Ample Hills Creamery: one place has never made me so stressed out and so happy all at once. After walking from the Brooklyn Bridge to the ice cream shop in Prospect Heights to find a line out the door, it didn’t even matter as I was studying the daily menu. The place was everything I’d wished and hoped it would be. Outrageous over-the-top flavors overflowing with cookies, fudge brownies, pecan brittle, froot loops, frosted flakes, cotton candy, etc. This is an ice cream and cookie lovers dream come true. There are pretzel cones and chocolate chip cones with 24 flavors to choose from, toppings and baked goods. The mini bike in the window keeps children “active” and looking adorable. They also have a “Swap-D-Matic” machine where you can place any type of momento such as a key chain or even note inside and pull something else out. Who knows?
Back to the ice cream. It is made inside a Blast Freezer which means that it freezes to negative 30 degrees super quickly so that it is never icy and only pure and creamy. This prevents any water build up in the freezing process which makes it taste richer because the water doesn’t get mixed in and it’s more concentrated. You can go for a kids, single, double, pint or sundae. To have to narrow down which flavors come in your bowl is just as nerve racking as jumping in the closing doors of the subway. The Way The Cookie Crumbles is (obviously) one of the best ice cream flavors I’ve ever had. Vanilla with chocolate chip cookies and dark chocolate fudge brownie bites that aren’t too hard or frozen is incredible. The fact that they taste as if they were just baked is amazing for a frozen dessert. Let’s just say when my bowl was empty, I stared at it so long in disbelief as if someone stole it out of my hands before I got a bite. The ice creams are not too milky or heavy. The next best thing is the Ooey Gooey Butter Cake which is vanilla ice cream loaded with gobs of St. Lois Ooey Gooey Butter Cake Pieces. One of the most popular flavors that is mentioned in all of the press hanging on the walls is the Salted Crack Caramel with salted butter caramel ice cream with pieces of Deb’s famous crack cookies (saltines, butter, sugar and chocolate). I actually didn’t like this salted caramel flavor as much as LA’s Sweet Rose Creamery’s. It was way too rich for me and tasted more like dulce de leche. Anywho, I dont think you can go wrong here whether you are enjoying the Toffee Bar Crunch, Pistachio, Banana or indulging in a Build Your Own Sundae – choice of brownie or butter cake bottom with any flavor ice cream, fudge or salted carmel, rainbow or chocolate sprinkles and whipped cream. Ample Hills Creamery is dreamy, life changing and adds an unbelievable dance to your tastebuds.
