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By now, you know how much I love cupcakes. Well, there are only a few other desserts that trump cupcakes in my book and ice-cream happens to be one of them. Summer is quickly approaching and while April showers typically bring May flowers, I figured I’d bring us into May with a list New York’s best ice-cream (or gelato) shops. Are you ready? Spoon in hand? Here we go.

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1. Ciao Bella Gelato: This is by far my favorite in the city. Love it. Love it so much that when their store on Mott St. was closed earlier than I’d remembered one winter evening, I went on a citywide scavenger hunt for a deli that carried it. Have no fear my friends, mission accomplished. While every flavor I have tried is good, my absolute faves are the Tahitian Vanilla and Pistachio.

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2. Emack & Bolio’s: While Ciao Bella may be my first choice, Emack & Bolio’s is a close second. I was lucky enough (or cursed) to live only a block away from their SoHo store for years. It was on my way home from the train and boy, that was a pit stop I made far too often.  You must be wondering how I’m not 500 lbs at this point? It’s a good question, really. Good genes I guess (thanks, mom and dad). Anyway, most of their flavors are creative and about as good as it gets. My favorite happens to be the Raspberry Truffle with vanilla ice-cream, raspberry swirl, and raspberry truffles mixed in. De-lish!

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3. Otto: Otto makes my list here for the most creative and outside the box gelati (as they call it). My all-time fave is the Olive Oil gelati. Olive oil gelati? Really? YES! It’s AMAZING! They also have flavors like Salty Peanut and Guinness Stout. I know all you boys just stopped reading this and are heading over to get a pint of the Guinness Stout now. It’s ok. I don’t blame you.

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4. Shake Shack: I’ve got 3 words for you: BEST MILKSHAKE EVER. Every time I go, I get both the chocolate and vanilla milkshakes. Why choose between the two? I haven’t had a chance to try this yet, but I desperately need to try their bacon and pancake custard ASAP. Bacon anything makes my heart melt.

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5. Momofuku Milk Bar: With flavors like “cereal milk” or “cream cheese frosting”, how can this place not rock my world? Exactly. It can’t.  I am also completely obsessed with their cookies, but that’s for another day…

With so many ice- cream/gelato/gelati/this/that/other shops in NYC, it’s hard to choose, but these five are the best in my humble opinion (which just so happens to usually be right). Ice-cream genuinely makes me happy. It’s up there with kittens and rainbows and glitter and you get the idea. You call it ice cream, I call it heaven. Now get your spoons and get to lickin’!

See you next Munchin’ Monday!

xx,

WhyDon’tYouEatMe