Featured Dessert: Five Leaves’ Ice Cream Cart

Maryse Chevrière — June 22, 2010

Clockwise from top: The new ice cream cart outside Five Leaves in Greenpoint, a single scoop cone of Bitter Chocolate Mint, a cup of Salted Caramel Pretzel.

There are few occasions when Five Leaves doesn’t fit the bill for all your Greenpoint dining needs. There’s a menu for those who appreciate both good sardines, and a burger topped with beets and a fried egg. Outdoor tables serve as spots for a romantic meal. And the bar is a great place to meet up with friends for a round of Southern Belles. With the launch of an ice cream cart, it’s now where you go when it’s 90 degrees out and Mister Softee won’t do.

The retro, airstream-shaped cart debuted outside the restaurant on June 13th, where it will serve homemade ice cream on Sundays through June from 12:00pm to 11:00pm, and every day in July and August. Selecting from the four flavors presents a difficult choice: Salted Caramel Pretzel, Honey Vanilla, Coffee Amaretti, and Bitter Chocolate Mint. They’re the creations of Nick Morgenstern of the General Greene, which also has a cart. Five Leaves stocks their ice cream year-round.

Bitter Chocolate Mint is the hip, sophisticated cousin of that familiar, bright Green Mint Chocolate Chip flavor you’re used to. The chocolate is dark, rich, and not too sweet. It’s plain appearance belies an in-your-face mint flavor— it’s like chewing on a mint leaf. For those experiencing withdrawal from Shake Shack’s Salted Caramel custard, this rendition actually improves on it. The base is super salty and faintly sweet. Pieces of crushed pretzel are folded in to order so they retain their crunch. The only thing that would make it even better? Chocolate-covered pretzels.