There’s no time like now – as stores fill with back-to-school supplies – to savor the summer, which is melting away faster than ice cream on a hot day. And nothing says summer like ice cream.
Whatever flavor you favor, it’s great to get your hands around a big, drippy cone and let the stains fall where they may. Below, half a dozen places that offer kids a little extra fun.
CHINATOWN ICE CREAM FACTORY
65 Bayard St., between Mott and Elizabeth streets, (212) 608-4170
You know you’re in a cool place when vanilla and chocolate are listed under the “exotic” category. The staff is friendly and the free samples unlimited. “Can I taste that?” 10-year-old Adrian Dias asked the other day, pointing at a container of pumpkin-pie ice cream. Of course he could.
Funkiest flavors: Red bean, green tea, taro, lychee sorbet
Biggest seller: Almond cookie
Perks: Did we mention unlimited free samples? Plus it’s in Chinatown, which is full of interesting shops and sights.
Prices: $2.20 for a single scoop to $22 for a gallon
IL GELATONE
397 Third Ave., between 28th and 29th streets, (212) 481-2093
Get a taste of Italy with creamy gelato, which tends to be a bit softer and messier than regular ice cream but every bit as tasty. (You may want a cupful instead of a cone.) Learn a little Italian. “Mou” for caramel?
Funkiest flavors: Tiramisu, eggnog, pistachio, fig
Best seller: Stracciatella (chocolate chip)
Perks: Get a funky new ‘do at the Kids Cuts nearby on 31st Street, or just browse through its toy boutique.
Prices: $3.99 for a cone to $8 for a banana split with three scoops
CONES, ICE CREAM ARTISANS
272 Bleecker St., between Morton and Jones streets, (212) 414-1795
Here the ice cream and sorbets are made from scratch daily – over a dozen flavors sure to tempt you. Crayon pictures from kids hang on the wall – you might want to doodle one yourself while you’re waiting on line.
Funkiest flavors: Coffee mocha chip, white chocolate, pear sorbet
Best seller: Vanilla chip
Perks: Hey, you’re in Greenwich Village, where there’s interesting stuff everywhere you look. Washington Square Park is 10 blocks away.
Prices: $2.50 a cone to $16 for a quart
UNCLE LOUIE G
49 ½ First Ave. at Third St., (212) 375-9725
An old-fashioned ice-cream shop with an open-window booth and a line down the street. There are more than 20 flavors to choose from, but beware – Bubblegum turns your mouth blue.
Funky flavors: Wassup watermelon sorbet, Over-the-Rainbow Cherry, Chocolate Jelly Ring Dream
Best seller: Bada Bing Cherry Vanilla
Perks: You’re just a hop from the cobblestoned streets of Little Italy, which has been around, unchanged, longer than your parents have.
Prices: $1.75 for a kiddie size cone to $7.50 for a quart
SERENDIPITY 3
225 E. 60th St., between Second and Third avenues, (212) 838-3531
Quaint, cute – and a celebrity magnet. Spotted recently amid the red-and-white tablecloths: Jack and Kelly Osbourne drinking frozen hot chocolate with Mandy Moore.
Funkiest flavors: Frrrozen mochaccino, frrrozen pineapple lime, sand tart sundae, apricot smush
Best seller: Frrrozen hot chocolate
Perks: Dylan’s Candy Bar, with its walls of Pez and jellybeans, is around the corner on Third.
Prices: $5.95 for a scoop to $17.95 for the banana split
BEN & JERRY’S
Bryant Park, Sixth Avenue at 42nd Street
This cute kiosk stands right behind the most famous library in the world. Tour the library, cool off under the trees in the park, or ride the city’es newest carousel ($1.50).
Funkiest flavors: Mint chocolate chunk, chocolate chip cookie dough, Phish food
Best seller: New York Super Fudge Chunk
Perks: Toys R’Us – the one with the indoor Ferris Wheel – is two blocks west, at Times Square.
Prices: 2.75 for a small cone to $4.75 for a hot fudge sundae
