Best of Ice Cream: Grace Street

Where: Grace Street, 17 West 32nd Street, Koreatown

What: After hearing about and visiting Snow Days, we were excited to check out Grace Street. The adorable Korean-style cafe offers shaved iced, in addition to coffee, waffles, and other desserts. The space is an interesting mix of laid back and upscale. There are sofas and most people seemed to be there meeting up with friends or working and staying for a while, but we were also seated by a hostess and there were waiters and waitresses. The menu was extensive, but we decided on the shaved ice.

At Grace street, you can pick between sweet milk, green tea, or black sesame ice cream. Then you choose three toppings. We got one with sweet milk ice cream, condensed milk, mango puree, and oreos, and a second with green tea ice cream, sprinkles, condensed milk, and strawberries. Both came on plates with ice underneath to keep the ice cream from melting too quickly. The toppings were generous, and the flavor was delicious.

At around $10 for each shaved ice, Grace Street is more expensive than a regular ice cream shop, but it is definitely a treat. We want to go back to try the rest of their menu offerings, which looked delicious!

NY Bites Abroad: Eyescream and Friends, Barcelona

  

 

Where: Eyescream and Friends, Paseo Joan de Borbo 30, Barcelona, Spain

What: Sightseeing and beach-going can get tiring, especially under Barcelona’s hot sun, so you’ll probably want to cool down with some ice cream. Located in Barceloneta, right by the beach, Eyescream and Friends serves shaved ice with toppings and candy eyes, making each cup of ice cream an adorable and personalized creation.

Start by grabbing one of the cardboard cupholders located at the front of the store. Then work your way back, choosing 2 toppings and a shaved ice flavor. Flavors included chocolate, strawberry, mango, vanilla, and more, and toppings ranged from gummy bears to condensed milk. Your ice cream will get a set of sugar candy eyes, and then you can add the toppings onto the bowl. The experience of making the ice cream was fun, but the result was even better. The ice cream was light but very flavorful, and the toppings added a good contrast. One of the bowls we got had chocolate shaved ice, chocolate chips, and condensed milk, which provided the perfect contrast of smooth and crunchy. Although there is no seating inside, you can take your creation outside where there are benches along the street.

Eyescream and Friends is definitely a unique and fun alternative to to all the other gelato and ice cream stores in the city!

Snowdays Shavery: Best of Ice Cream

Where: Snowdays Shavery, 241 East 10th Street, East Village

What: New on the NYC ice cream scene is something called snow cream. We visited the experts at Snowdays Shavery to check it out. Snow cream is a unique combination of shaved ice and ice cream. It tastes like ice cream, but a machine shaves the treat to create a light and airy texture. When we visited, Snowdays offered yeti tracks, green tea matcha, strawberry, new york cheesecake, roasted black sesame, and vegan coconut as flavor options. Some of their toppings include Pocky Sticks, Fruity Pebbles, fruits, and candy. To top it off, they add a drizzle, ranging from condensed milk to blueberry puree. The smallest size, regular, resembled a large frozen yogurt cup, while the largest size, Yeti, could definitely be split between two people. We got one cup with coconut, Pocky Sticks, and condensed milk and a second cup with yeti tracks (a combination of Oreo and blueberry), sprinkles, and condensed milk. Both flavors were distinct and creamy. The condensed milk added a good amount of sweetness to our desserts. We also observed how artfully the snow cream creators arranged our toppings. Despite their large size, we managed to finish off our entire bowls because we felt like we were eating big, puffy clouds.

The large windows in the front kept the space as light as the ice cream. The Snowdays’ yeti mascot shares the same light blue color that covers the walls and gives a delightful spin on cold winter weather. Enjoy this newcomer on the ice cream scene in an environment that evokes the same calmness that accompanies the first snowfall.