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13 Special Meals, Treats and Drinks to Enjoy Before Summer Ends

By Rachel Holliday Smith | August 22, 2014 7:23am | Updated on August 22, 2014 5:01pm
  DNAinfo New York found dozens of dishes you can only get from now through early autumn.
Last Chance Summer Foods
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PROSPECT HEIGHTS — Labor Day is right around the corner, which means you’ve only got a few precious days left to savor the tastes of summer.

Farmers markets are bursting with the usual end-of-summer bounty: zucchini, eggplant, sweet corn, berries and perfectly ripe peaches.

But fruits and veggies aren’t the only get-them-while-you-can foods in the city. That coconut iced coffee you’ve come to rely on since late spring? It’s just one of more than a dozen drinks, snacks, dishes and ingredients DNAinfo New York found that will disappear soon.

DRINKS

Summer Sodas
Where: Brooklyn Soda Works, various locations
What: The Brooklyn soda makers have more than 30 seasonal flavors, but four in particular will go away soon after Labor Day. Caroline Mak, one of the founders of BSW, said the yellow plum with shiso soda (“tart and refreshing!”) and watermelon and tarragon soda will be off the menu by the end of August. The Concord grape and fennel soda and the plum and basil soda, made with local red plums, will be available until the middle of September.
Last chance to get it: Late August/mid-September
Price: $4 to $5

Coconut Iced Coffee
Where: Konditori, various locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan
What: The Swedish coffee chain’s cold-brewed iced coffee may not be posted on the menu board at every Konditori location, but owner Per Johan said it will be served through the end of September.
Last chance to get it: Late September
Price: $4.50

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SNACKS

Red Currants
Where: Wilklow Orchards farmstand at the Grand Army Plaza and other greenmarket locations. Check the schedule here.
What: Until 2003, red currants were illegal to grow in New York State, according to Laura McCune of Wilklow Farms, which is now one of the only farms that grows the tart berries that can be used in jams, desserts or as an addition to a salad. The cultivation of currants was nationally banned in 1911 because the berries were host to a fungus that attacked white pine trees.
Last chance to get it: Late August or early September
Price: $4 for a pint

Chamoyadas
Where: La Newyorkina, Smorgasburg food market, Williamsburg
What: These Mexican slushee-like flavored ice cups are a spicy, seasonal treat. “Essentially, it’s a spicy fruit ice with pickled plum juice and salted chili,” says Fany Gerson, owner and chef at La Newyorkina.
Last chance to get it: End of September or early October
Price: $6

LUNCH AND DINNER

Buttered Corn-Off-the-Cob
Where: Momofuku Má Pêche, Midtown
What: This seasonal side dish, available only at Momofuku’s Midtown location, mixes buttered corn with grain, marjoram and jalapeño.
Last chance to get it: Mid-October
Price: $12

Corn Agnolotti
Where: Louro, West Village
What: These ravioli-like pastas filled with a sweet corn will only be around for a few more weeks. They're served with fava bean, red onion and “summer truffle foam,” according to a spokeswoman for the restaurant.
Last chance to get it: Mid-September
Price: $26

Cold Noodle Ramen
Where: Ivan Ramen, Lower East Side and Hell’s Kitchen
What: Ivan Ramen serves seasonal cold noodle dishes for lunch that will go off-menu when the weather turns, according to manager Michael Hojlo. The shop’s Red-Hot Cold Mazeman dish is served with spicy sesame and chili sauce and prawns. For a less spicy dish, the shop's Chilled Lemon Shio is made with rye noodles and roasted tomato in a broth.
Last chance to get it: End of summer (exact date TBD)
Price: Between $14 and $17

“Fairytale” Eggplant
Where: Marco’s, Prospect Heights
What: This dish is composed of eggplant marinated in zinfandel vinegar and olive oil and dressed with fried capers, onion, garlic, pine nuts, currants, golden raisins, anchovies, chili flakes and dried oregano with “fresh torn mint” on top, said Marco’s owner Francine Stephens. The dish will be on the menu as long as eggplant is available at the farmers market, she said.
Last chance to get it: Early September, depending on market
Price: $13

Ramp pesto-marinated steak
Where: Indian Road Cafe, Inwood
What: In the beginning of the summer, Jason Minter, Indian Road Cafe’s operating partner, got a huge shipment of ramps — otherwise known as summer onions — and made a ton of pesto. The supply lasted through the season and was used to flavor a steak dish on the restaurant’s dinner menu. But the ramp-marinated steak will go off-menu soon, as will many of Indian Road’s dishes, since the restaurant changes its menu “eight times a year,” Minter said.
Last chance to get it: Early September
Price: $26

Watermelon Salad
Where: Eastwood, Lower East Side
What: Though this LES bar has lots of seasonal menu items, its “very delicious” watermelon salad will be one of the first items to go, said Sivian Harlap, one of the bar’s proprietors. The salad is made with chunks of watermelon, Kumato tomatoes, feta cheese, basil and olive oil.
Last chance to get it: Start of September
Price: $8

DESSERTS

End-of-summer Snocones
Where: Handsome Dan’s, East Village, Manhattan and Williamsburg, Brooklyn
What: The popular snocone maker will serve its pear cinnamon cream-flavored snocone through early September, said Daniel Levin of Handsome Dan’s. The company will have two new flavors for the end-of-summer crowd this year: apple cider and maple cotton candy, which will be available in both the East Village and Williamsburg locations around Labor Day, he said.
Last chance to get it: Early September
Price: $4

Fruit pies
Where: Baker’s Bounty farmstand, Grand Army Plaza farmers market and various other greenmarkets around the city. Find their schedule and locations here.
What: This summer's most popular items at the Baker's Bounty farmstand were fruit pies, said owner Alison MacDaniel — especially strawberry rhubarb and peach. The rhubarb pie will only be available through the end of August, but peach pies will be on sale through the middle of September, she said.
Last chance to get it: Mid-September
Price: $6 for a small pie, $8 for a large

Frog Hollow Peach Dessert
Where: Bar Primi, East Village
What: This seasonal dessert includes organic fresh peaches shipped in from Frog Hollow Farm in Brentwood, California served with Fior di Latte gelato and sangria. “Peaches really have a moment in late summer,” said Jacque Burke of the NoHo Hospitality Group, which runs Bar Primi.
Last chance to get it: Mid-September
Price: $10