New York - August 05, 2009

Dream a Little Cream

New Ice Cream Carts and Recipes

Topping the list of most annoying, unwanted summer weekend guests: rain, rain, and more goddamn rain.

But here’s a ray of sunshine: Ice cream carts keep popping up outside neighborhood restaurants like Cluny and The General Greene. The latest to join the party are crepe-tastic Bar Breton and farmy Cookshop.

And such flavors. Hazelnut, tarragon, butterscotch, vanilla, chocolate, and carrot cake at Breton. Vanilla bean, market strawberry, chocolate cookie dough, apricot frozen yogurt, melon sorbet, and seasonal others at Cookshop.

We’re inspired. So much that we asked the chefs to give us ideas for treats to make with the, uh, treats. (In case, oh, we get stuck in the house with nothing to do. Again.)

From Breton chef Cyril Renaud:
* Pair tarragon ice cream with fresh corn from the Greenmarket. Cut the corn and sprinkle it on top. Yellow + green = so pretty.

*Add fresh strawberries to hazelnut or tarragon. Or add high-quality balsamic and strawberries to tarragon.

From Cookshop’s Marc Meyer:
* Top vanilla ice cream with chocolate-covered Rice Krispies. Melt your favorite chocolate. Coat your favorite cereal in it. Pop in freezer until set. Sprinkle away.

* Top vanilla ice cream with a root beer caramel. Doctor store-bought caramel with root beer (warm together and cook until thick) or make your own: Add a little water to two cups sugar and cook over medium heat until the mixture is amber in color. Carefully pour in two small bottles of root beer and reduce, stirring occasionally until it starts to thicken.

Now that’s some sweet relief.

Bar Breton, 254 Fifth Avenue, between 28th and 29th Streets (212-213-4999); Cookshop, 156 Tenth Avenue, at 20th Street (212-924-4440).