If you can’t tell by my very first post, I am an ice cream snob. Former ice cream maker and marketer. In my time here in Manhattan, I have visited and tried over a dozen different ice cream shoppes and found 3 reign supreme over my bank account. 🍌 Coming in at 3️⃣: Morgenstern’s Fine Ice Cream @morgensternsnyc their vegan offshoot Bananas. Morgenstern’s menu is EXPANSIVE and breaks down into categories from Americano Classics (Circus Animals, Schoolyard Mint Chip), Cookies (Nutter Butters and Jelly, Chocolate Chip Cookie), to Citrus (Lime Mojito, Yuzu Poppy Seed) to name a few. The limited-time experimental flavors are boundless with their latest celebrating the Lunar New Year with a Jumbo Ice Cream Fortune Cookie. Bananas on Rivington is all soft serve with endless toppings. Their soft serve bases range from oat milk, coconut milk, and of course, bananas. 🧈 Runner up 2️⃣: For a nepo baby, (look her up) @caffepanna does well in my book. Lookout for their soft serve sundae collabs with local brands and rotating guest flavors each week announced on Instagram. Panna is the Italian word for ‘cream,” which like many of their ingredients, is imported from Italy that makes their ice cream buttery rich. I personally keep coming back to their Oreo brittle flavor whenever I’m near Union Square. 🍨 And my 1️⃣🏆: Portland’s Salt & Straw @saltandstraw chain just expanded to NYC last autumn in the UWS, opening with a special NYC menu that included Pastrami and Rye, Chocolate Babka with Hazelnut Fudge, and Cinnamon Raisin Bagels and Schmear. They have their mainstay flavors like Double Fold Vanilla, Honey Lavender, and Arbequina Olive Oil. Every month brings a new additional menu (think Thanksgiving flavors in November, Christmas Cookies in December, and Veganuary flavors). Try all their flavors in an ice cream flight and even take a cup of their Apple and Carrot flavor home to your pup.