your actual money and that your “net worth” (which is the largest number on the screen, front and center) is approximately $-100K in the hole. Not so fun anymore. Quick reminder here again not to go to law school. Cue self-hatred and regret.

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