We’re always on the hunt for the best ice cream in NYC. Well, for the best anything in NYC, really. It doesn’t matter if it’s a $2 soft serve cone or a pricey small cup from a craft scoop shop, as long as it delivers on flavor. But maybe there’s a line. Would you pay as much as you pay for rent if what you got was the best ice cream in New York City? This isn’t theoretical; a new menu offering at Baccarat Hotel New York in Manhattan is forcing us to ask that question for real.
That wasn’t a typo and you didn’t have a small stroke. We did actually say this ice cream costs as much as you pay in rent. Sure, it’s on the cheaper side as far as New York rents go, but it still takes the idea of #treatyoself to a whole new level of socioeconomic status.
The Baccarat Hotel New York is charging — excuse us while we brace ourselves — $1500 for what we assume must be the best ice cream in NYC. It better be for that amount of coin, right?
Is this the best ice cream in NYC? Decide for yourself…
Want to know more before wantonly dropping so much dough on ice cream? We don’t blame you. To be fair, a large portion of the cost of the “Bear Extraordinaire,” which launched on Wednesday, is the crystal bear the hotel is using as a serving dish. The entire dish, including the bear embellishment, makes the menu item the most expensive ice cream in America, though the ice cream itself costs $300, according to CNBC.
This $1,500 ice cream is the most expensive in America — here’s what you get: https://t.co/anUG4eu3Er pic.twitter.com/RWN67AmhdX
— CNBC (@CNBC) July 11, 2018
So what’s so special about this ice cream? The base is a homemade vanilla ice cream that uses vanilla beans imported from Madagascar. (Cue joke about them buying the beans a first class ticket.) It’s nestled on top of 3 grams of black truffle crumble, a pricey little creation from their pastry chef that combines black truffle, 64 percent Manjari dark chocolate also from Madagascar and Valrhona Gold cocoa nibs. The crumble and ice cream are topped with a white chocolate shell that’s hand-painted with colored cocoa butter.
We’re not done, hang in there. Pastry chef Rosario Wakabayashi also added hibiscus champagne sauce and citrus meringue to this mix and adorned the whole thing with fondant butterflies, spun sugar and, you knew it was coming, edible gold leaf. She added silver leafing for good measure (and more money). No word on whether Wakabayashi thinks she created the best ice cream in NYC.
Can you order the “Bear Extraordinaire” without the crystal bear?
If you’re looking to impress a date, but don’t have $1500 to drop, the hotel does allow you to order the dish without the crystal bear. (For the record, you’re passing on a crystal and porcelain bear that’s signed and numbered by the artist.)
But is it the best ice cream in NYC? We might never know since CNBC’s only comment was “It’s very delicious.” If you have the dough to drop, go check it out. If not, we don’t judge if you think the best ice cream in New York City is the soft serve Cheetos-dipped cone at Big Gay Ice Cream or a simple scoop from Van Leeuwen.
