The Place: I try not to go in for viral foods or dishes that are trying to go viral, but I am as curious as the next NY eater. I actually really wanted some soft serve or fro yo or something on a recent sweltering day and of course, the line for frozen yogurt was untenable. And since Papa D’Amour, which is owned by the king of viral foods (the Cronut’s Dominique Ansel), had no line, I decide to bite the bullet and try their latest mad creation.
This was not my first time at this French-Asian bakery and I am always intrigued to find out what creative new concoction Ansel comes up with next.
The Dish: I was very hesitant about the Butter Vanilla Soft Serve – not only because I thought my doctor would disapprove but also because it sounded unnecessarily rich. Do we really need to add butter to rich creamy ice cream? Well, I didn’t fully understand the concept here. The butter is not the flavor of the ice cream but rather a shell outside. This was reminiscent of one of those hard chocolate shells on soft serve, but instead it was super high quality French butter. To be honest, it didn’t taste like much and was mostly texture. I didn’t think the butter was terribly necessary (it also wasn’t over-the-top heart stopping). That being said, the rest of this soft serve was outstanding – from the amazingly rich vanilla ice cream to the impeccable waffle cone (hiding a surprise piece of chewy mochi) to the high-quality salt garnished on top.
It was a cool experience, whether the butter was necessary or not, and the soft serve here is some of the best in the entire city. Price: $9.50
| PAPA D’AMOUR |
| 64 University Place (between East 10th and East 11th Street), Greenwich Village (917) 675-6151 |
| papadamourny.com |
