The 10 best ice creams, gelatos, paletas, frozen custards and other cool and delicious treats in NYC

Ice cream was popular in colonial times among the wealthy, and George Washington was a big fan.

Martha Washington hosted an A-list ice cream party every Friday evening at Mount Vernon, with lemonade served. Of course, the Washingtons probably churned their ice cream by a method that harkened back to the Italians, whereby the temperature of crushed ice was lowered by the addition of rock salt, which froze the flavored cream poured therein.

But modern mass-manufacture of ice cream depended on the ability to keep it frozen in large quantities until it was eaten. That knack was provided by the invention of commercial refrigeration, which appeared in the 1850s, paving the way for the first retail ice cream shop in New York City: J.M. Horton Ice Cream, at 23rd Street and Fourth Avenue (now Madison Avenue) in 1863.

By the late 20th century, ice cream exploded, with the most sought-after flavor being a layering of strawberry, chocolate and vanilla sometimes known as Neapolitan, according to Joy Santlofer in "Food City."

Nowadays, with its wide availability in parlors and grocery stores, as well as the ever-present trucks, we take ice cream and its many frozen offshoots for granted. And the number of cold treats – some imported fairly recently from other parts of the world – has blossomed, so that a partial list includes Italian water ices, milk ices, frozen custard, soft serve, gelato, Turkish mastic dondurma, Mexican paletas, fro-yo, Indian kulfi, Caribbean and Far Eastern varieties, and plain old ice cream in too many flavors — some off the wall — to count.

What could be more New York (or more weird) than the pastrami-on-rye ice cream seen at Salt & Straw?

We’ve come a long way from George and Martha’s parties, but we still enjoy ice cream, as well as any number of other frozen semi-solids. Here are 10 of our favorites being served in New York City. Please mention your own in the comments.

Mixue

Mixue was founded as a shaved-ice business in China's Henan Province, and the fast food chain now boasts 53,000 branches in 13 countries, though most of them are in China. The United States has four branches, including one in Brooklyn. Besides smoothies, sundaes and Hong Kong-style milk teas, the main attraction is a soft-serve “king cone” in vanilla or chocolate, priced almost unbelievably at $1.19.

The product is especially light and airy, perhaps accounting for the bargain price.

519 Fulton St., Downtown Brooklyn

Lemon Ice King of Corona

The Lemon Ice King — perhaps the city's most famous purveyor of frozen treats — was founded in 1944, though its iconic location in Corona, just north of the Long Island Expressway, wasn’t established until 1964. The walk-up window stays open late into summer nights, dispensing Italian water ices — basically just ice, sugar, and finely ground flavoring — in 25 or so varieties.

Aficionados agree that the best are made with natural flavorings, including mint, peanut butter, watermelon, coffee, and, of course, lemon.

52-02 108th St., Corona

Ralph’s Famous

Ralph’s is one of Staten Island’s most famous culinary landmarks, though it has cloned itself all over town. The original branch is still the one to visit, selling water ices, milk ices, and ice cream made on the premises near the island’s bustling tugboat harbor. Milk ices are highly recommended.

But what’s a milk ice? Midway between ice cream and water ice, it’s similar to sherbet, allowing the flavors to shine better than in creamier formats.

501 Port Richmond Ave., Port Richmond

Gelateria Gentile

Parts of town are paved with gelaterias — many of them chains that originated in Italy. It suggests that gelato is currently the city’s most popular frozen treat. They each have their thing: Amorino carves its gelato into flowers; Venti doubles as a chocolatier; Anita offers novelty flavors like white chocolate pretzel — the list goes on and on.

But the one I like best is Gelateria Gentile, a chain that originated in Apulia, the toe of the Italian boot. It makes gelato of surpassing subtlety in a restrained range of flavors. Some, like antiqua crema, don’t seem like flavors at all, which is not a bad thing if you love subtlety.

Also, don’t miss the granitas — liquid ices in flavors like cantaloupe, lemon, and almond.

498 Amsterdam Ave., Upper West Side

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

When Chinatown Ice Cream Factory opened in Chinatown in 1978, it shocked the city. It offered flavors New York hadn’t seen before, like lychee, red bean, green tea, banana, almond cookie and black sesame. You’d take a tentative lick, and then your eyes would light up. Decades later, things are the same.

65 Bayard St., Chinatown

Van Leeuwen

Van Leeuwen is a homegrown ice cream chain that started in 2008 as a truck on Bleecker Street in the West Village. Its stated purpose was to make one happy via ice cream, and in general, the brand does just that, with flavors running to cookies and cream, Earl Grey tea, and Sicilian pistachio.

Perhaps more notable is their roster of vegan flavors made out of coconut milk, cashews, and oats, including banana bread pudding with chocolate swirls, and mango sticky rice.

620 Manhattan Ave., Greenpoint

Paleteria Los Michoacanos

Paletas are Mexican ice pops. Like popsicles, they come on a stick and are often wildly colorful, but instead of being artificially flavored, fresh fruit and dairy products make them delicious and even nutritious.

Some, like cucumber with chile, are salty, some, like mango and strawberry, are sweet, and there are further dry flavorings you can shake on. Other varieties include blackberry and cheese, mamey, rice pudding, apple with chiles, peach, and many others.

101-06 43rd Ave., Corona

Rita’s Italian Ices & Frozen Custard

Frozen custard predated soft serve — a thicker, richer product that contains eggs as well as cream. Though still popular in the Midwest, it was actually invented in Coney Island in 1919 and caused a sensation. Get it now at Rita’s — there’s a branch in Coney Island, which is open only in the summer — or go to the one in Midwood, which is open all year. Nothing tastes better than a vanilla or chocolate frozen custard cone (or a twist!) eaten with the salty sea breezes of summer whipping past.

1317 East 17th St., Midwood

Eddie’s Sweet Shop

Wouldn’t you like to eat your ice cream in an old-fashioned ice cream parlor, one with a soda fountain, wooden booths, and other antique furnishings? Though the décor dates to the 1940s, Eddie’s Sweet Shop was founded in 1968 and makes its own ice cream right on the premises, with typically 18 flavors. But the things to get are the sundaes. My favorite features vanilla ice cream and the store’s rich, thick hot fudge.

105-29 Metropolitan Ave., Forest Hills

Birdie’s

Frozen yogurt (dubbed “fro yo”) swept into town two decades ago, offering a tarter and generally grainier treat than ice cream, presenting itself as a healthier alternative. Los Angeles’ Pinkberry was a pioneer, but our own chain, 16 Handles, was quick to follow, offering frozen yogurt with a catalog of candy toppings. Now the fad is being revived at Birdie’s, in a space that resembles a Victorian sitting room.

The product is smooth and sweet, once again furnished with a choice of toppings, and a list of flavors that includes chocolate, banana, and “tart.”

152 Seventh Ave. South, West Village