Loving the Ice Cream Sammies at BareBurger

Hearing about the recent addition of Coolhaus ice cream sammies at BareBurger, I was eager to try them out – especially since I haven’t had a Coolhaus treat in so long!  Dan and I went in today on the fly and watched a little of the World Cup – Dan getting a beer while I had my eye on the prize, the ice cream.

Bacon Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sammy – When I first heard they had this on the menu, I didn’t think about anything else and immediately declared my sammie of choice.  Our server praised me for this selection and in just a few minutes brought out a large, luscious ice cream sandwich with a side of maple caramel sauce.  We had them split this baby in half, as you can see how large it was.  Each bite was heavenly, and had just the right concentration and essence of bacon – while it wasn’t overpowering, the flavor was just enough to get you thinking about it and to relish in the smokiness.  The caramel sauce too was a thing of beauty, reminding us of something you’d have while camping with friends.  

Service and Cost:

We experienced great service, which isn’t out of the ordinary here.  The BareBurger staff has a great thing going in terms of their overall team dynamic, including a nice rapport with customers. I liked the relaxed vibe of the afternoon, which is pretty rare for BareBurger, and we hung around for a little while watching a bit of the Colombia/Costa Rica game. 

Each ice cream sammie will set you back $7, which is totally worth it, especially if you split it with a friend.  Be prepared to lick your fingers clean!

3 Mmmms

BareBurger (31st Avenue) - 33-21 31st Avenue, Astoria NY 11106
718.777.7011
N/Q Train to Broadway
www.bareburger.com23-01 31st Street, Astoria NY 11105

718.204.7167
N/Q Train to Ditmars Blvd
bareburger.com

Happy 5th Birthday BareBurger!

I can hardly believe that our very own BareBurger has been around for 5 years! What started as a small indie burger joint on 31st Avenue and 34th street is now a national burger empire.  It's exciting to celebrate BareBurger in all its glory at the location that started it all exactly 5 years from this coming Thursday.  In honor of this milestone, BareBurger will be giving out free Coolhaus ice cream sammies, which are relatively new to their menu.  Here's the deal for those of you who will be stopping in.

Thursday, June 12th 
Free ice cream sammies (one per person)

Flavors offered:
Peanut butter with double chocolate chip
Dirty mint with double chocolate chip

BareBurger (31st Avenue) - 33-21 31st Avenue, Astoria NY 11106
718.777.7011
N/Q Train to Broadway
www.bareburger.com

Free Coolhaus Ice Cream from Mozilla Rocks the House

I love food surprises.  But not other surprises that pertain to birthdays , anniversaries, proposals and the like...just food surprises.  That's why I was delighted when this morning, Bo suggested checking out a free ice cream sandwich promotion from Mozilla Firefox, by way of the Coolhaus ice cream truck.

The most convenient and wonderful aspect of this deal was that it was close to my daytime gig, so I was able to meet her during lunchtime.  As soon as I arrived, I noticed the long line, which was growing by the minute.  Although not surprised to see that, as with all free-bees crowds gather, I made sure to get a spot asap and observe the ice cream frenzy. 

While on line, we were warmly greeted by a Mozilla fox mascot that you see above and got a few cool giveaways including phone stickers, pins, etc. - just some tchotchkes to keep us happy and occupied during the wait.  However, we also spied the sandwiches that were progressively being given away, and they looked quite impressive and large.  We were really looking forward to getting one soon.

Coolhaus Ice Cream Sandwiches:
Delighted to see that there were four enticing options to choose from, we selected our sweet sandwich of choice ahead of time.  Here's what was on the menu:

The Foxy Brown - Nutella toasted almond ice cream on an oatmeal cookie
The Beta - Earl Gray ice cream on a brioche cookie
The Mozilli Vanilli - Vanilla with real Madagascar beans on a chocolate chip cookie
The Chilla from Mozilla - Blood orange sorbet on chocolate cookies

Before I get into our choices and how they tasted, I wanted to also introduce the Coolhaus ice cream truck, which is officially making its debut in NYC this weekend. 

Originating in LA, this new-to-the-East-Coast food truck, founded by Natasha Case and Freya Estreller boasts handmade cookies and inventive ice cream flavors, made of all-natural ingredients.  Sure that their selling points are the trigger words a lot of food companies use these days such as "local, seasonal, natural," etc, but what I really found intriguing was the variety and originality in both ice cream and cookie flavors. 

If you visit this truck on a regular basis, you'll be delighted to find funky ice cream flavors such as dirty mint chip, brown butter candied bacon, pistachio and black truffle, butterscotch & rosemary, Thai iced tea and more.  Cookie varieties are also far from boring and include dark chocolate with sea salt, ginger molasses, lemon rosemary, vegan chocolate chip, pistachio agave and the like.

But now...about our particular ice cream sandwiches:

The Foxy Brown - You won't be surprised that this was my choice, being the Nutella freak that I am.  I loved the chocolatey richness of the ice cream, and its slightly soft consistency.  Appreciating the small bits of almonds that were interspersed throughout, they didn't compete with the chunky oatmeal cookie that sandwiched it - instead it was the perfect complement.  The only negative was that I couldn't actually taste the Nutella - it was more chocolatey than anything.

The Mozilli Vanilli - Bo chose a classic vanilla flavor, paired with a deliciously soft chocolate chip cookie.  I had a bite and loved the clean, classic flavors of the vanilla, and the lovely little black vanilla beans that decked this usually just-white frozen custard.  It was a bit meltier than mine, making it slightly hard to eat, but regardless, it was pretty excellent.

If you'd like to catch this truck this weekend, you still can.  Check it out this Sunday in Union Square (near West 16th Street) from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
For more info about this awesome ice cream truck and its everyday locations, check them out daily on social media:

Twitter
Facebook
www.eatcoolhaus.com