It’s Ice Cream Season

Ice cream and I go way back.

My mother and uncle were early Häagen-Dazs adopters when the brand landed in New York City in the late '60s. Despite the faux-Danish name and that useless Scandinavian map on the package, Häagen-Dazs was born in Brooklyn, created by Jewish founders paying tribute to Denmark’s treatment of its Jews during WWII. But that’s a fascinating story for another time.

While Häagan-Dazs was my city ice cream, out on Long Island with my grandparents, it was Breyers. The chunky, no-frills boxes, packed six-deep in a chest freezer in their garage might not have tasted as good, but I loved trying new flavors like mint chocolate chip and butter pecan.

All frozen treats count

When my mother and I moved to Salt Lake City in the early ‘80s, a brand called Frusen Glädjé showed up to compete with Häagen-Dazs. The ice cream was good, but the packaging looked like it belonged in a drugstore aisle. I also remember when Häagen-Dazs started to feel expensive — $1.69 for a pint.

Eventually Häagan-Dazs rolled out new flavors. Then came sorbets. Then the hybrids: sorbet swirled with ice cream. The orange-vanilla combo was a personal favorite—until it vanished. I wrote the company a letter asking why, and they wrote back with a coupon and a polite brush-off. I figured out a workaround that involved buying two separate pints.

Now I’m an adult. You’d think I’d grow out of it. But adulthood means I can eat ice cream whenever I want—January or July, rain or shine.

I live within walking distance from Theodora’s baklava ice cream sundae, Emack & Bolio’s on Fulton and Van Leeuwen on Vanderbilt. Black Iris on Lafayette Ave. makes killer soft serve, and the bodega across the street proudly sells every flavor of the delicious and interesting pints from Adirondack Creamery upstate. For seven years I lived a few blocks from the original Häagen-Dazs store on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights. My office in SoHo is even more convenient with dozens of Instagram-friendly tourist traps serving every variety from traditional scoops to vegan matcha soft serve (sorry, I do not discriminate, it’s all ice cream).

My friend John runs an Instagram account called Ice Creams of New York, where he rates shops zero to three cones. I’ve joined him on a few missions, each involving at least three stops. The difference between us? John takes a few bites, analyzes the flavor, and tosses the rest. I finish mine. Always. Ice cream is not a tasting menu. So while John walks away from our outings feeling normal, I walk away feeling like someone who just ate three full ice creams. Which, in a way, means I’m three times happier.

I don’t usually make lists in these posts, but this one calls for it. Here’s my personal top tier:

1. Häagan-Dazs vanilla. Always #1. Always available.

2. Noona’s. NY-based small maker that just opened her first shop on the lower east side. Her turmeric honeycomb is worth the trip.

3. Mashti Malone’s in Los Angeles, who makes fragrant, pastel-colored flavors like ginger rosewater and Persian cucumber.

Ice creams I miss:

• Victory Garden (Greenwich Village NYC). What happened to them?

• Molly Moon’s (Seattle). Molly Moon opened her first shop the summer we started a new Long Winters album that never got finished… maybe because we were too busy eating ice cream. (Molly Moon’s is alive and well in Seattle, I just don’t live there anymore).

Drop your favorites in the comments. And as always: enjoy your ice cream responsibly.

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I’m looking forward to music, food, friends, and my talk at the SPOT Festival in Aarhus, Denmark this Friday May 2 @ 3pm. If you’re in town, please come by.

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All 20 episodes of my podcast, Identified Season 1 are live now. Episode one is with Karen Ayers, a living descendant of the man who enslaved my paternal ancestors. After that, it’s a rapidly growing list of musicians, comedians, authors, chefs and friends talking about family. Identified is available on all major podcast platforms, 100% free and ad free. You can watch short video clips on YouTube and Instagram. Watch for Season 2 in 2025.

Listen: Apple Spotify Amazon Bandcamp Website

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My memoir is called My Life in the Sunshine. You can order it here, or listen to the audiobook on Spotify.

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I hope to see you somewhere soon. Upcoming events are always listed here.

Nabil Ayers / Brooklyn

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