Big City, Little Kitchen

I had been curious to try the new 5 Boroughs Ice Cream flavors after reading about them in a Daily Candy email. Serendipitously, Whole Foods was handing out samples a few days later, and the Jackson Heights mango-cardamom flavor bewitched me. Unlike most mango desserts, this one is creamy instead of sorbet-like, and the cardamom adds an exotic complexity, enhancing the richness of the ice cream. I can also vouch for the South Bronx Cha Cha Chocolate, which has a bit of spiciness–I don’t normally go for that sort of flavor combination, but here it really works. The heat in the chocolate is balanced by the sweetness and the cold of the ice cream.

So, the flavors are delicious, but I have to confess that what really got me to BUY the ice cream was the story behind it: it’s made by a local couple who first started experimenting with ice cream after they got a maker as a wedding gift. Above all, I’m a sucker for an endearing story.

You can find the ice cream at Whole Foods, and at Garden of Eden on 14th Street.