Ample Hills Creamery: Peanut butter flake, cinnamon, and salted crack caramel

Blah blah blah. Rhianna likes gelato. Blah blah blah. Thick, creamy, and cold is her favourite texture. Blah blah blah. New York offers endless opportunities for such indulgences. Yes, I know you’re probably tired of the frozen creamy treat posts, but get over it. It’s summer. It’s hot everywhere. And if you’re in this city with me, you need to know that we’ll be making our way toward such treats at some point.

Here’s the rundown on three new hangouts.

Ample Hills Creamery: A mix of classic and creative flavours that are entirely homemade. Like, everything. The cookies in the cookies and cream, the fudge sauce, the cones. Service is incredibly warm and friendly, and you can easily tack a visit here on to one to the Brooklyn Museum, Botanical Gardens, or Prospect Park. The gods were looking down on me when one of my besties moved into the neighbourhood. What goes better with friends than ice cream?

Forty Carrots: Chocolate and plain swirl

 

Sure, I like Pinkberry. Everybody likes Pinkberry because it is now EVERYWHERE. We can all be like Jenny Humphrey and have it for lunch. But… I don’t know, I don’t know how I feel about franchised frozen yogurt anymore. I mean, we remember Yogen Fruz, right? The proximity of Bloomingdale’s to my office has become dangerous for more than just sale clothing and impulse cosmetics purchases. The seventh floor stocks bedding, but it also stocks the most luscious frozen yogurt from Forty Carrots. Much more creamy and much less icy than Pinkberry, Forty Carrots is why I avoid carrying cash. Toppings are not free, but portion sizes more than make up for it. The coffee is a crowd favourite, but I’ve become partial to this chocolate-plain swirl, with the plain having that good yogurt tang without any pucker.

 

Victory Garden: Goat milk yogurt and rose hibiscus sorbet swirl

 

Victory Garden serves goat milk soft serve. GOAT MILK SOFT SERVE. This is the winner for my new favourite place to be. Ahhhhhhhh I’m in heaven. The texture of the ice cream, yogurt, and sorbets extruded from the magic machines is perfect: it’s thick and holds its shape, no melty, watery substandard product. The owners are Turkish, and some of the flavours usually have a Mediterranean twist. Although, the best seller is salted caramel, which is excellent. I’ve also had my tongue around a herbal special, the pictured flavours, and chocolate lavender. The goat milkiness is not all that strong; it’s a little bit tangy but not something that you really notice. The originality of the flavours and the texture are what put me over the moon. It’s also in one of the most perfect stroll-with-an-ice-cream ‘hoods: the West Village.

I cannot promise that this is the end of the ice cream posts.

Ample Hills Creamery 623 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn

Forty Carrots, Bloomingdale’s
East 59th Street and Lexington Avenue, New York 

Victory Garden 31 Carmine Street, New York