By Yepoka Yeebo
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Summer's nearly here, and so are the increasing numbers of restaurant-operated ice cream carts and stands, which serve up treats in quirkier flavors than your usual Mr. Softee van.
For the cart outside Cookshop in Chelsea, pastry chef Emily Wallendjack makes a typical base of milk, cream, egg yolk and sugar for her ice cream, and adds the flavors afterward.
"I add my lemon curd, the vanilla's made from high quality vanilla beans," she said. "Then I add some really nice Verona chocolate."
Andrew Seng, who runs the cart, said lemon curd is a top seller, and chocolate is always a favorite.
Seng said that locals kept asking for last year's flavors such as banana, chocolate espresso, salty peanut and strawberry, but they'll have to wait. Wallendjack "is waiting for the peak of strawberry season" — she keeps an eye out for what's freshest.
Enthusiasts in the West Village can try also the cart at Hotel Griffou, which serves ice creams based on classic desserts such as salted caramel banana cream pie, creme brulee, watermelon sorbet and La Colombe espresso tiramisu, or Jacques Torres Chocolate Haven, which has carts on Hudson Street, Chelsea Market and the Upper West Side that boast bon bon inspired flavors, such as hot chocolate and rum caramel. They also have a cookie sandwich.
Cafe Cluny at West 12th and West 4th streets in Greenwich Village has a cart, too.
The cart outside Bar Breton in Murray Hill made an appearance in May, promising ginger, passion fruit and carrot cake flavored treats, but has since disappeared. Restaurant staff are not sure when it will be back up.
There's also a cart at The Odeon, which has been on the street for three years.
"I really like the cookies and cream from here," said 9-year-old Emmaline Ellsworth at The Odeon's cart in TriBeCa. "I like the way they use the cookies."
Her mother, Lynn, said they were regulars at the stand.
"It's organic, as opposed to the truck," she said before ordering a chocolate and vanilla cup.
Paige Stickelman, who runs the stand, said cookies and cream, chocolate, pistachio and the spearmint chocolate chip were popular flavors. "It's real spearmint, so the flavor's really strong," Stickelman said.
Odeon chef Vincent Nargi said their ice cream is made from local produce — the spearmint and strawberries, for example, come from Satur Farms on Long Island, and the milk comes from upstate.
"The garnishes are made in-house and folded in, like the cookies in cookies and cream, the vanilla wafers in and the marshmallows in Rocky Road," said Nargi. The Odeon cart is open until Labor Day in front of the restaurant at 145 West Broadway.
Hal Kennedy, who lives a block away from Cookshop, which is at 156 10th Ave. between West 19th and W. 20th streets, likes having gourmet ice-cream available on the street.
"I'm real picky about my ice cream," the former pastry chef said.
"New Yorkers don't really know good ice cream," he added, pointing to a line at a conventional ice cream truck across the street. "Otherwise, why are all those people over there?"
