scoops?

Ah, the perks of working at New York Magazine really are endless, especially in the food department...

Today I got a random email that simply read "Lots of fresh ice cream at Joe's desk, come give us your reactions!" A.K.A. eat for free, AND be opinionated about it?? Awesome. I dashed over and sure enough, there before me were about 9 different cartons of ice cream, a tray of at least 6 toppings and sauces, and a plate of carbolicious garnishes (mini brownies, mini cookies, mini doughnuts...), all from a STEAK HOUSE of all places, Quality Meats.

They're trying out the whole gourmet-ice-cream-for-summer thing, but going the $6-per-tiny-cup route, which raises the critical bar, in my book - this shit better be freakin' SCRUMPTIOUS if I'm gonna plunk down $6 a scoop...

Chocolate was FABULOUS (brownie chunks in ice cream are, without exception, ALWAYS a good idea); pistachio was distinct (read: not overwhelmed by the taste of butterfat, as were many of the rest); cookies and cream and vanilla were indistinguishable (and so fatty-tasting I had this carnal urge to wipe the buttery film off my tongue after one bite). They made a creative attempt with coffee by throwing some doughnut chunks into the mix; unfortunately, frozen doughnuts are pretty much indistinguishable from styrofoam. Sad. There were some interesting-looking sorbets (apparently one was prickly pear? Hmm...), but honestly, when there's ice cream around, who in their right mind eats SORBET?

Ahhh... all in a day's work.