New York pizza?
Fuhgeddaboutit. Let’s talk about where to get your sugar high on!
Whether it’s pineapple sorbet in a homemade waffle cone to crackling creme
brulee—here’s a list (we know, it barely scratches the surface) of 10 purveyors
large and small to satisfy to tiniest connoisseurs of sweets among us! —
SOME LIKE IT HOT
*DessertTruck Works
When pastry chefs from Le Cirque get together, it’s serious business.
The crew that works at this Lower East Side pastry shop/café
(also, a food truck!) has created a menu that runs the gamut. Combining
traditional with inventive elements, DT Works brings dessert to new heights—your
warm chocolate bread pudding comes with vanilla or bacon custard sauce. Some
other goodies include vanilla creme brulee, goat cheese cheesecake, French
macaroons in a variety of flavors (like s’mores!), and warm chocolate molten
cake (what tot can refuse gooey chocolate?). The whole brood can wash their treat
down with an iced summer tea.
6 Clinton Street, dt-works.net
*Sprinkles
Store-bought cupcakes can cut it when you’re in a rush, but they will pale
in comparison to the dense, fresh-baked confections from a bakery—especially
the tasty morsels from West Coast newcomer, Sprinkles. This Upper East Side hot spot makes its
cake fresh and tops it with creamy, handmade frosting. Chocolate coconut, chai
latte, vanilla milk chocolate and peanut butter chip are just a few flavors
Sprinkles offers. They have gluten-free and vegan red velvet options, and even
a special cake for your dog. You can also order cupcakes online for either
pickup or delivery…sorry, Hostess!
780 Lexington Avenue, sprinkles.com
*Clinton Street Baking Co.
This restaurant has a mouth-watering mealtime menu, but we’re zeroing
in on what comes after the meal. A diverse mix of pies, cakes, ice cream
and shakes rounds out the dessert menu. You can keep things simple with a
classic hot fudge or blondie sundae, or get a little wild with the strawberry
cheesecake option. Stick with the classic sour cherry pie or throw caution to
the wind and order the peach upside-down cake. Chocolate fiends, rejoice in the
chocolate-banana cream pie or—get ready for this one—go for the seven-layer
chocolate cake with hot fudge schmear. Can’t bear to go to this infamous domain
without a stack of hot cakes? Clinton Street is known for their
ever-revolving flavors of pancakes. So order up a sweet stack and call it a
day.
4 Clinton Street,
clintonstreetbaking.com
*Levain Bakery
If there were ever a reason to mail-order cookies, this is it. (We
repeat, put the Pillsbury DOWN!) Upper West Side love, Levain Bakery
makes its cookies warm and gooey, just the way we like them. The legendary
six-ounce cookies (ohhh yes) come in chocolate chip walnut, chocolate chocolate
chip, oatmeal raisin and dark chocolate peanut butter chip. You can order them
online as well, and can get them wrapped as gifts for hostesses, holidays or to
let friends and family know you really, really love them. (Nothing says
adoration like sugar. And lots of it.) But make sure you try them for yourself
first!
167 West 74th
Street, levainbakery.com
*Doughnut Plant
Change is the spice of life. And as good as cupcakes and ice cream and cookies are (ahem, see above),
it never hurts to shake up the after-dinner confection every once in a while.
Doughnuts have always been a bit neglected when it comes to nighttime noshes,
but after a trip to the Doughnut Plant, you won’t be able to figure out why. It
offers yeast, cake and jam doughnuts, which can be covered in inventive glazes
like coconut, peanut butter and vanilla bean. The glazes are all made with
seasonal fresh fruit and roasted nuts, and none of the doughnuts contain trans
fats, artificial flavorings or preservatives—reason enough to chow down and
leave not a crumb for keeps!
379 Grand Street, doughnutplant.com
SOME LIKE IT COLD
July is National Ice Cream Month—hooray! So here are 5 reasons to grab
a spoon (from plastic to your finest china) and dig in.
*Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
This is a family business we’d be stoked to inherit! For the past 28
years, the Seid family has put a Chinese spin on one of America’s classic desserts. Favorite
flavors include green tea, ginger and black sesame, as well as more traditional
scoops like coconut, mango and rocky road. If you’re feeling adventurous, pick
from avocado, wasabi or coffee brandy. If you just want a refreshing pick-me-up
on a sweltering day (90 degrees and going strong, New York!), choose from 13
fruity sorbet flavors for tropical relief.
65 Bayard Street,
chinatownicecreamfactory.com
*Il Laboratorio de Gelato
“The Lab,” as this Italian dessert haven is affectionately
dubbed, won’t feel anything like science class. The Lower East Side hub will have your
mouth watering the second you waltz inside, as a window gives you a bird’s-eye
view of the chefs in homemade gelato mode. Every family member is bound to
discover their favorite flavor—there are nine versions of chocolate alone!
Adult-only options include Kahlua, Sambuca and vanilla rum, but kids will have
plenty to choose from too. Flavors range from the traditional (raspberry,
peanut butter, lemon) to the totally unconventional (sour cream, cheddar
cheese, basil). A slew of fruity sorbets
are also available.
95 Orchard Street,
laboratoriodelgelato.com
*Ample Hills Creamery
Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day, but dessert is
certainly the most fun. You can have your ice cream and eat it too at Ample
Hills Creamery, a new treat paradise in Brooklyn that features crazy
combinations. “Brunchert” is maple and cinnamon ice cream with bits of French
toast, while the popular Breakfast Trash infuses crunchy cereal with ice cream.
B-fast not your thing? The creamery offers inventive and traditional
concoctions, from raspberry blond and malteds to vanilla bean and sweet cream
‘n cookies. All of Ample’s ingredients are natural and local.
623 Vanderbilt
Avenue, Brooklyn, amplehills.com
*16 Handles
Remember the days when frozen yogurt was a mediocre substitute for ice
cream? Sayonara! Seems like families all over town can’t get enough of 16
Handles, which serves up 16 delicious flavors on tap each day, with an array of
fruity (and crunchy candy) toppings to amp up the treat. You control your own
destiny in the self-serve destination, complete with nonfat and low-fat
options, as well as sugar-free flavors. Whether you’re craving the taste of New York cheesecake without
widening your waistline or you’re just looking for some coffee fro-yo, 16
Handles should have just the taste you’re looking for.
Various locations, 16handles.com
*Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory
The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory understands that it’s the simpler
things in life that matter. Their ice cream is no-nonsense and reliable, and is
the perfect cooldown after a jaunt across the Brooklyn Bridge. Choose from a
classic sundae, milkshake, banana split, or a 1, 2 or 3-scoop dish or cone. Flavors
include: chocolate, vanilla, vanilla chocolate chunk, chocolate chocolate
chunk, strawberry, peaches & cream, butter pecan and coffee. Oh and yes,
those are fresh walnuts and pure maple syrup in your maple walnut sundae
topping!
The Corner of Old Fulton and Water Street,
brooklynicecreamfactory.com
