New York City… you come for the sights, but you stay for the desserts. With each borough teeming with a variety of cultures, cuisines, and surprises, New York-style cheesecake is just the beginning of what the Big Apple has to delight your palate.
Visitors and residents alike have long flocked to new “novelty” dessert spots, even and especially if it means waiting in a long line for a sugary fix. Remember the cronut, that legendary croissant-donut hybrid? You can now preorder them and skip the line. But cronuts are so 2013, and while the flaky goodness is still recommended, there are other fish in the sea.
Here are a few other delicious novelty desserts you can find in New York City. Given their nature, we advise that you practice moderation. Or not. It’s your mouth!
Boozy Ice Cream at Tipsy Scoop
Deciding between drinks and desserts can be difficult, while opting for both comes off as a bit excessive. The solution? Boozy ice cream. Tipsy Scoop, New York’s first ice cream “barlour” so to speak, has opened in Kips Bay. The best part? Their treats, spiked to just over 5% alcohol, can actually get you buzzed. Enjoy flavors like Mango Margarita and Strawberry White Sangria Sorbet, and don’t forget your ID.
Rainbow Crepe Cake at Dek Sen
Besides the Statue of Liberty, crepes may just be France’s best gift to New York. What you might not know is that crepes are also a staple dessert in Thailand, and that Dek Sen, a restaurant in Elmhurst, Queens, sells a 20-layer rainbow crepe cake with seams of whipped cream. For New Yorkers sick and tired of Starbucks’ basic Unicorn Frappuccinos, here’s a colorful alternative for your ROY-G-BIV-fix.
Decadent Rice Pudding at Rice to Riches
Ice cream is ubiquitous, but rice pudding? Now that’s a way to pack flavor without a brain freeze. There are several rice pudding parlours in New York City, one of which is Rice to Riches in Nolita. The parlour offers delightful flavors such as “Almond Shmalmond” and “Sex Drugs and Rocky Road,” which are not only vegan, but can be shipped overnight.
Cookie Dough Confections at DO
If you’ve ever binged on cookie dough, you’ve known true bliss and risk: after all, raw eggs aren’t usually your friend. The West Village’s DO, Cookie Dough Confections offers the bliss without the risk by subbing eggs with pasteurized egg product, eliminating any risk of bacteria. Enjoy straight-up, unbaked cookie dough, ice cream sandwiches, cookie dough milkshakes, or any number of baked and unbaked products.
Raindrop Cake by Darren Wong
Last year at Brooklyn’s Smorgasburg, Darren Wong’s incredible Raindrop Cake became a cult sensation, and we’re thrilled to say its back this year. Based on a Japanese dish called Mizu Shingen, the gelatinous creation is clear, vegan, refreshing, highly-photogenic, and with the help of some ube (purple yam), a whole new hue.
Ice Cream Rolls from 10 Below
Located in Chinatown, 10 Below is New York’s first establishment to serve Thai-inspired ice cream rolls. Watch as your ice cream is crafted with fresh ingredients right before your eyes as ingredients are poured, mixed, and rolled on a cold plate. Enjoy flavors ranging from fresh avocado to thai iced tea flavor, rolled up for your pleasure beneath unlimited toppings.
