Summer Fun: Best Local Ice Cream Parlors

Summary

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Podcast Summary: All Of It (WNYC)

Episode: Summer Fun: Best Local Ice Cream Parlors
Host: Alison Stewart (with guest host Koosha Navadar)
Guest: Melissa McCart, Eater New York Editor
Date: July 5, 2024

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Overview

This episode is a vibrant, crowd-sourced celebration of New York City's ever-expanding ice cream culture. With summer in full swing, guest host Koosha Navadar and food journalist Melissa McCart of Eater New York share recommendations, discuss trends and definitions, take listener calls, and reveal insider tips for enjoying frozen treats throughout NYC and its surrounds. The conversation covers everything from nostalgic flavors to vegan innovations, and from Italian ices to Mr. Softee magic shells.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Changing Landscape of NYC Ice Cream

• Diverse Offerings: NYC features everything from traditional dairy ice cream and classic sugar cones to vegan gelatos and liquid nitrogen–flash-frozen confections (03:00–04:00).
• Defining “Ice Cream”: There’s now a blurred line between classic ice cream, gelato, sorbet, soft serve, and custard (05:48–06:47).

  “There's traditional ice cream, there's gelato, and then there's soft serve… But in general, I feel like we're moving into a period where people fall in one of the genres.” —Melissa McCart (05:59)

• Rise of Vegan/Dairy-Free: Many parlors now feature robust vegan options, sometimes equal to their dairy selections (13:59–15:07).

Standout Parlors, Flavors, & Collaborations

Melissa McCart’s Favorites

• Superiority Burger (East Village): Not an ice cream shop, but lauded for chef Brooks Headley’s dazzling gelato and sorbets. Flavors rotate, with almond joy and butter pecan among them, and a must-try chocolate sorbet for dairy avoiders (04:09–05:48).
• Torico (Jersey City, NJ): Beloved for a broad vegan selection and standards like vanilla, chocolate, ube, and sesame (15:42–16:19).
• Ferrara & Gelateria Gentile: Old-school and authentic Italian favorites, especially for chocolate gelato and refreshing granita options, including cantaloupe (19:25–20:05).

Ice Cream Innovations & Collaborations

• Russ & Daughters × Morgenstern's: A special collaboration featuring Chocolate Babka Ice Cream pop, Sesame Bagel Ice Cream Sandwich, and Chocolate-Covered Halva Bar (all available at their shops or by nationwide shipping; 08:06–09:39).

  “They are so delicious…not only delicious, but that one is also vegan. And so we, you know, we supply the base…the babka, the cream cheese, you know, the halva…” —Nikki Russ Fetterman (08:12)

• Malai (Cobble Hill): Celebrated for South Asian–inspired flavors like Cherry Black Cardamom (12:28–13:17).

  “They had this amazing flavor, cherry black cardamom. And…the founder is of Indian descent and a lot of the flavors are kind of like that. It was really fabulous.” —Amy, caller (12:36)

Vegan and Soft Serve Highlights

• Morgenstern’s Banana: Vegan-only soft serve shop; flavors include banana, coffee creamer, midnight chocolate (14:00–15:07).
• Seed + Mill (Chelsea Market): Known for oat milk–based soft serve.
• Matchaful: Most flavors are vegan (15:07–15:42).

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Listener Tips & Nostalgia

Sourcing Quality and Avoiding Bad Pints

• Signs of Refrozen Ice Cream:
  • Fogged or frosted freezer doors (07:26–07:47)
  • Frost or “snow” on the outside of a pint, or ice cream on the rim—avoid buying if present (20:32–21:01).

  “If it has that layer of frost, do not buy it. That’s a telltale sign it was melted and refrosted.” —Irene, caller (20:58)

Longstanding Institutions & Regional Favorites

• Ralph’s Italian Ices: Staten Island institution, now with shops across the metro area, loved for both ices and sherbets (16:32–17:35).

• Sugar Hill Creamery (Harlem): Lauded for both adventurous “collaborative” flavors and classic vanilla/chocolate (17:41–19:03).

  “Those are the basis…in terms of how a place makes ice cream. And those are both spectacular.” —Melissa McCart (18:39)

• Boice Dairy (Kingston, NY): Famed for its soft serve; worth a drive (21:13–21:54).

The Ongoing Quest for Butter Almond

• Listener Don sparks a hunt for the elusive "butter almond" flavor, recalling Howard Johnson’s parlors (10:44–11:38). Many suggest butter pecan as a supermarket fallback, but the city’s collective will to revive butter almond remains strong (13:17–13:59).

  “Now I’m going to be on a summer butter almond hunt…almonds are having a moment.” —Melissa McCart (22:05)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “It is so sad [when you get melted and refrozen ice cream].” —Melissa McCart (07:15)
• “My nostalgic go to [is] one scoop or two on a sugar cone…I know it’s not very dazzling, but…that’s my nostalgic go to.” —Melissa McCart (03:37)
• “Chocolate sorbet kind of kicks ice cream’s butt. It is so good, you would not even know that it’s a sorbet.” —Melissa McCart (05:13)
• “Of course [I’ve gotten Mr. Softee]. …I love anything with magic shell.” —Melissa McCart (22:40–22:48)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 03:28–05:06: Melissa McCart’s gelato and East Village recommendations
• 05:48–06:47: Debating the definition of “ice cream” today
• 08:06–09:39: Russ & Daughters x Morgenstern’s creative collaboration
• 12:28–13:17: Malai’s South Asian–inspired flavor profile, cherry black cardamom
• 13:59–15:42: Vegan and dairy-free ice cream highlights
• 16:32–17:35: Ralph's Italian Ices in NYC and NJ
• 17:41–19:03: Sugar Hill Creamery and testing “classic” flavors
• 20:32–21:01: How to spot bad pints at the bodega
• 21:13–21:54: Boice Dairy’s legendary soft serve
• 22:40–22:48: The enduring appeal of Mr. Softee and “magic shell”

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Final Thoughts

This episode captures the playful, opinionated, and community-driven nature of ice cream culture in New York City. Standout moments include enthusiastic shoutouts to innovative shops, the citywide (and now radio-energized) quest for butter almond, and practical wisdom on finding (and keeping) great ice cream. Whether your taste is classic or adventuresome, dairy-packed or nut-milk based, the city’s icy delights are more diverse—and accessible—than ever.

Recommendation: Explore the episode’s highlighted spots, try a flavor outside your comfort zone, and keep calling in with the new, the nostalgic, and the next NYC ice cream obsession!

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Transcript

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[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

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[Callers/Guests]

Welcome to McDonald's.

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

Can I take your order, miss?

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

I've been hitting up McDonald's for years.

[Callers/Guests]

Now it's back.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

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[Callers/Guests]

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It's the return of something great.

[Callers/Guests]

Snack wrap is back.

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But you should say like a good.

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Neighbor, State Farm is there and we'll.

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Help get you back in business. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

[Callers/Guests]

Listener supported.

[Alison Stewart (Host/Announcer)]

You're listening to all of it on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. Happy July 5th, everyone. We hope you had a fun fourth full of food, friends, family and fireworks. On today's show, we'll be fully embracing the summer to help you make the most of the long weekend. Coming up on the show, we'll talk about some particularly summery cocktails for when you're outside celebrating the warm weather. And later we'll hear about some travel destinations for foodies that are easy car rides or train trips from our area when you want to take your taste buds on an adventure. New England Lobster Rolls. I'm looking at you listeners. These are all encore presentations of conversations we've had in the past, which means you'll hear some calls on the air but but we won't be able to take your calls today. So without further ado, let's get this started with guest host Koosha Navadar and a familiar summer sound.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

To this.

[Callers/Guests]

We.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

All feel like screaming. And might I say we might all feel like screaming for ice cream because I have good news for us. There are plenty of places in New York City to get great ice cream. Maybe you like classic vanilla or mint chip, or maybe because you're lactose intolerant and you prefer sorbet or coconut based treats, you will just take ice cream to mean whatever is cool and tasty and sweet. The landscape for ice cream lovers has really expanded with everything from bases that are vegan friendly to new methods to make ice cream like flash freezing the base with liquid nitrogen. And here to help us navigate our ice cream options, I'm happy to be joined by Melissa McCart, editor of Eater New York. Hi, Melissa. Welcome to the show.

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

Hi, Kusha. Thanks for having me.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Absolutely. So what's your favorite way to eat ice cream? Do you prefer a dish or. Or a cone or something else?

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

I prefer either one scoop or two on a sugar cone. I know it's not very dazzling, but for whatever reason, that's my nostalgic go to.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Yeah, sugar cones are classic. I love them. I know there's a great debate between cake cone versus sugar cone versus waffle cone. I feel like sugar cone is a special plate place in my heart as well, and I want to get into it. You have a whole lexicon, a whole itinerary of places that you love to go for ice cream. I want to know right at the top, what is your favorite place in the city? Where is it to get ice cream?

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

I have to say it's not an ice cream parlor. It happens to be Superiority Burger. Brooks Headley, who opened the larger location in the East Village, was known for desserts for most of his career. He had a vegan place in the East Village that was very small and a walk up, and now it is in the old Odessa space. You can go in there and grab a seat at the counter. And he has some dazzling flavors of gelato as well as some that might seem a little frumpy or old man, like, like Almond Joy or butter pecan or something like that. But usually they will knock your socks off. You can go in there, order the two gelato flavors for the day, and you will be thrilled. Can also get it to go if you walk to the back bar. They have different pints every week.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Am I correct also in knowing about the sorbet that they offer? Or is there a history of sorbet there? A chocolate sorbet specifically.

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

Oh my gosh. So I did not know this, but chocolate sorbet kind of kicks ice cream's butt. It is so good, you would not even know that it's a sorbet. It's just so rich and it has this deep, deep brown color that's like sort of more chocolate than chocolate, it seems. And it just has this amazing texture. And on a really hot day for me, I tend to gravitate away from dairy based ice creams for whatever reason. And a chocolate sorbet hits the spot.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

That brings up an interesting question here because we were talking about sorbet, we're talking about gelato. Ice cream in general, there's a lot of permutations. In general, how would you define ice cream?

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

There are people who are far more knowledgeable than I am that can define ice cream. But when I think about how we sort of categorize frozen treats, there's traditional ice cream, there's gelato, and then there's soft serve. I think that it has to do with the ratio of egg yolks or not using egg yolks and the amount of sugar and the process by which it's made. But in general, I feel like we're moving into a period where people fall in one of the genres. And then if you're a Midwesterner, there's custard, but I can't even get into custard because it's not particularly prevalent here. And I don't know, it's too eggy for me.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

We've got some texts that I would love to read. We've got Malai and Morgan Stearns. One person wrote in. We've got one that says the ice cream stand at Lincoln center is da bomb. And there's two ice cream sundae emojis. Thank you so much for those emojis. I love seeing those on there. We have love love ice cream. But there's no bigger bummer than getting a pint home from the bodega only to find out it's been melted and refrozen a few times. That is a real New York City experience.

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

It's so sad.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Do you know of any way to be able to discern which pints of ice cream at your local bodega have suffered from that melting and refreezing experience?

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

I mean, I, for me, I have been. I've had this happen many times. I sort of look at whether the freezer door is fogged up because I feel like that's a sign of people opening it and closing it quite a lot. And then it becomes a question of the temperature fluctuations and melting ice.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Yeah, it's hard to tell. And I think this text actually hits. It's something that a lot of New York City folk experience. So thank you for that. And then we've also got a text. Timothy's in Blackrock neighborhood, Bridgeport. Incredible house made ice cream. I'd love to go to a caller as well. This is Nikki. Hey, Nikki, welcome to the show. What's your favorite spot for ice cream?

[Callers/Guests]

Hi, this is Nikki. Russ Fetterman from Russ and Daughters.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Oh, hi. Welcome.

[Callers/Guests]

Hello. Love your show. Love Eater. Of course. So dress and Daughters and Morgan Stearns launched an ice cream collaboration that was, well, not 110 years in the making, but years in the making. And they are so delicious. We made three ice creams together. A chocolate babka ice cream pop sesame bagel ice cream sandwich and a chocolate covered halva ice cream bar which is not only delicious, but that one is also vegan. And so we, you know, we supply the base, you know, the main ingredients, the babka, the cream cheese, you know, the halva, etc. Morgan Stearns has, you know, put it together. We. And they're all in sort of Russ and Daughters style old school boxes. And yeah, they're available at all Russ and Daughter's retail locations. You know, the original shop on East Towson Street, Hudson Yards and the Brooklyn Navy Yard and then at Morgensterns. And Morgensterns is also shipping them nationwide as a six pack. So you get two of each.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Oh, so you can go onto the Morgensterns website and order it? Is that what you're saying?

[Callers/Guests]

Exactly.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Wow, Nikki, it is an honor to be talking to you right now. That's wonderful. Where did the idea for this come from?

[Callers/Guests]

Well, Nick Morgenstern has been coming after us for some years now wanting to do this, and we finally teamed up and we'll have them all summer long.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Wow, Nikki, thank you so much. Shout out to Morgan Stern. Shout out to Russ and Daughters. I'm going to check those out. You know, of those three flavors, Melissa, did any stand out to you?

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

Well, I'm interested in the sandwich because it feels like it's a spin on like the Italian granita brioche. I think it's. To me, it's so great to be able to sort of skip a meal and have something like an ice cream sandwich and justify it as it's in the shape of a meal. And so I can't wait to go over there and try the sesame bagel sandwich in particular.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Yeah, that sounds great. Morgensterns happens to be one of my favorite places in the city to get ice cream. So that was lovely to get to hear from Nikki from Russ and Daughters about that collaboration. Let's go to Don in Midtown. Hey, Don. Welcome to the show.

[Callers]

Hi. Thanks for a great show. I love this show. I listen every single day.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Oh, thank you.

[Callers]

I have a general ice cream question. Many, many, many years ago, Two men. When I was a kid, I used to go to Howard Johnson's ice cream parlors in New York City in the Bronx. They were so wonderful. And my favorite flavor in the whole wide world is one of those old man flavors, butter almond. Does anybody anywhere in this city make butter almond anymore? It's a flavor that's very time consuming to make. I've made it myself and it's not easy, but, boy, I'd give anything to have some butter almond ice cream again. Don, I put it out there in case one of the listeners might know. It's probably going to draw a blank, but I figured why not give it a try?

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Well, Don, we have the collective power of New York City at our disposal and the surrounding region. So hopefully. And thank you so much for that call. Melissa, I feel like you had something to say to Don.

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

Well, I was just going to say I feel like he's conjuring the universe to make the flavor because it seems like one that could become pretty trendy. I mean, there's a, there's a sort of a butterfly going on and who does not like almonds. So hopefully it will appear soon.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

And listeners, if you have a tip for Don, a place that you can find butter almond, give us a call, send us a text, we're here. Don, I'm sure, is still listening. 212-433-9692. That's 212433, WNYC. Before we go to break, I got one more caller, Amy, Upper west side. Hi, Amy. Welcome to the show.

[Callers/Guests]

So I went to a place, I was with my daughter. She's visiting a friend. I can't say exactly where it was, but in Cobble Hill, it's called Malai M A L A I. And they had this amazing flavor, cherry black cardamom. And a lot of their, the founder is of Indian descent and a lot of the flavors are kind of like that. I can't give you a rundown of what they are, but it was really fabulous.

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

Amy is becoming, yeah, Malai is becoming increasingly popular because of its unusual flavors. And I'm so glad that you like it. And I still have to make it there myself.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

I have been there and I can, I can echo that. It is very good. And they have a very cool assortment of flavors. Amy, do you remember the flavor that you had that you really liked?

[Callers/Guests]

Carrie? Black cardamom.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Oh, that's right. Thank you so much for, for calling. Melissa. Before we go into more calls, I want to read some texts that we're getting because a lot of them are coming in. One says regarding butter almond, this is For Don, from before the break, lots of supermarket ice cream cases have butter pecan ice cream. Not sure if that's helpful. Another one says, hey there, butter almond may have to go down south. I love butter pecan. Don, I don't know if you're willing to go with butter pecan, but it seems like a lot of people there are saying you can find that in the city. We've also got a question about vegan ice cream. And Melissa, I want to throw this to you. Are there any places that. Because I remember you said before the break you were really interested in sorbet and doing non dairy potentially. Do you. What do you. What are your thoughts on vegan ice cream places in the city? City for that.

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

A lot of the indie places have almost an equal number of vegan option as non vegan options. I feel like it's something that's sort of required at this point to please everyone. And in terms of another vegan shop that's relatively new, this is a soft serve. It's the Morgenstern's Banana, which is a vegan soft served only shop. Now that location makes its base from different vegan ingredients, but it has flavors like banana and coffee creamer and salted peanut butter and this almost black midnight chocolate. And it, it's terrific.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

And we just got this other text that says somebody for the love of God tell me where the vegan soft serve ice cream is. And that's interesting. I know that soft serv serve had a real moment last year, a couple of years ago. It seems like it's still there. Could you give us a lay down of like your favorite soft serve places in the city and if vegan is an option at any of them?

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

Sure. In addition to, in addition to bananas. I mean a lot of soft serves tend to lean towards vegan, but there's also seed and mill in the Chelsea market that has an oat milk base. Matcha Full is also vegan or most of its flavors are vegan. Let's see, off the top of my head, that is what I know, but I think that you can generally ask in most places that vegan at this point.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

You had mentioned something when we talked earlier about Torico. I don't know if I'm pronouncing that correctly, but that's a local Torico that's a favorite for yours, right?

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

I love it. I mean it's in Jersey City and it's been around since 1968. There's always a line and thankfully it's expanding. But they have the gamut of vegan ice cream, vegan soft serve, you know, straight ahead vanilla options like chocolate, cherry and then uba and sesame and things like that. It really runs the gamut for that one.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Wonderful. So hopefully some of those suggestions could work for the person who texted us about about vegan soft serve. Let's get into some calls. Let's start with Jennifer from Watchong, New Jersey. Hi, Jennifer, welcome to the show.

[Callers/Guests]

Hi. So ever since my husband, he's from Staten island, he brought me to Ralph's Italian ices. They are been around since 19 and they have not only Italian ices, but they also have sherbet, sugar free ice cream and twisters. And my favorite is caramelada which is more of a sherbet and vanilla chip and coconut. And then if you go for the traditional Italian ice, I highly recommend the watermelon. It's really refreshing.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Ooh, watermelon is really delicious.

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

Delicious.

[Callers/Guests]

Yeah, it's great. And it's all obviously all homemade. Luckily they've expanded from Staten Island. They're all throughout Long Island, Queensland, even New Jersey, thank God, because that's where I'm living now. So it's our go to spot and half of the fun is waiting on the line and just checking out. They have great Walmart murals outside and usually inside the shop. So it's a good time.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Nice. Jennifer, thank you so much for that call. Let's go to John in Harlem. Hey John, welcome to the show.

[Callers]

Hey, how's it going? Hey. Yeah, I'm from New England so I'm ice cream obsessed. We're like ice synthetics there. I live in New York though, and in Harlem there are two cool places. One's aver Lily and they make ice cream or gelato I guess, and also baked goods that are really fantastic. The owner makes these gorgeous cakes, but they have bonkers good gelato and also dairy free options. My favorite are dairy free ones like fruit flavored ones. And then there's also Cherry Hill creamery which is like again like pastry chef couple that make ice cream at a high level and they collaborate with other restaurants to make cool flavors.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Wow, John, thank you so much for that. Sugar Hill Creamery. Melissa, that's a very popular one, right? Have you been there before?

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

It really is, yep. It's always on our list every year. We love it.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

What do they do particularly well in your opinion?

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

I mean, I go there for a straight cone. I think that there's, there's probably an ice cream aficionado who goes, who goes more broad in their orders, but I tend to go for how's their vanilla, how's their chocolate? Is it better than everybody else? Because those are the basis, you know, the basis in terms of how, how a place makes ice cream. And those are both spectacular.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

That's an interesting point because there it is so subjective what the best ice cream is per palette. But trying to find an empirical way to, to, to, to grade it, I guess, or to put one place against each other for you. Chocolate sorbet actually beat out a lot of other chocolates you've tasted. Where do you go for your favorite chocolate? Do you have a specific go to place for chocolate?

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

I mean, I, well, I go to Torico in Jersey City. I also dabble in chocolate gelato and I'll go to old school places like Ferrara because there's nothing like that whole vibe there. It's just super fun. But I also like Gelateria Gentile, which has four different locations. And boy, is their chocolate gelatos terrific. Somebody earlier had mentioned Italian ices. I like its cousin Granita quite a lot. It's very, very refreshing. And gentile has unusual flavors like, say, cantaloupe.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Mm, Cantaloupe is delicious. Let's, let's read some more texts here. We've got one that says two places if they haven't been mentioned, one by me in Dumbo, the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, and Chris's in Massapequa. Let's go to Irene in Staten Island. Hey, Irene, welcome to the show.

[Callers/Guests]

Hi, thanks. I'm calling in regard to the melted and refreeze refrozen containers of ice cream. And how can you tell?

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Wonderful.

[Callers/Guests]

Yeah. Well, the first one obviously is never buy a container where you see the ice cream on the outside of the container. So look at the top. That's the first thing. And second thing, check if the container has a layer, a thin layer of what looks like frost or snow on it from the outside. You're just looking at it. If it has that layer of frost.

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

Do not buy it.

[Callers/Guests]

That's a telltale sign that it was melted and refrosted.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Nice. So we've got frost on the outside. We've got ice cream on the rim. Yeah. Thank you so much. We got just a couple minutes left in the segment. I want to get to two more callers. Jenny in Pine Bush, New York. Hey, Jenny, welcome to the show.

[Callers/Guests]

Good morning. So I have two things to talk about. Boice Dairy, B O I C E Dairy in Kingston, New York has the most delicious texture wise and flavor wise. Soft serve on the planet. I drive 30 miles to Kingston just to get their soft serve. They also make their own ice cream, which is delicious. And in the butter almond question, Breyers used to make delicious butter almond ice cream, which they are now, however, calling a frozen dairy dessert. And it is nothing like ice cream and a huge disappointment. So those are my two offerings.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

Jenny, thank you so much. Really appreciate that. We got, like, a little bit more than a minute left here. Of all the callers that you heard, did any flavors specifically stand out to you?

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

I mean, now I'm going to be on a summer butter almond hunt. So that's. That's the one that I'm. I'm kind of like, I feel like almonds are having a moment because there are so many Sicilian restaurants that have been opening up, and there's sort of like a sourcing issue of, like, who can have the best almonds. So now I'm. I'm certain that I will be able to track. Track it down and, you know, let people know this actually exists. And I can't wait to try it.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

And, you know, we have 20 seconds left. So very quickly, have you ever gotten something from a Mr. Softy truck?

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

Of course.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

And what is your go to flavor from the Mr. Softee truck? You have. You have 20 seconds here.

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

Okay. I love anything with magic shell.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

What is magic shell? Is it with the chocolate on the outside?

[Melissa McCart (Eater New York Editor)]

Yeah, it's that heart that. That chocolate that hardens as soon as it hits the cold. I just think it's awesome, even though it's probably not very good for you.

[Alison Stewart (Host/Announcer)]

That was Kushinavadar's conversation with Eater New York editor Melissa McCart about the best local ice cream spots. Up next, our summer fun continues with some crowdsourced tips to beat the heat and stay safe and cool as the temperatures rise up into the sweltering range. Plus, Annie Colbert, editor in chief of Popular Science, explains the science behind extreme heat and how to adapt to it. That's on the way. This is all of it.

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[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

All right, unc. Welcome to McDonald's can I take your order, miss? I've been hitting up McDonald's for years.

[Callers/Guests]

Now it's back.

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

We need snack wraps.

[Callers/Guests]

What's a snack wrap?

[Koosha Navadar (Host)]

It's the return of something great.

[Callers/Guests]

Snack wrap is back.