Nothing Is Going To Stop Me From Grabbing A Scoop

• Posted on July 9, 2015
• by Jamie Stahl
• in Dessert
• 2 Comments.

If you’re looking for something delicious and you know a place that sells “artisanal ___ (fill in the blank with a type of food)” my guess is that you are more likely go to there than to a basic place.  For example, wouldn’t you choose artisanal ice cream over some chain you can get in every mall across America?  I know that I would.  But really, what’s the difference?  Listen, I don’t what the difference is because I didn’t feel like looking up the exact definition of artisanal and doing a whole compare and contrast diagram.  If you want to know, you have google…

Friday July 3rd, 2015 was my first, and certainly won’t be my last, time visiting the artisanal ice cream shop Van Leeuwen.  I went to the location in the West Village, though they have a number of shops and ice cream trucks throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Los Angeles.  I’ve walked passed the ice cream trucks before while walking through Soho, but for one reason or another had never actually stopped for ice cream.  On Friday, I made it my adventure and mission to eat there.

I’m sure you noticed the date of my food adventure, the day before July 4th and if you’ve ever been down in the New York subway system that day or that holiday weekend, you know that everyone else in all five boroughs is down there also.  Seriously, the city is dead quite, but the subway is extra crowded.  Are people hanging out underground for the long weekend?  I don’t get it.  So, holding my breath for as long as possible, I waited for the train.  I’d say the overall sweatiness of my fellow riders hovered around the “gross” level.  We hadn’t reached the disgusting threshold, but I was also on an express train to West 4th Street so I only had to go 1 stop.

I walked over to Van Leeuwen and was pleasantly surprised by how empty it was.  I could have sworn I’d open the door to 100 people standing in line for ice cream, given the fact that the city was the temperature of the sun that day.  Of course, no people meant that I didn’t have as much “deciding” time because there wasn’t anyone before me.  Luckily, no people also meant no one was ordering ice cream behind me, so I actually had all of the time in the world (I don’t think the woman behind the counter had the same sentiment though).

I stood there staring at the flavor sign analyzing my options.  They were sold out of Cookies’n’Cream, which was obviously the flavor I had wanted since I couldn’t have it.  Available ice cream flavors included Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Espresso, Pistachio, Mint Chip, Honeycomb and more.  They also had a list of vegan ice cream flavors.  A handful of toppings were posted along with 4 different ice cream sundae variations.  Me being me, I had to complicate things and explain how I wanted the classic sundae, but I wanted to change it.  After thinking long and hard, I decided to go with a scoop of Strawberry and a scoop of Espresso ice cream with fudge and whipped cream on top.

I sat down at one of the small tables by the window to enjoy my little sundae.  The woman asked me if it was to stay or to go and since I was staying, they had put my ice cream in a silver bowl that was extra cold instead of a basic paper cup.  I liked that!  I also liked the sundae.  No, I loved the sundae!  The ice cream was amazing, I can’t even begin to tell you!  Both flavors were delicious and the whipped cream was super fresh and the fudge was really chocolatey, but not overly sweet.  It was perfect!

As I was savoring each spoonful like it was my last meal, Van Leeuwen started to flood with people.  I don’t know how I managed to miss the crowd, but at one point there literally wasn’t any room for people to stand inside.  I was happy in my little seat not being bothered by anyone and patting myself on the back for walking in when I did.  There would have been so much pressure for me to have picked something to order.  I hate that.  Although, I have a feeling anything I would have gotten at Van Leeuwen I would have enjoyed.  I’ll be back at Van Leeuwen very soon and the next time I walk past one of their ice cream trucks, nothing is going to stop me from grabbing a scoop.

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