Complain all you want about the
mall-ification of New York.

It does have its upside.

To wit: Banana Caramel Crunch. Butter Fingers Fumble. Dulce de Leche Desire.

None of this Tasti D-Lite or Cremalita nonsense. We’re talking Cold Stone Creamery, purveyors of to-die-for mix-in ice cream (and, yes, fatphobes, fro-yo), a delicacy that lies somewhere between soft-serve and hard-packed.

The ice cream, prepared fresh daily in the store and made by combining mix-ins on a frozen granite stone counter, has won hearts everywhere — nearly 400 stores in 36 states — except in New York City. Until now. Today midtown gets its first Stone (as those in the know call it), and the average girth in this town is expected to expand by at least two inches.

Need an excuse to indulge? Fifty percent of all opening-day ice cream sales at the flagship Times Square store will be donated to the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Metro New York. So get your butt over there.

Right after you grab that Starbucks and do some window-shopping at the Gap.

Cold Stone Creamery, 253 West 42nd Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues (212-398-1882).