(Photo: Daniel Maurer)
Until now, the best way to get an ice cream sandwich fix in Rockaway Beach was by snagging an It’s-It at Rippers. But a new artisanal ice cream maker just blew that out of the water.
We stumbled on Christopher Cori, Rockaway native and son of local activist John Cori, selling ice cream sandos outside of his family home, a boarding house that’s been on his grandmother’s side since the late 1800s. But this is no slapdash lemonade stand: Cori’s girlfriend, Anna Yim, who previously ran a B&B, is baking oatmeal, graham cracker, shortbread, and chocolate-cake cookies, and another partner, William Christopher, is making homemade ice cream using ingredients like bourbon (for the Mint Julep), mescal (for the Oaxaca Chocolate), Intelligentsia coffee (for the Coffee Buzz) and imported candy cap mushrooms (for the hand-scooped 5th Kingdom Power Up, which uses puffy pâte à choux in lieu of cookies).
The 5th Kingdom being scooped. (Photo: Daniel Maurer)
The cookies are available on 92nd Street, a block from the beach, on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The stand will eventually be up and running on Fridays and Saturdays, but in the meantime you can also find the sandos at Whit’s End, the pizzeria next to Playland Motel. Eventually, the crew wants to launch a Kickstarter for a food truck or a proper cafe in Rockaway.
(Photo: Daniel Maurer)
Oh, and the best part: Cori also runs a courier service, The Rockaway Rider, which means you can get these little bricks of happiness delivered to the beach (for free) by texting or calling the number below.
Here’s the current menu:
Mint julep – $5
Coffee Buzz – $5
Butter Pecan – $5
Black & White – $5
Ginger – $6
Oaxaca Chocolate – $6
Key Lime Pie – $6
5th Kingdom Power-Up – $6
Holland Helado on Beach 92nd Street, between Holland Ave and the beach, Rockaway Beach; 347-554-1477.
Correction: The original version of this post was revised to correct the spelling of Anna Yim’s name and to add the name of William Christopher.