La Newyorkina
Samples: Blueberries & Corn, Horchata, Maria Cookies & Cream, Paddle-made Queso Fresco
Double – Coffee and Cajeta, Tres Leches
Owned by Fany Gerson, a CIA-trained veteran of world class kitchens including Akelare and Eleven Madison Park, it would seem to many that the Chef was ‘wasting’ her talents by opening an Ice Cream and Paleta store in Greenwich Village, but one stop at La Newyorkina speaks of a woman doing what she loves, the shop cutely decorated and full of innovative flavors with staff that could not be more friendly if they tried.
Started in 2010 as a stand at one of New York’s many Street Fairs, the young Chef fresh off a year exploring the cuisine of her birthplace so in-depth that she ended up publishing a book entitled “My Sweet Mexico,” La Newyorkina in its earliest days was nothing more than a Mexican Popsicle concept selling just five flavors, its success quickly leading Chef Gerson to pursue something bigger and better, the space as of Memorial Day 2017 offering more than six-dozen types of Paletas, Ice Creams and Sorbets including a few that are made in the old fashioned way, by hand with paddles.
Open at 240 Sullivan Street from Noon till 9:00pm on weekdays, an hour later on weekends, with several seasonal stands and carts from Red Hook to the Highline in Spring and Summer, those seeking out (or fortunate enough to stumble across) La Newyorkina would be well advised to spend time first evaluating the menu board carefully as the collection ranges from fruity to creamy with great range, the samples at her flagship store all smooth with a good base, the Blueberries and Corn tasting of little more than its named ingredients without a lot of additional sugar while the hand-paddled Queso Fresco is almost savory, the “Cookies and Cream” not full of smashed Oreos but rather Latin America’s favorite Vanilla Biscuit.
Fairly pricing Ice Cream and Sorbet at $4.25 a scoop or $6 for a double, the day’s Paleta choices largely based on Acidic flavors such as Passion Fruit, Mango Chili and Pink Limeade that simply did not appeal that the time, it was with a Social Media Check-In dropping the price to $5.52 that two large scoops were placed atop a manufactured Sugar Cone, the Coffee and Cajeta boldly bitter up front but nicely balanced by streaks of Caramel while the Tres Leches tasted creamy and sweet with bits of the cake mixed in for texture.
http://lanewyorkina.com/
