Ample Hills and Mekelburg’s Win Summer with Ice Cream Collaboration
Elaine memorably decried cinnamon as the “lesser babka” on a classic Seinfeld episode; and ordinarily, we would wholeheartedly agree with her. But when it comes to a duo of Jewish pastry-studded ice creams, recently released by Brooklyn’s own Ample Hills, both are categorically created equal.
In collaboration with our favorite beer bar/gourmet goods shop/soigné spuds slinger—Mekelburg’s—which contributed loaves of their Clinton Hill-baked babka to the cause, and where the pints are being exclusively sold, Ample Hills created “I Love it When You Call Me Big Babka”: milk chocolate ice cream run through with decadent chocolate babka chunks. And not to be outdone, cinnamon gets its due in “Babka Days are Here Again”: emphatically toasty and spicy against an empty canvas of pure vanilla.
By resisting the urge to go over-the-top with their bases, Ample Hills rightly allows the filling-swirled segments of sweet yeast cake to shine. Although Mekelburg’s itself is considering gilding the lily a tad by adding a “babka split” to their menu, topped with Fox’s U-bet chocolate sauce, whipped cream and a cherry. So put down your potatoes, ladies and gentleman. Mekelburg’s may have unexpectedly become this summer’s primary ice cream destination.
Mekelburg’s: 293 Grand Avenue, Clinton Hill