The Sweet Shop NYC

Do you like sweets?  Any sweets?  Chances are this place has them.  The small storefront is packed to the gills with candy and chocolates of all kinds; standards, gummies, weird, wild, nostalgic, it's all there.  I'm finishing off the chocolate covered gummy bears I found among their jars of treats while I write this.  They also carry a selection of beautiful and uniquely flavored doughnuts and, of course, ice cream.

The Sweet Shop NYC opened on the Upper East Side four years ago.  Two years ago I moved out of that neighborhood.  Why am I just learning about this place now?  My research tells me that the line at Sweet Shop NYC is regularly out the door, but on the rainy spring day when I finally stopped in, I had the place to myself. 

The ice cream at Sweet Shop NYC comes from some of New York's best creameries; OddFellows, il laboratorio del gelato, and Van Leeuwen.  Don't worry, each of these will get their own entry in good time.  It is what they do with these craft flavors once they have them that makes Sweet Shop NYC an amazing stop on any ice cream adventure.  Fortunately for me, owner Matt was on hand to make the perfect recommendation, guiding me to one of his signature creations.

What I Got: Candy Man's Baby Cakes

You can have the Baby Cakes made with any flavor of ice cream, but I went with the house suggestion.  Trust them.  This concoction was composed of Candy Man's Chocolate Malted Ice Cream, handmade vanilla and chocolate whipped cream, hot fudge, hot caramel, and sea salt all on top of sponge cake.  I had every intention of savoring every mouthful, forming a sophisticated and eloquent opinion.  I took my first bite of Baby Cakes.  It was sweet.  It was salty. It was rich. The combination of chocolate and caramel and malt was everything that makes it a classic.  It was gone.  I practically inhaled it.  I was so carried away, I didn't even know what I was doing.  All of a sudden I looked down, and there was only one bite left.  I made sure to slow down and take a moment to fully appreciate that last morsel.

Yes, I did start to take a spoonful before I remembered to take a picture.  I put it back.  Clearly, I got swept up with this one.

The Sweet Shop NYC is a special little place tucked away on East 73rd, bursting with sugar and joy.  Anyone with a sweet tooth will find something to make them smile here.  The best part of my visit, even more than the wall to wall confections and the irresistible ice cream, was getting to meet co-owner Matt and talk sweets with him.  His parents built Sweet Shop out of a love of all things sweet, and he shares that passion.  We discussed their hard to find and carefully curated candy collection, he double checked my list of ice cream establishments to make suggestions, and we shared notes on our favorite frozen treats.  Thanks for welcoming me in and making sure I had a sweet time.

The Rundown:
Where: The Sweet Shop NYC
404 East 73rd Street
New York, NY 10021
https://www.thesweetshopnyc.com/
What they're known for: All things sweet
A single cup or cone: $5.00
Most Extreme Menu Item: S'more Sundae $12.95
Non-ice cream menu options: Candy, chocolates, doughnuts, drinks, and "snowballs" shaved ice (which you can add ice cream to)