As the temperature continues to heat up, there’s no better way to cool off than with a scoop of ice cream. Beyond the brand name classics, Huntington boasts a variety of independent shops with everything from old style candy stores to arcades. We took a tour of just a few.
Milky Ways: Ice Cream and Cereal Bar
22 Clinton Ave.
The atmosphere is one of a 2000’s arcade, with bar style seating, a wall of cereal boxes and a variety of old and new claw machines. This shop doesn’t pretend to cater to a wide variety, rather they have worked to create the perfect cereal ice cream. Each sundae starts with a silky vanilla soft serve. Then, you can pick from 16 different cereal brands to blend into the base and top it off with a variety of drizzles, crunchy candies and fruits.
We had their most popular and most underrated sundae: the Campfire and the Chunky Monkey. The Campfire has a cinnamon toast crunch and oreo base with brownie bits, oreos, marshmallows and a chocolate drizzle. From the chewy brownies to the crisp oreos, the textures made each bite interesting. The cinnamon flavor comes through in the base and accents the chocolate toppings.
The Chunky Monkey was our personal favorite with bananas, chocolate sprinkles, nutter butters and a peanut butter drizzle. The mixture of the fresh banana slices, the salty peanut butter and sweet and crunchy chocolate made it stand out in our books.
Alkemy
260 Main St.
If you just finished watching a show at the Paramount or Heckscher Park and want to see an encore, head over to Alkemy on Main Street as they freeze your ice cream in front of you using liquid nitrogen. This method reduces ice crystal and produces a creamier texture by speeding up the cooling process. The preparation is also quite a spectacle with billowing clouds of water vapor and hissing splashes.
But does the ice cream live up to the show? We tried their most popular sundae combo, the s’more, which has a belgian chocolate ice cream base, graham cracker crumb and a toasted marshmallow top. While the smashed graham crackers were a bit grainy, the combination of a fluffy marshmallow whip and the almost bitter chocolate ice cream was delicious. Soft serve fans beware – this ice cream has a dense and heavy texture, almost like a frozen cream top.
Their most underrated scoop, according to staff, is the lavender and wild berry. This flavor is one for the sweet tooths and has a strong floral scent.
If you’re already pining for the winter months, Alkemy offers their award winning hot chocolate with a toasted, whipped marshmallow top.
The Ice Cream Chick
46L Gerard St.
Quirky, colorful, festive. The Ice Cream Chick feels like an ice cream shop from a carnival or one of the stops from the Candy Land board game.
Their strong suit is variety. Want ice-cream that’s fat, gluten or sugar free? They have it in several flavors. What about some nostalgic licorice or candy cigarettes? Pick up a carton at the cash register. How about something savory? The Ice Cream Chick sells homemade pickles on a stick with flavors ranging from classic dill to ranch.
We tried two of their new flavors: cherry chocolate chip and orange creamsicle. The cherry chip has a nice maraschino cherry flavor and the frozen chocolate added a nice crunch to each bite. The creamsicle flavor had a texture more akin to an italian ice and melted quickly on the tongue; perfect for cooling down on a summer day.
If you want a savory but still refreshing bite, their crisp, dill pickle brought us back to neighborhood summer fairs.
Photos by Ksenia Baatz
Most Popular
Comments / 0