New York is at its hottest during the summer months. Fret not, though. There are many spots to cool down whether on top of a rooftop or in a secret speakeasy bar.
Melt in Your Mouth
Ice creams are always on top of the list. From soft served to rolled, these delights with unique flavors are sure to scintillate your senses.
1.
Big Gay Ice Cream: What was once an ice cream truck now has a storefront. Several ones, in fact, in New York plus Philadelphia. Big Gay Ice Cream is popular for its soft serve dumped in chocolate. This one is with an extra dose of peanut butter that was a great post-dinner treat.
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| Chocolate ice cream at Big Gay Ice Cream |
2. Besfren: This super cute Korean cafe located in Koreatown (where else?!?) sources their ice cream from Ice & Vice and Il Labratorio del Gelato. After taste testing most of their flavors, we got a scoop of the decadent Tea Dance, which is a Nilgiri tea with lemon charcoal caramel swirl, from Ice & Vice. Nilgiri is a black tea that is mostly grown in Southern India.
Tip: Besfren is more than just a cafe. It also sells Korean skincare products.
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| Tea Dance from Besfren. Apologies for the melting ice cream since I got too busy taking pictures first. |
3.
10 Below Ice Cream: Be prepared to be entertained at this Thai-style ice cream shop in Chinatown. Ice cream rolls, which are made on a high-tech cold plate, are all the rage these days, and the process itself makes for a good Snapchat or Instagram story. So snap away!
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| My matcha roll with berries. Not the best in terms of taste but fun to look at how they made my roll. |
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| Their wall states, "Shut up and eat ice cream." #QOTD |
4.
Morgenstern's Finest Ice Cream: This is a cross between San Franciscan staples Bi-Rite for its long lines and
The Ice Cream Bar for its 60s ice cream parlor theme. Morgenstern's specializes in unique flavors so we got a dose of labneh and sweet potato, which is a runaway winner.
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| Sweet potato on top. Labneh on bottom. |
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| Beautiful wall art across the street. |
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| Long line but moves fast. Only location at the Lower East Village. |
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| The eating trio. |
Iced, Iced Baby
5.
Cha Cha Matcha: As a matcha lover and not a coffee drinker, we ordered a pick-me-up hot matcha. While disappointed compared to the matcha from
Tsujiri, an authentic matcha cafe, it was still a fun sip.
This cafe gets extra beanie points for their great branding and highly Instagrammable interior decor.
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| Hi there, Cha Cha Matcha. |
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| Nice wall you have there! |
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| My hot matcha became iced matcha. |
6.
Momofuku Milk Bar: Intrigued of how Momofuku built its empire with cereal milk? Opt for the cold cereal milk instead of the soft serve. It tastes like regular milk with blended corn flakes. It will take you back to your teenager days.
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| Felt like a baby sipping this milk. |
Iced, Iced Baby (Adult Version)
7.
Mother's Ruin: Known for its booze-filled slushies, NOLITA's finest gin joint is a good pitstop for a pre-dinner soiree or as a shelter while waiting for an afternoon downpour to stop. The photo below is not a slushie, but a custom-made drink that a fellow blogger,
sssourabh, got.
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| Sample taste test on the shot glass. |
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| Before the downpour. |
8.
Beauty and Essex: Be prepared to feast your eyes once you enter this secret restaurant through a pawn shop. Besides from the blinding chandeliers, the upscale cocktails, particularly the honey whiskey with slushie, take the spotlight.
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| Pour the whiskey in the slushie or drink it up on its own. |
9.
The Fat Radish: To cleanse the body from an evening of fun affairs, head over to the farm-to-table restaurant, The Fat Radish, for a healthy brunch. The bloody mary is as fresh as it can get.
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| Bloody Mary paired with a healthy brunch meal. |
10. Angel's Share: This secret speakeasy bar specializing in Asian-infused cocktails is hard to find. Saving for the best for last... a favorite drink from all my New York shenanigans is the Flirtibird cocktail with plum salt rim, refreshingly sweet to beat the nighttime summer breeze, brought to you by Angel's Share.
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| Flirtibird with barley shochu Mizu no Mai, shiso, yuzu juice, agave nectar. |
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