ICE CREAM REVIEW: Ice & Vice

My search for the best ice cream in New York continues ….

I first learned about Ice & Vice when they received a Vendy Award nomination for best dessert. They operated out of LIC Flea and Brooklyn Night Bazaar. Those are two places that I had yet to visit since they were both a bit out of my usual route.

Then I got to personally meet the owners Paul and Kendrick when I made a series of videos on all the nominated vendors. They were awesome and the video turned out great, but unfortunately they had run out of most of their popular ice cream flavors on the day of the shoot. I was left with their Mexican vanilla with black sea salt. It was great as far as vanillas go and the salt was exotic and balancing.

But I’m just not a vanilla guy. Especially when Ice & Vice is making flavors like Pork Your Melons (honeydew with prosciutto and white balsamic), Tico Time (guava, chiles, lime, and plantains), and Movie Night (buttered popcorn, raisins, and chocoalte flakes). How can you stick with vanilla when you have options like those?

I discovered them again at Vendy Plaza last week and since the weather is colder (or I arrived earlier), I was able to try all three of their flavors. The Bitter Blood wasn’t my thing, but the floral and citrus notes are exactly as advertised with Orange Blossom Ice Cream and blood orange bitters mascarpone. I did love the Nuts of Wrath with featured a salty marcona almond base balanced by sweet and tangy grape sugar jam.

We ordered a full scoop of their most popular flavor, Milk Money. Reminiscent of dulce de leche, the toasted milk base gave the ice cream a rich, complex flavor that was brought to life by the addition of a salted chocolate ganache. It was creamy, sweet, and salty. The texture was also no-joke – velvety and smooth. Just the way ice cream should be.

After winning the Vendy Award for best dessert, the guys are still going strong through the cold weather. You can still find them at Brooklyn Night Bazaar and the LIC Winter Flea Market. And hopefully they will open a brick-and-mortar location soon. The guys tell me it might not be so far off.

Is Ice & Vice the best ice cream in NY? Even during the cold months, I could go for a few scoops of their intricately designed and full-flavored concoctions. 9 out of 10.