Food & Drink

Special delivery

Shops now bring ice cream to a park near you. But will it turn to soup by the time it arrives? We give you the scoop!

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(Photo: Alex Afervez)

THE SOFT SERVE FRUIT CO.

Upper East Side: 1371 Third Ave., 212-794-2200

Union Square: 25 E. 17th St., 212-675-0550

Destination: Union Square Park, southwest corner (14th Street and Union Square West)

The sweet stuff: At both of the recently opened Soft Serve locations, all of the ice-cold treats are made out of three simple ingredients: fruit, water and organic cane sugar — making their sweet desserts also guilt-free (or, well, less guilty than its calorie-ridden siblings — ice cream and frozen yogurt). “It’s a healthy alternative that some people prefer,” says co-owner Michael Sloan, 38. With savory sundaes such as the Crunchy Salty (banana soft serve, topped with cocoa, pretzels, warm peanut butter sauce and more) for $7, Soft Serve Fruit Co. tops the usual ice cream choices.

We ordered: Three sundaes and three plain cups of soft serve — banana, dark chocolate and raspberry flavors. When we called at midday, the estimated delivery time was 10 to 15 minutes. Total cost: $42

Ice cold clock-in: 20 minutes total. The delivery man arrived in just nine minutes, but forgot to bring the sundaes, which he delivered 11 minutes later.

Melt meter: The plain cups were in great condition, but on one of the sundaes, the chocolate coating and toppings had melted and stuck onto the cup’s plastic cover. Despite the mess, the now-extra-soft Soft Serve was still light and refreshing.

Delivery deets: Delivery zones vary per location; a $15 minimum is required. Info at softservefruitco.com

Freeze rating:

Creamy and refreshing, but docked for missing half the order the first round and the single sloppy sundae.

MELT BAKERY

132 Orchard St.: 917-589-1912, meltbakery.com

Destination: Tompkins Square Park, Avenue A and Ninth Street

The sweet stuff: Taking homemade ice cream and stuffing it between two freshly baked, gourmet cookies, Melt makes ice-cream cones a relic. Founder and baker Julian Plyter, 38, truly elevates the ice cream sandwich into an art form. “We’re still very intimately involved with the product,” says Plyter. “And because we do everything ourselves, we can engage with the actual food.” Delivery requires buying in bulk (minimum of 12 sandwiches), but grabbing a group of friends is totally worth it for the inspired flavors such as the Lovelet (red-velvet cookie and cream-cheese ice cream, $4 a piece in store, $68 for a dozen) and Cinnamax (snicker-doodle cookie with cinnamon ice cream, $68 for a dozen).

We ordered: A dozen assorted ice-cream sandwiches. Since all orders need to be placed online and well in advance, we e-mailed Melt at 10:30 a.m. for a 1:30 p.m. delivery. Total cost: $68.

IIce cold clock-in: Delivery was precisely on time.

Melt meter: Every ice-cream sandwich looked and felt like it had just been snatched from the freezer. Labeled and individually wrapped in wax paper, the sandwiches created zero mess. The ice cream was rich and creamy, the cookies were crunchy and sweet.

Delivery deets: Between Canal and 96th streets. Order as far in advance as possible, days even. We gave it three hours.

Freeze rating:

Delicious as it is unique, and contrary to the name, melt-free

POP BAR

5 Carmine St.: 212-255-4874, pop-bar.com

Destination: Washington Square Park, at MacDougal Street and Waverly Place

The sweet stuff: By placing artisan gelato on a popsicle stick, PopBar is the gourmet version of a Fudgsicle. Customers can have their gelato as is ($4.50), dipped in a chocolate coating, covered in sweet and savory toppings, or both (50 cents each) — or choose frozen yogurt and fruit sorbets on a stick. “It’s portable and very easy to customize, as opposed to regular gelato,” says co-owner Reuben Ben Jehuda, 35.

We ordered: Since the pop bars are made to order, we had to e-mail a day in advance for three gelato pops, three fruit pops and two yogurt pops.

Ice cold clock-in: After ordering 24-hours in advance, it was on time.

Melt meter: While the sorbet bars were slightly melted, the un-dipped gelato bars were mostly frozen. The dipped gelato bars remained perfect, with a nicely frozen center, and proved to be a were a hit, with a perfectly gooey chocolate coating and surprisingly frozen middle.

Delivery deets: Anywhere in Manhattan

Freeze rating:

Fun combinations make for great variety, but sticky fingers

MILK & COOKIES

19 Commerce Street.: 212-243-1640, milkandcookiesbakery.com

Destination: Hudson River Park at Christopher Street

The sweet stuff: This shop has been taking online orders for seven years, but owner Tina Casaceli says it’s picked up in the last few years as New Yorkers love the bakery’s signature ice-cream sandwiches in flavors such as the Grasshopper (fresh mint ice cream smushed between chocolate-mint cookies) for $5.50 each. Delivery is perfect, thanks to the freeze factor. “It takes 15 minutes before they get to perfect eating consistency because they come right from our freezer,” says Casaceli.

We ordered: Five ice-cream sandwiches (for $27.50, meeting the $25 minimum)

Ice cold clock-in: 4 hours, 27 minutes.

Melt meter: The goods were in pretty good form, thanks to special ice packs and individual paper wraps. Upon opening though, the sandwiches began to melt big time.

Delivery deets: Free within the West Village; further is doable but can include a fee of up to $40. At 11 a.m., we tried to place an order, and an employee said the earliest delivery possible would be 3 p.m. as the delivery guy was not in. At 12:30 p.m., an employee phoned to let us know they needed to push back delivery to 3:15. Even so, the delivery did not arrive until 3:27.

Freeze rating:

Smooth and tasty, but unreliable delivery service

HOLEY CREAM

796 Ninth Ave.: 212-247-8400, holeycream.com

Destination: Columbus Circle at Central Park

The sweet stuff: When a bakery specializes in both doughnuts and ice cream, it makes sense that they would combine the two in a doughnut ice-cream sandwich ($6.95), which is as glorious as it is gluttonous. Customers can mix and match their ice cream, doughnut, frosting and topping for a sugar-filled experience their stomachs won’t soon forget.

We ordered: Three doughnut ice-cream sandwiches and three custom sundaes ($49)

IIce cold clock-in: 45 minutes

Melt meter: The delivery man got lost and ended up 20 blocks north of the given address. When he finally arrived, the ice cream was slightly soupy, and the doughnut ice-cream sandwich sagged in a growing puddle. The sandwich was rich and sweet, but the melted ice cream made the pastry soggy. Plus, the ice cream was so melted that it dripped constantly making it more of a chore than a treat to eat.

Delivery deets: Between West 34th and West 72nd streets; the delivery man said it would take roughly 20 minutes for the order to arrive (though the Web site says 35 to 50 minutes).

Freeze rating:

Soggy mess not worth the trouble

SKYICE SWEET & SAVORY

63 Fifth Ave., Brooklyn: 718-230-0910, skyicenyc.com

Destination: The top of Prospect Park at Grand Army Plaza— Plaza Street West and Flatbush Avenue

The sweet stuff: Serving up American classics fused with Thai flair, SkyIce offers a totally atypical dessert experience. With products such as sushi-themed ice cream, the spot spins ice cream on its head. “We use organic ingredients, and we’re just looking to grab a piece of the market that hasn’t seen these types of flavors before,” says co-owner Jonathan Bayer.

We ordered: An array of interesting ice-cream desserts including an ice-cream sushi platter (ice cream made to look like sushi, with chocolate dipping sauce that looks like soy sauce, $6.50), tropical coconut ($9.50) and warm banana with ice cream ($4.95)

Ice cold clock-in: 27 minutes

Melt meter: Upon opening the brown bag, we found a sticky mess of unknown sweet syrups and melted ice cream dripping over cardboard containers. The ice cream itself was almost entirely a soupy mess, save for the bizarre ‘‘nonfried, fried’’ ice cream ($4.95), of which one bite was plenty.

Delivery deets: Delivers from Fulton Street to Seventh Street and Hoyt Street to Washington Avenue (includes Prospect Park). Despite appearing to be within the grid of the delivery zone, an employee on the phone said that the top of Prospect Park — Plaza Street West and Flatbush Avenue — was too far for the biker. So we agreed to meet three blocks away from our location. A delivery man rolled right up to us and handed over the goods in brown paper bags. We then walked back to the park, as the busy Brooklyn street corner was not conducive to sitting and eating.

Freeze rating:

More than half-melted and therefore, entirely unappetizing.