Ice cream at a steakhouse is usually forgettable. It’s often consumed after a gut-busting meal and it’s possibly more painful to gobble up the dessert than it is pleasurable. But even still, the ice cream is rarely more than the usual vanilla or chocolate. And it’s almost never homemade.
Quality Meats has never played by the rules of the typical steakhouse. Since it opened in 2006, it caters to both big and brawny expense accounts (the 64 oz. Double Ribeye) and the epicurean (sides like corn creme brulee and buttered edamame). And now for the summer, they’ve tried something no other steakhouse in the city would even dare contemplate.
They’ve turned their charcuterie bar into a brilliant Willy Wonka-esque candy counter. Pork carcasses and cleavers have been replaced by gigantic gummy bears and ice cream scoopers. They sound like they’d be out of place in the middle of a high end steakhouse, but they somehow work perfectly. It’s every businessmanchild’s fantasy!
We were told we could also eat savory food at the cake bar so we decided to try the steak tartare. It was fresh and tasty, but nothing special and I couldn’t stop thinking about the desserts to come. Especially since there was mixing and cake decorating happening right in front of us.
It was like a brain freeze trying to decide between the personal ice cream cakes they offer. And even though he was hard at work, executive pastry chef Cory Colton, was nice enough to engage us and talk to us about the three options. It was either the Pie Smash (blueberry cake with lemon meringue ice cream and raspberry frosting), the Cherry Monkey (banana cake with cherry-pistachio ice cream and vanilla frosting), or the Monster Mash (peanut butter cake with chocolate cookie monster ice cream and caramel frosting). You understand now why this decision needed some professional help.
My only concern with the Cherry Monkey was the pistachio ice cream. I tend to find (even at the best ice cream shops) pistachio ice cream to taste more like an extract than the actual nut. Cory assured us this was not the case and even gave us a sample to seal the deal. A sample at a steak house? That must be another first.
So the Cherry Monkey arrived and it was beautiful: cute, artistic, and good enough to eat. And while I felt bad breaking into that gorgeous presentation, I didn’t feel that bad!
It sounds bizarre but pistachio, cherry, and banana are an amazing threesome. None of them are too sweet but together they make a satisfying ice cream combination. And the textures of cold, creamy, and cakey are heavenly together. It’s been years since I’ve had an ice cream cake and maybe never since I’ve had one this delicious.
The only problem is that it’s a little too much for one person. It’s definitely a mini-ice cream cake, but I can’t in good conscience call it a single serving. But like that 12 year old birthday boy, I kept pushing on until my mouth was satisfied and my tummy felt betrayed. So I guess in that sense, Quality Meats is like every other steakhouse.
Is Quality Meats’ the best ice cream in NY? They have brilliant ice cream cakes that are worth trying, but until the offer single scoops and customizable toppings, I don’t think it’s fair to grade them in this journey. But in their own journey, they’re absolutely amazing!
