Fruits Gelateria

This venue is closed.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 322 Broad Ave, Palisades Park, NJ 07650 (201) 944-5150 Price: $ Hours: Mon-Sun 11 am – 12 am Facebook // Foursquare

Pricy self-serve “Pinkberry style” fro-yo

Fruits Gelateria was one of the first fro-yo joints on Broad Avenue and for some time, was my favorite, that is until they instituted the self-serve model and made their fro-yo so much more pricy than their competitors. Average medium plain frozen yogurt with no toppings will set you back $6-8 bucks, so not only do you have to make it yourself, but you also pay more. Their frozen yogurt is very similar to Pinkberry, not very creamy and a bit tangy. Their gelatos are a hit or miss. On some occasions they are nice and fresh and on others they taste as if it has been sitting there for years. They also offer shaved ice, cakes, bubble tea, coffee, soup, and sandwiches – none of which are at the very least appealing.

What is appealing about Fruits Gelateria is their decor. They have comfy couches, a mezzanine section with large table to do work, and an outdoor patio – all with free WiFi. And remember to bring cash, they only accept credit cards for purchases over $10.

Frozen Yogurt – Plain

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Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

Rating: ★★★★☆ 65 Bayard St, New York, NY 10013 info@chinatownicecreamfactory.com Website (212) 608-4170 Price: $ Hours: Mon-Sun 11 am – 10 pm or 11pm Nearest Transit: Canal Street (J, M, Z, N, Q, R, W, 6) Grand Street (B, D) Twitter // Facebook // Foursquare

This is the place to go for ice cream in Chinatown! You’ll always find a crowd here.

The Chinatown Ice Cream Factory is an Asian inspired homemade ice cream parlor. It serves custom cakes and fresh ice cream in a variety of unique flavors. My favorite are egg-tart, zen butter, almond cookie, black sesame, and pistachio. They also have the common chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and some sorbet for the less adventurous folks. Experimental flavors are released are periodically.

For $3.75, you get a “one-scoop” cup or cone, which is really two scoops that can be split between two flavors. Larger portions are not too much more.

Don’t expect seats here, most just huddle outside and eat it in front of the shop. Be sure to have cash in hand, like most shops in Chinatown, they don’t accept credit cards.

“One scoop” black sesame cup (but really two scoops) – $3.75

Mt Fuji IMOCHI

Mt Fuji’s IMOCHI is one of the best mochi ice creams, they are also referred to as Jpanese ice cream bonbons. They can be found in Japanese/Asian grocery stores and in the dessert portion of some Japanese restaurant’s menus. In grocery stores, they come in a disposal ice bag and can be had in green tea, sesame, or in an assorted offering (2x green tea, sesame, strawberry, and vanilla) for $4.50-5.99USD. I like the assorted pack, it provides a good variety of favors, it’s especially good for newbies of this delicious treat. My favorite is the sesame, but you really can’t go wrong with any of the flavors. The mochi is soft, the ice cream is flavorful and when combined it provides a pleasurable texture and flavor in every bite. Be warned, these things are addictive, you can find yourself finishing an entire bag in a matter of minutes.

Flurt

This venue is closed.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 110 Broad Ave Ste #4, Palisades Park, NJ 07650 Price: $

Flurt is a froyo joint that serves Pinkberry style yogurt. They have three locations: one in New Jersey (Palisades Park) and two in New York (Battery Park and Gramercy). I’ve only been to their NJ branch and it’s always empty, maybe because it looks very uninviting and much like a Pinkberry Knockoff. In terms of tastes, their yogurt is very similar to Pinkberry, but they offer a lot less toppings and are limited to only one flavor (original). I don’t prefer Flurt over Pinkberry, but I do tend to come here often because it’s a little cheaper and a lot more convenient for me. In addition, they also serve gelato, korean snacks, bubble tea, and coffee.

Pinkberry

Rating: ★★★★☆ 1577 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10028 Website (212) 861-0574 Price: $ Hours: Mon-Thu 12 pm – 11 pm Fri-Sun 12 pm – 11:30 pm Nearest Transit: 86 St (4, 5, 6, 6X) 77 St (4, 6, 6X) Twitter // Facebook // Foursquare

Pinkberry is a Korean inspired desert shop that serves frozen yogurt, shaved ice, and smoothies. Their frozen yogurt comes in three flavors; original, green tea, and pomegranate (some locations still have coffee). I like original the most, coffee is the worst. They also provide over 18 fresh toppings to personalize your froyos and shaved ice. Their store on the upper east side is the first one that I came across and maybe their first in NYC, but they have over 50 branches spread out between New York and California. It’s really small and has very limited seating. The service is a bit slow and the lines are usually out the door, but the froyo is good and worth the wait. A bit of warning, they are a bit pricey at $3-12 depending on size and amount of toppings.

Cold Stone Creamery

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 253 West 42nd St (btwn 7th & 8th Ave), New York, NY 10036 Website (212) 398-1882 Price: $$ Hours: Mon-Thu, Sun 7 am – 1 am Fri-Sat 7 am – 3 am Nearest Transit: 42 St – Port Authority Bus Terminal (A, C, E) Times Sq – 42 St (7, 7X) Times Sq – 42 St (1, 2, 3, N, Q, R) Twitter // Facebook // Foursquare

Cold Stone Creamery is an innovator when it comes to ice cream, they serve custom creations made specifically for each customer. Their ice cream/sorbet is made fresh in every store, every day. The creation process begins with a choice of ice cream followed by an addition of wide variety of mix-ins (candy, nuts, fruit, cookies, cakes, syrups) that is combined in front of the customer to create a personalized ice cream. It’s then served on either a cup, waffle cup or a waffle cup dipped in chocolate. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with choices, Cold Stone also has a signature line which are a number of predefined ice cream and mix-in combinations for you to choose from. In addition to ice cream, they also serve personalized cakes and shakes.

Cold Stone has over 1,400 locations worldwide, but I happen to visit the busiest branch of them all, the store in Time Square, New York. It’s recommend to visit any of the dozen locations in NYC, but this branch because of the wait you may encounter due the abundance of tourist in this area. During my visit to this Cold Stone, I waited 20 minutes on line and had the Berry Berry Berry Good and Cheesecake Fantasy signature selection on a waffle cup. The ice cream is indeed very fresh, thick, and creamy. Their novel approach to serving ice cream is very interesting and the sheer number of combinations is sure to excite all sweet tooths out there, but the amount of calories one of these bad boy packs is a real downer. They have however, address some of these issues with some healthier options. Cold Stone is a bit pricey ($7-15 a cup), but definitely worth a try.

Green Tea Ice Cream

Needed Ingredients:

• 8 Sccops of Vanilla Ice Cream
• 2 Ounces of Green Tea Powder
• 4 Cones (optional)

Serving Size: 4

5 Minutes (1 Minutes Prep)

Directions:

Take 8 scoops of vanilla ice cream and place it in a mixing bowl

Add 2 ounces of green tea powder over the vanilla ice cream

Stir well for a good 5 mins or until the green tea power has blended

Serve in a cup, a cone, or bowl