#morganstern

Clary Fairchild

Jace Herondale

Simon Lewis

Isabelle Lightwood

Magnus Bane

Alec Lightwood

Raphael Santiago

Luke Garroway

Maryse Lightwood

Jonathan Morgernstern

-Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy

A wise man (Lin-Manuel Miranda, idk maybe you’ve heard of him?) once said “there’s nothing like summer in the city” and that’s true! But there’s *really* nothing like ice cream during the summer in the city - and especially when that day is a humid 89 degrees.

So! While I started my Saturday walking around Central Park with India and #friendoftheblog Miranda (all the way from LA!), I eventually made my way down to my sister Jenny’s apartment to cool off in front of her single wall-mounted A/C unit for twenty minutes before convincing her to join me in pursuit of the ultimate New York ice cream spot: Morgenstern’s.

** Overall Rating: 7/10 **

New Yorkers are notoriously loathe to wait in lines for food, but Morgenstern’s seems to be an exception. Located in the trendy Bowery neighborhood, this place is always busy, not to mention constantly showing up in my Instagram “Explore” tab. Does it live up to the hype? The answer: Sort of??

Atmosphere: 

* 2.5/5 *

This place is really cute. It’s minimalistic in a kitschy sort of way. It reminds me of an old fashioned ice cream parlor with its long counter and black-and-white tiled floors, but also there are some inexplicable schoolhouse-type seats? It doesn’t really commit to being anything, but that’s honestly the least of its problems.

The real issue is crowd control. Jenny and I showed up around 4:30 and there were about 20 people lined up outside. It was hot, but we figured we could stick it out for 15 minutes or so -- except that quickly turned into 25, and then 35, and ultimately FORTY-FIVE minutes. I’m not afraid to wait in a long line -- I buy tickets from the TKTS booth in Times Square and visit Walt Disney World too frequently to -- but it was completely blindsiding. Once we were inside ordering, we couldn’t even really figure out what had been taking so long. Thankfully, we were able to order our ice cream and a grab a seat inside without issue.

Anyway, here’s a really bad photo I took of the storefront from where we stood in line:

And here is what the storefront would look like if there wasn’t a line (but there is *always* a line):

Taste:

* 4.5/5 *

By the time we were inside, I really wanted to hate Morgenstern’s, but it turns out their ice cream is the real deal.

First of all, they have *a ton* of flavors - and not one of them is half-assed. Here’s a photo I snapped from the aforementioned hellscape that was the line for this place (though they have a big board behind the counter too):

They only let you sample three flavors, which is a shame, but luckily(?) you have a lot of time to muse over which to try while you wait. Initially, Jenny and I were both interested in the Creme Brulée, since they torch it on the cone. Ultimately, the flavor was a little too sweet and so Jenny ordered the Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp and I ordered the Cardamom Lemon Jam.

The ice cream is great quality. It’s on the expensive side, but the ingredients are top-notch and you do get a nice size scoop. On a hot day like we had, it was incredibly refreshing. We ate pretty much in silence, just soaking up the A/C and scarfing down our cones in probably five minutes flat.

We took this cone pic (peep us in the mirror tho):

And also this #RegrettableSelfie:

Simon: You don't understand, Jace is speaking his mind.