sho and tell: Sweet Thing: Big Gay Ice Cream.

The first time I tried Big Gay Ice Cream, I'd just moved to New York and was midway through an afternoon of ice-cream tasting around the city (just another day in the life of this dessert fanatic).

Back then, the ice cream was being served from a truck by charismatic co-founder - and bassoonist! - Doug Quint. (Pictured above is the vanilla ice cream with curry powder and ginger syrup that I ordered that day, per Quint's suggestion.) Now, two years later, Big Gay Ice Cream is a bricks-and-mortar shop on East 7th Street, one of my favorite food destinations in the city. The shop is tiny - but not so tiny that there isn't room for a bedazzled unicorn mural on the main wall (and yes, that's a portrait of Bea Arthur she's sporting around her neck).

Spurred on by NYC's recent abundance of springtime sunshine, I've already visited twice this week. Yesterday afternoon, I tucked into this spectacular creation, the Monday Sundae: chocolate and vanilla soft serve heaped inside a Nutella-smeared waffle cone, enrobed in whipped cream and dulce de leche, and flecked with sea salt.

Since Big Gay Ice Cream is known for unusual toppings - cayenne pepper, wasabi pea dust, sriracha, elderflower - this delectable treat was relatively tame; next time, I'm looking forward to trying something a little more adventurous. The Mexican Affo-gay-to? The Gobbler? The Cococone? I'm ready. Viva spring!

More from my Sweet Things series, here. Middle photo by Donny Tsang via Big Gay Ice Cream.

21 comments:

VanessaMarch 26, 2012 at 10:17 AM
Can you believe I have never eaten Big Gay ice cream? A little sad, I know... I actually was going to head there over the weekend, but the weather just wasn't encouraging me to leave my own neighborhood. Maybe later this week!
AprilMarch 26, 2012 at 10:28 AM
It's nine-thirty in the morning and now I'm jonesing for an ice cream! You're making me so jealous!
Hannah BrandtMarch 26, 2012 at 10:56 AM
Wow! The Monday Sundae looks incredible! I will have to put this on my list of places to go next time I'm in New York :)
RebeccaMarch 26, 2012 at 11:26 AM
flecked with sea salt?! YUM. I need to go here!
LindaMarch 26, 2012 at 11:58 AM
Yum, so delicious! Nutella smeared on the inside is inspired! Can't wait to go back.
jacquelyn | lark&linenMarch 26, 2012 at 12:14 PM
ohmigosh that looks RIDICULOUS
Is it a problem I want to head to NYC immediately for the sole purpose of trying that ice cream?! The curry flavour is seriously intriguing
UnknownMarch 26, 2012 at 12:28 PM
Wasabi pea dust? My kind of topping!

xoxo,
mon amy
UnknownMarch 26, 2012 at 1:48 PM
ohmygod. when I was pregnant I visited this truck so many times that I should have just worked there. Doug is the nicest! I used to live very close to where the shop is now and I guess it's a good thing we moved bc I'd be about 15 pounds heavier at this point.
and speaking of weather...I'm a little nostalgic for last week's spring. WHAT is with this wind today? x
la vie quotidienneMarch 26, 2012 at 1:50 PM
mmm yuuummy!! I'm feeling hungry right now :s

xoxo from München
La Vie Quotidienne
www.laviequo.com
EmilyMarch 26, 2012 at 3:12 PM
I've been meaning to visit for the last TWO YEARS I have lived in NYC and just haven't made it! Honestly though that last photo might send me right there.
perception in printMarch 26, 2012 at 3:51 PM
OMG! I had the Salty Pimp a few years ago and it was divide. The sea salt really deepens all the flavors.
rebeccaMarch 26, 2012 at 4:01 PM
I haven't had it yet either. the names are enough to get me on board.
LisaMarch 26, 2012 at 5:16 PM
I'm adding this to my list of places I must check out, the next time I visit NYC. I don't think I've seen anything like this before - what an amazing heap of ice cream! And their toppings sound incredible!
MelissaMarch 26, 2012 at 9:40 PM
I love their sense of humor and those flavors sound delicious! Ice cream in the summer is one of my favorite things ever. Once we get over this freak cold spell in NYC, I am going to have to give this spot a try!
ShokoMarch 26, 2012 at 11:54 PM
Everyone who hasn't been, you must go! You'll love it.

Jacquelyn, that sounds like the opposite of a problem to me :)

Monica, I know! The wind is out of control. Spring needs to come back so I can resume my ice cream eating ASAP.
JillianMarch 27, 2012 at 7:40 AM
I've only tried the olive oil and sea salt on vanilla soft-serve, but it was amazing! Shockingly so. I've been itching to get a little more adventurous, but I'm always eyeing the salty pimp too.
Sobrina TungMarch 27, 2012 at 11:49 PM
that sundae ice cream cone looks CRAZY amazing. How much of it did you eat?? It looks huuuge.
ShokoMarch 28, 2012 at 12:20 AM
Sobrina, it WAS huge! Luckily, I brought a friend to share it with!
AkikoMarch 28, 2012 at 8:58 AM
Looks so yummy! I just checked their website (to see if they have branch in Cali, of course!), but unfortunately they don't. I'd love to try when I go to nyc!! xo akiko

Style Imported
ChristineMarch 29, 2012 at 10:43 AM
Oh myyy that looks amazingly decadent. I live two blocks away and I even have a friend who works there, so I don't know why I still haven't gone.. well I know where I'm going this weekend! :)
lucy pachiaMarch 30, 2012 at 3:08 PM
that looks amazing! :)