The Upscale Ice Cream Sandwich
The ice cream sandwich is, by design, a blissfully simple creation with a no-fail recipe: Take two cookies, stick some ice cream in the middle, and eat before it melts all over you. In the hands of local chefs, however, the summertime staple has morphed into a haute creation thanks to gourmet ice creams, house-made cookies, and bonus fixings like strawberry-sherry jam.
At Sportello in Fort Point, pastry chef Mike Geldart puts an Italian twist on the classic by filling amaretti cookies with a rum-and-Marsala-wine-spiked zabaglione gelato. “I always have ice cream sandwiches in my freezer at home,” Geldart says. “You get older, and you kind of miss having those treats.”
Chef Paul Turano regularly features an ice cream sandwich special — with everything from banana bread to macaroons as the cookie base — at his Arlington restaurant, Tryst. “It gets the non-dessert person to try something,” he says. “It’s exciting to people when they see something like that versus the traditional gelato with the 17 different accompaniments.
(Photos by Sam Kaplan. Food styling by Kelly Upson.)
Uni, $3:
Matcha cookies with Meyer lemon ice cream
unisashimibar.com
(Photos by Sam Kaplan. Food styling by Kelly Upson.)
Post 390, $5:
Chocolate whoopie pie with Cold Fusion malted gelato
post390restaurant.com
(Photos by Sam Kaplan. Food styling by Kelly Upson.)
Bergamot, $9:
Double-chocolate cookies with bacon ice cream and peanut butter mousse
bergamotrestaurant.com
(Photos by Sam Kaplan. Food styling by Kelly Upson.)
Frozen Hoagies Food Truck, $5:
Chocolate-fudge-brownie cookies with Chilly Cow “Mint Explosion” ice cream
frozenhoagies.com
(Photos by Sam Kaplan. Food styling by Kelly Upson.)
Tryst, $8:
Almond macaroon cookies with strawberry-sherry jam and orange ice cream
trystrestaurant.com
(Photos by Sam Kaplan. Food styling by Kelly Upson.)
Met Back Bay, Two for $9:
“Kitchen Rubble” cookies with ginger ice cream and chocolate shavings
metbackbay.com
(Photos by Sam Kaplan. Food styling by Kelly Upson.)
Forum, Three for $10:
Chocolate-chip-and-salted-caramel cookies with olive oil ice cream and toffee coating
forumboston.com
(Photos by Sam Kaplan. Food styling by Kelly Upson.)
B Street, $8:
Triple-chocolate cookies with Christina’s strawberry ice cream and chocolate chips
bstreetnewton.com
(Photos by Sam Kaplan. Food styling by Kelly Upson.)
Sportello, $6:
Amaretti cookies with zabaglione gelato
sportelloboston.com