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