In the middle of summer, could anything be better than a good old scoop of ice cream?
But what if it isn’t a scoop? What if it’s a cluster of wafer thin ice cream rolls made before your eyes and bundled under various sauces, candies and breakfast cereals.
What if the flavors came from the Far East or your next milkshake came with enough extras to double as a dessert cart?
This is what an ice cream outing in New Orleans can look like now as a raft of frozen dessert trends have joined the classics here.
It's ice cream as entertainment dining. The prices can run a bit higher, especially for a family. But this new fangled ice cream can be pretty captivating. And anything captivating that doesn’t involve a little computer screen is pretty valuable these days.
No trend is rolling faster than rolled ice cream. It's cropped up everywhere from sidewalk vendors to franchise concepts. Some stand outs I’ve found: Ice Queen NOLA in Metairie for its full embrace of rolled ice cream’s Southeast Asian roots, and Freezy Street in New Orleans for working in sno-ball flavors. Fact: nectar cream rolled ice cream exists.
I did find some scoops on this quest for new ice cream. Sweet Handkraft in Metairie wrapped them up in puffy egg waffle cones that looked like bubble wrap and carried flavors like ube, or purple yam, in a color that would match your LSU jersey.
Milkshakes have seen a shake up too. Go to Frey Smoked Meat Co. in Mid-City or Shake Therapy in the Riverbend and the shakes are like multi-course meals of dessert.
Of course it’s overboard. These are the unicorns of the ice cream world, and they are at full gallop.
Even some of the better-known names in the local ice cream game are getting cheeky too. Sucre now makes a gelato taco in a waffle cone shaped like a taco. It's only served once a week and you can probably guess which day. This is what happens, after all, when taco Tuesday meets ice cream sundae.
3304 W. Esplanade Ave., Metairie
2633 St. Claude Ave., and 10709 Chef Meteur Highway
3363 Severn Ave., Metairie
4141 Bienville St.
624 S. Carrollton Ave.
3022 Magazine St., 3301 Veterans Blvd., 622 Conti St.
