Serious Eats: New York
Tribeca Ice Cream Smackdown: Duane Park vs. Odeon
Editor's note: Every afternoon we post a short Sugar Rush to end your day. Think of it as the dessert to your daily blog reading. Today, the Godfather of Serious Eats New York, Ed Levine, hits up two new ice cream places in Tribeca. —Zach
Strawberries and clotted cream ice cream from Duane Park. Photograph by Gordon Mark
A couple of weeks ago I hit up two new spots for ice cream in Tribeca.
The folks at Duane Park Cafe opened up a tiny ice cream scooperie in the window. The bourbon butter pecan ice cream was outstanding, creamy, smooth, and full flavored. The strawberries and clotted cream is simply the creamiest strawberry ice cream imaginable, though as is often the case, the frozen strawberries were a deliciousness hindrance. The apple pie made great use of what we assume must have been last night's dessert at the restaurant. Peanut butter is a flavor that doesn't often work in ice cream, but Duane Park's peanut butter ice cream tasted like ultra-creamy smooth peanut butter of the highest quality.
The flavors vary from day to day because they're made entirely from organic ingredients and will vary depending on what is available to the chef; you may want to call first unless you're willing to play ice cream bingo. Skip the sorbet and the frozen yogurt. Both were icy and kind of nasty. 157 Duane Street, New York NY 10013 (near West Broadway; map); 212-732-5555
Right around the corner from Duane Park, The Odeon has set up a little ice cream cart in its outdoor cafe. All three house-made flavors were icy and pale-flavored. Did anybody taste these before they were put into the cart? I doubt it. 145 West Broadway, New York NY 10013 (near West Broadway; map); 212-233-0507
The winner of this taste-off? Duane Park Cafe by at least a gallon.