There is no shame in dragging your friends fifty two blocks, past the industrial clothing factories dotting Orchard Street where bearded men hock paisley dresses and orthopedic shoes circa 1969, all for the minor miracle of huddling in a tiny shoppe – just to get a taste. Yes, my obsession with il laboratorio del gelato, is very much like crack. Quite honestly, look to your right and let me know if you can possibly resist the creamiest gelato in New York City.

Dedicated to producing the very finest ice cream and sorbet, il laboratorio del gelato opened in August 2002 on Orchard Street in Lower Manhattan. With a list of almost 100 vibrant and affordable flavors which includes chocolate kahlua, lemon verbena, fuji apple, dinosaur plum…the options are dizzying and endless. This hip looking slip of a store offers an expansive window into an open kitchen, where their frozen desserts are hand-made in small batches, and many of the ingredients are locally supplied or organic.

With gelato this divine, you want to stop and sample all the flavors. On today’s trek, we savored toasted almond, blueberry and basil and yes, we are going back!

Prices: $2.75 a small cup (two scoops), $3.25 for a medium, and $3.75 for a large. Pints are $4.75, and $4.50 for two, or more pints. $2-5 for cappuccino, and other assorted drinks, such as affogato (espresso poured over a scoop of gelato.)

il laboratorio del gelato
95 Orchard St., New York, NY 10002
between Broome and Delancey Sts.
212-343-9922
Subway: F/V to Delancey

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After spending a luxurious two weeks in Paris sampling mousse and berry tarts, coming home to a sultry New York summer replete with hour-long lines at Starbucks and crowded thoroughfares, I was desperate for a little bit of Paris in Soho. Meet Ceci-Cela: a charming, cozy (cozy in New York speak = claustrophobic) cafe that evokes nostalgia for the crowded patisseries of Paris. Maybe it’s the glass cases of impossibly delicious pastries baked by chef Laurent Dupal who was trained at the prestigious Compagnons du Devoir du Tour de France or the loaves of warm bread smothered in strawberry preserves, but this shop is the eminent destination for sweet-hounds and gourmet coffee lovers, tired of the morning coffee carts lining the streets.

Owned by two former French pastry chefs who met while working at a Club Med, Ceci-Cela boasts a loyal following of downtown hipsters, expats and anyone seeking a cafe au lait and a flaky croissant (much better than the over-hyped Balthazar down the street). Although the service is a touch on the slow side, the savory fare is well worth it.

Duck into the woody back room with your Sunday Times and treat yourself to petit fours, a hearty sandwich and quiet in a notoriously rowdy neighborhood.

Ceci-Cela
55 Spring St
New York, 10012
(212) 274-9179
Subway: 6 to Spring Street

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