The unofficial official start to summer has begun, and that means that it's now perfectly acceptable to consume ice cream in any and all places worldwide. However, the year's 2018, and we now live in a world where no two pints of ice cream are made equally. You might still be screaming for whatever ice cream that you're capable of getting your hands on at the moment, but here's why you should be screaming for Van Leeuwen instead.
What exactly is Van Leeuwen?
Van Leeuwen is a Brooklyn-based ice cream company that first got its start in 2008. In terms of actual flavors, Van Leeuwen has four current specials, 9 vegan flavors, and 13 classic flavors. All of the flavors are bold but not obnoxiously bold, and the actual texture of all of the pints are so creamy that the ice cream itself slides onto your spoon without any technical difficulties.
If you're a Van Leeuwen newbie, there's no harm in trying out their mint chip and cookies and cream flavors. The mintiness is on the cooler side but is minty enough that it'll give you the chills. On the other hand, the cookies and cream flavor consists of a bolder cookies flavor with a more subtle creamy texture.
However, if you're vegan, you should take a mental note that each and every pint of Van Leeuwen's vegan ice cream is made from cashews, coconuts, and cocoa butter.
Where's Van Leeuwen available?
While Van Leeuwen has their products sold in over 350 stores in 15 different states, they do have three locations in LA, three locations in Brooklyn, and four locations in Manhattan. You, the consumer is also able to order Van Leeuwen's ice cream off of their Goldbely page. While ordering pints online might be more expensive online than if you were to purchase them in store, all of Van Leeuwen's pints are well worth the price.
What makes Van Leeuwen different from the other brands?
One thing that helps Van Leeuwen stand out from all of the other ice cream brands would be that the brand got its start out of an actual, functioning ice cream truck. I've noted this since those other brands have received their start and launched out either from a factory or a shop of some sort. Another thing about Van Leeuwen that is to be noted is that their fruits, nuts, chocolates, and pistachios are all carefully sourced and not generically purchased from the local supermarket.
What else is there to know about Van Leeuwen?
As a brand, Van Leeuwen has a sister restaurant that goes by the name of Selamat Pagi. Located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Selamat Pagi is an Indonesian (traditional and inspired) based restaurant that serves up fresh and seasonal dishes every single day of the week. A fun fact about the name 'Selamat Pagi' is that it directly means 'good morning' in Indonesian.
Whoever said that good food and even better ice cream don't pair well with one another; especially when they're both curated from the pleasant Van Leeuwen masterminds? There's honestly nothing better than food and creamy ice cream on a hot summer's day, and Van Leeuwen is certainly capable of providing you with such.