LOWER EAST SIDE — Ice cream sandwiches can be a tough sell in the winter. But make them heart-shaped and inscribe them with messages of love, and the summer staple becomes a perfect Valentine's Day treat.
At least that's what Melt Bakery co-founder Julian Plyter, 41, believes. His Orchard Street ice cream sandwich specialty shop has launched a "SweetTalk" promotion, featuring ice cream sandwiches inspired by Necco's Sweethearts candies, a mainstay of elementary school Valentine's Day parties.
The sandwiches consist of strawberry ice cream between mini heart-shaped vanilla shortbread cookies stamped with "Love U," "Be Mine" or "Kiss Me."
"I thought it would be cute to put messages on them and send them out," said Plyter, a pastry chef who launched Melt Bakery in 2010 with co-founder Kareem Hamady. "I just thought it was unique, I've never seen anything like it before."
The SweetTalks special is $38 and includes three SweetTalk ice cream sandwiches, as well as three "Lovelets," cream cheese ice cream between red velvet Meltcakes. The packages will delivered to homes or businesses between Feb. 8 and 14 anywhere in Manhattan up to 96th Street by UberRUSH drivers.
Melt Bakery is charging an additional $10 for deliveries to Brooklyn or north of 96th Street. The last day to place an order is Feb. 10.
All the cookies and ice cream used in Melt Bakery ice cream sandwiches are made on site, and the SweetTalk sandwiches are no exception, said Andrew Chartier, 31, customer service manager.
"The strawberry hits you first, and there's nothing artificial in it, no flavoring, just strawberries," said Chartier. "Once the strawberry goes away you get the buttery richness of the cookie."
This is the first year Melt Bakery has run the SweetTalk package special, although it did sell a Sweethearts-inspired sandwich as part of its rotating menu for Valentine's Day last year. The inscribed sandwiches led to customer requests for custom messages that were more adult than the sweet platitudes traditionally associated with Valentine's Day candies.
"We got special requests for phrasing that we don't specialize in," said Plyter. "We didn't do it. We're a family friendly establishment."
