NYC Icy: Freakin' far away, but still good!

This past weekend, I decided to go on a field trip. I'd been working all day and still had more work to do, so what better way to break up the early evening than a wee little jaunt down to the East Village for some ice cream? What, that's not normal? Bah. I was on a mission.

Remember last week I reported the NYC Icy was back? Well, how could NYC Icy possibly exist on Manhattan without me patronizing it? I hopped on the NRW and made my way down East, walking down St. Marks, and then walking more, and then walking a bit more before I got to Avenue A. I saw the sainted sign. And I approached.

This is what I saw

The owners were there, and good lord, they actually recognized me from my tireless patronage of the 10th Avenue location way back when. We chatted, and then it was my turn to order. First up, a few tastes: The ginger cream icy, which tasted bitingly and in-your-face like fresh ginger. The Vanilla Heath Bar cream icy, which was slightly disappointing-- while there was real Heath Bar in there, the mild vanilla cream wasn't fatty enough to stand up to the candy.

The flavor board

I went with a medium filled with two scoops of Ricotta Cassata Chip and one scoop of Hazelnut. The Ricotta Cassata was another one of my tastes, and it was intriguing, unusual, and delicious-- a ricotta-based cream icy that tasted like the filling of a cannoli, packed with big chunks of dark chocolate and the occasional piece of candied fruit. Hazelnut was pure and almost peanut-buttery, ringing loud and true with the straight-up taste of hazelnut and the texture of crushed hazelnuts. As I walked around the corner and sat on a bench near Butter Lane Cupcakes to scarf down my icy, I couldn't have been a happier camper.

I thought I'd never taste this treat again!

I'll reiterate, NYC Icy is one of a kind. Their cream icies are much, much lighter than traditional heavy ice creams and gelatos, which makes the flavors of their top-notch ingredients shine. Their icies (sorbets) are strong and sweet. And the prices are right. If you are anywhere-- I repeat, anywhere-- near the East Village, please make NYC Icy a regular stop in your rotation. As for me... well, let's just say that round-trip my Icy field trip took about 2 hours. Probably a bit too much for an everyday occurrence, but I'll keep it in mind for an occasional treat.

NYC Icy
Pop-up shop at 100 Avenue A, between 6th and 7th Streets