Is it Ice Cream? A Visit to Snowdays

As a self proclaimed ice cream connoisseur, I'm having a bit of a crisis.  You see, I recently took a trip to Snowdays, where they serve up what is referred to as "Shaved Cream" and all I can think is "Does this count as ice cream?" Because really, what is ice cream?  At the most basic, simple level, all you need to have ice cream is sweetened, cooled cream.  From that jumping off point, there are countless ways ice cream is made and enjoyed in almost every culture.  For a moment I thought, "It needs to be churned in some way to be considered ice cream," and then I remembered how much I love Thai style rolled ice cream, which is possibly one of the creamiest, smoothest ways to make ice cream, but most definitely is not churned.  So I bring it to you, ice cream lovers: Should shaved cream be considered a style of ice cream?

Whatever it is, it sure is cute!

Snowdays' website, and their impressive lineup of press releases, claim that this is, in fact, an entirely new and different dessert.  Shaved cream is inspired by Taiwanese and Korean style shaved ice.  Rather than shaving down ice and adding flavoring to it, Snowdays mixes together milk, cream, sugar, and flavor (sounds a lot like an ice cream base, no?), and freezes it, WITHOUT churning it, into big blocks.  When you place your order, they attach a block to the shaving machine, which turns out ribbons of the snowy, creamy concoction.  This is piled high into a cup and finished with drizzled sauces and hard toppings.  Snowdays claims that they have invented this new spin on an old treat, and are happy to have customers think of shaved cream as being in its own unique category of frozen desserts.

What I got: Regular size Green Tea Shaved Cream with chocolate syrup drizzle, mochi, and waffle cones (which were really pizzelle cookies).

What Greg got: Regular size Sweetmilk Shaved Cream with salted caramel drizzle and mochi.

I highly recommend you come hungry; the regular size portion (the smallest you can get) is huge.  The shaved cream is piled high above the rim of the cup, and toppings are artfully styled around the edge in a way that begs to be photographed.  But is it ice cream?  I dove in.

The first thing I noticed is that the ice crystals in shaved cream are HUGE compared to any ice cream I've ever had.  The flavor of ice cream is present; shaved cream has the same sweetness and creaminess, but the texture is entirely different.  With that said, it is also more velvety than a snow cone would be.  What I didn't notice until I had been eating for a while was that the bigger ice crystals also meant I got much colder and had to eat much more slowly than I do when presented with typical ice cream.  I also made much more of a mess than I usually do, as the shaved cream seemed eager to jump out of my cup and slide off my spoon as I tried to eat it.  I'm going to go ahead and blame the ice crystals for that as well.

The flavors were all on point.  Apart from the texture, everything else was exactly what you would expect from a bowl of ice cream.  Both the green tea and the sweetmilk were well balanced and sweet but not too sweet.  The shaved cream got a little melty where the drizzle was added, but that was a nice thing.  All the toppings you would expect to find at an Asian inspired ice cream parlor are available, and you can build and customize your shaved cream adornments to your heart's content.

Bonus points for spoons that change color when they are cold.  That's just fun.

Tastiness and texture aside, I still cannot decide.  IS THIS ICE CREAM??? Leave me a comment.  Or give it a try yourself, and let me know what you think.

The Rundown:
Where: Snowdays
241 East 10th Street
New York, NY 10003
(There are other locations as well)
http://www.snowdaysnyc.com/
What they're known for: Shaved Cream, an invention of their own
A single cup: $6.00
Most Extreme Menu Item: Yeti Combo (their largest size) $12.00
Lactose Free/Vegan Option: The Coconut flavor is vegan, but was also sold out. 
Non-ice cream menu options: Cold and hot beverages

Before They're Gone; an End of Summer Adventure

I know that it's hard to believe, but not all of New York City's ice cream is available year round.  As we cling to the last warm days of summer, some creameries are getting ready to close up shop.  Join me on a special ice cream mission to catch these frozen delights before they are gone.

Oddfellows Carnival

GONE: SEPTEMBER 30th

One of my all time favorite ice cream creators has opened a seasonal pop up shop in SoHo where they are making carnival themed frozen treats which are literally wrapped in fun.  Oddfellows Carnival is only swirling up soft serve; they've got the machines loaded with Caramel Popcorn, Chocolate, Tangerine, and Vanilla.  While you can get any flavor topped as you wish, they are featuring three ice cream carnival creations that are silly and sophisticated and sweet all at once.  

What I got: The Concession Stand - Chocolate and Caramel Popcorn ice cream swirled (this is intended to be made with just the Caramel Popcorn, but they were happy to give me a twist) topped with salted caramel popcorn and chocolate pearls.

What Brianna got: The Pink Dip - Chocolate ice cream dipped in a pink chocolate shell topped with freeze dried raspberries, gold dust, and Pop Rocks.  

What we have to go back for: The Cotton Candy Creamsicle - Vanilla and Tangerine ice cream wrapped in cotton candy (it was a rainy day, and moisture and cotton candy don't mix).

This store finally answers the question, "How much fun can you put on an ice cream cone?"  Turns out the answer is, "All the fun!"  I'm glad that I got my ice cream swirled for two reasons; I really love chocolate, and this might have been a little too salty for me otherwise.  You have to pay close attention while eating The Concession Stand, the popcorn and chocolate pearls will go jumping off of your cone if you aren't careful.  The caramel popcorn was tasty but didn't have the crunch I was expecting.  Joyfully the chocolate pearls stepped in to add a nice texture to the whole creation.

I might have enjoyed Brianna's ice cream more than she did.  The flavors all worked perfectly together; on that we agreed.  The chocolate and raspberries and shell made a sweet, tart, crunchy, smooth concoction of ice cream goodness.  Where our opinions divided was over the Pop Rocks.  I was giddy feeling the crackling on my teeth breaking up the silky sensation of soft serve.  Brianna didn't seem to appreciate the shocking invasion of her otherwise relaxing and pleasant ice cream experience.  To each their own. 

Bonus; they have a photo booth for all your ice cream photo needs.  Take that selfies!

The Rundown:
Where: Oddfellows Carnival 

62 Spring Street

New York, NY 10012

https://www.oddfellowsnyc.com/
What they're known for: Carnival themed soft serve
A single cup or cone: $6.00
Most Extreme Menu Item: Any of the three creations for $7.50
Non-ice cream menu options: Candied peanuts, salted caramel popcorn, cotton candy

Magnum NYC

GONE: OCTOBER 7th

Yes, it's a national brand.  Yes, it's mainstream ice cream.  It's also anything but ordinary.  This summer Magnum NYC popped up in the Meatpacking District bedecked in bling and branding.  There are giant bedazzled ice cream bar sculptures "inspired by the surrounding area" (I don't get it), photo ops for the most Insta-inspired food photographers, and the store's hashtag is absolutely everywhere.  Once you get past all the shine and step up to the counter, you leave the mainstream and enter into a unique culinary experience.  

The whole beautiful process and photo-ready results

How it works: 

Step 1: Pick your ice cream.  Your choices are chocolate or vanilla.  Yes, it's just a normal Magnum ice cream bar... so far.

Step 2:  Pick your toppings.  This is where it gets interesting, and gourmet, and delicious.  Choices include offerings such as organic dark chocolate covered chia seeds, sorbet chocolate curls, pink Himalayan sea salt, and culinary rose petals.  You pick up to three toppings, and they all get spooned into a shaker to be properly mixed.  

Step 3: Choose your dip and drizzle.  Your options are milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate.  You may choose different flavors for the shell and the drizzle on top.

Step 4:  Watch the magic.  The ice cream bar gets dipped into the chocolate of your choosing.  Before it has a chance to harden, your toppings are quickly and expertly sprinkled onto both sides of the bar.  Then everything is covered with a drizzle and finished with an "M" medallion.  

What I got: Chocolate ice cream, a dark chocolate shell topped with amoretti cookie crumbles, dried raspberries, and orange chocolate crispy pearls, with a white chocolate drizzle.

What Eric got: Chocolate ice cream with a white chocolate shell, Greek yogurt buttons, chocolate cookie crumble, chocolate covered sunflower seeds (they are blue), and a milk chocolate drizzle on top.

Our tasty creations

You really feel like you are eating something special as you bite into these custom ice cream masterpieces.  Each flavor and texture makes its way into every bite.  My toppings gave me crunch, saltiness, and a little tart from the raspberries to go with the rest of the sweet.  They also gave me a delicious mess; I was glad that the ice cream was served in the little box it was created on.  

The Rundown:
Where: Magnum NYC

875 Washington Street

New York, NY 10014

http://www.magnumicecream.com/us/en/inside-magnum/nyc-store.html
What they're known for: Custom crafted ice cream bars
A custom bar: $8.00
Non-ice cream menu options: They may have cold drinks.  I don't know.  I was distracted by all the shiny objects.

NOTE: I might have the close date wrong.  The website says through September.  I found an article that says through October.  The date listed is what one of the workers told me.

Malai

GONE: NOVEMBER 1st

My final stop for this catch-it-while-you-can ice cream tour brought me to Gotham Market at The Ashland in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, where they have a rotating pop-up space for Brooklyn based business owners to get their delicious wares to the public.  Here I was introduced to the rich, creamy, delicate, and yet intense flavors of Malai Ice Cream.  They offer a soft serve and four hard packed ice creams, all in flavors inspired by an Indian spice palate.  I started by sampling the Coconut-Cardamom soft serve which was rich and creamy and delicious, but with the cardamom I personally could not eat more than a little.  Then I shifted my attention to the hard ice cream and was blissfully whisked away by every flavor.

What I got: Split cone (two flavors) with Rose with Cinnamon Roasted Almonds and Turkish Coffee Ice Cream on a Coconut Cone.

What amazing flavors!  I usually do not like floral ice creams; I find the aroma overpowers the flavor and I can't taste anything else.  The Rose with Cinnamon Roasted Almonds ice cream was delicate and extremely well balanced.  The almond mellowed the rose so that it didn't take over my senses.  The floral and the nuttiness and the spice from the cinnamon all played together beautifully.  The Turkish Coffee ice cream was everything you would want it to be.  It had a well balanced, never bitter coffee flavor, nice and sweet, and similar to the rose, not one flavor overpowered another.  By that point I had also gotten well into enjoying the Coconut Cone which delicately complemented both ice cream flavors.  I could have eaten a few of these cones just as a treat on their own.  

Cone flavors from right to left: blue corn, five spice, cinnamon, and coconut

While I was blissfully enjoying my cone I saw another customer order the Turmeric Ice Cream.  I didn't get to try it, but I have never seen a more beautiful yellow ice cream in all my adventures. 

The Rundown:
Where: Malai

Gotham Market at The Ashland

590 Fulton Street

Brooklyn, NY 11217

http://www.malai.co/
What they're known for: Indian inspired ice cream flavors
A single cup: $5.00 A single cone: $7.00
Most Extreme Menu Item: Hand Packed Pint $11.00
Non-ice cream menu options: While there is only ice cream at Malai, Gotham Market is full of a wide variety of food.  Go hungry.  And with friends. 

Enjoy these last warm days of summer and some of these delicious frozen treats while you still can!