Dominant Culture Yogurt with Rosemary Sorbet: When asked for recommendations for where to eat in NYC, I always bring up Chikalicious, a dessert bar in the East Village where $18 gets you a prix fixe tasting of fine-dining-level desserts, always served by the industrious and humble pastry chef Chika Tillman. She and her husband have been offering to-go treats at a separate pop-up on the edge of Tompkin Square Park, including churro cone ice cream that I've previously reviewed. Now they're planning a yogurt shop called Dominant Culture an... (read more) 4.0/5.0

Morgenstern's Black currant sorbet : A sharp black currant sorbet, sure to color your entire mouth deep purple. More tart than sweet, and in that way tastes remarkably close to the real fruit. Texture was a tad inconsistent, witha few icier segments. Wish Morgenstern's could let you do two flavors in one scoop because this was an example of a flavor that was strong enough that having an entire single-dip cup felt superfluous. 3.5/5.0

Dolce Cucumber mint and lemon gelato: Surprisingly good gelato from a small shop in Red Hook. Texture is excellent. Cucumber mint was refreshingly clean, and lemon was tart and sharp. Pure and concentrated flavors. Out of the way, but if you’re in the area, Dolce is definitely worth a stop. 4.0/5.0

Cones Lychee and ginger sorbet: Cones in the West Village never disappoints with its superbly fresh sorbets. I realize in the handful of times I’ve been to this independent ice cream shop, I’ve never had any of their actual ice cream because I’m always lured by their excellent sorbets. This time it was their lychee and ginger sorbets, which were both very sharp and clean tasting. The ginger had a great level of spice, which paired well with the tropical lychee scoop. Smooth and consistent texture as well. 4.0/5.0

Superiority Burger Apricot and Labne ice cream: Two flavors, apricot and labne, ran for about $6 at this cramped East Village vegetarian spot. The apricot ice cream was strangely warm, very lightly sweetened, and faint though slightly tangy in flavor. The labne sorbet, on the other hand, was sharp and refreshing, tasting of high quality yogurt. Both had a slightly sticky texture reminiscent of Turkish ice cream (but not quite as elastic). Would definitely enjoy the labne again - the apricot, not so much. 3.0/5.0

Ample Hills Creamery Lemon ginger sorbet and Snap, Mallow, Pop ice cream: Family friendly ice cream shop Ample Hills Creamery is probably as Brooklyn as an ice cream store can get. The flavors are completely made in-house, hand-drawn illustrations act as signage, and flavors like “gooey gooey butter cake” and “Nonna d’s oatmeal lace” hearken back to an extremely classic American childhood that I can only imagine those that had cookie jars in their kitchens may have experienced. AKA this is a very white-person ice cream shop (not to denigrate - just stating the f... (read more) 3.0/5.0