Yesterday, I decided to make a visit to the two popular, vegan ice cream shops in New York City. Some US cities are fortunate enough to have a few vegan flavors in a non-vegan ice cream shop. NYC, on the other hand, has TWO, all-vegan ice cream shops!!
My first stop was Stogo located in the eastern section of Greenwich Village. This is gourmet ice cream at its finest! It is organic and dairy-free. The clean, sleek-looking shop has quite the large variety of vegan ice cream flavors! I was thrilled and quite impressed!! They serve soy, hemp, and coconut based ice cream, in addition to sorbet. You can also find some vegan desserts here from Babycakes Bakery such as coconut macaroons or cookies.
The staff kindly allowed me to sample a few flavors. I tried Pomegranate Chocolate Chip and Bananas Foster. Mmmm!..Much to my delight, they were absolutely delicious!! Now on to my decision..Which one of them should I purchase or should I instead try another one of these decadent treats?!
Decisions.decisions.So many varieties of superb quality! I finally opted for the two flavor size cup at a little over $6. I selected a scoop of the Bananas Foster and also the Red Velvet Cupcake ice cream.
What a wonderful choice I made! These flavors were absolutely amazing!! The ice cream had a wonderfully creamy smoothness that just melted with flavorful goodness in your mouth. Non-Vegans would love Stogo’s ice cream too. You literally can not taste a difference in the consistency and rich flavor from its dairy counterparts. This ice cream truely is “Gourmet”. I absolutely loved it!! I highly recommend Stogo for visitors to New York.
On to my next stop.. Lula’s Sweet Apothacary..The other NYC vegan ice cream parlor. Lula’s is New York’s very first Non-Dairy, Vegan Frozen Dessert Shop. Entering Lula’s is like stepping back in time to a 1950’s soda fountain shop! Old time swing and rock music is playing in the background, huge jars of candy fills the shelves, and other classic memorabilia surrounds visitors. Really cool!! Like Stogo, they also serve quite a variety of flavors each day, around a dozen or so varieties. Soy, coconut, and cashew based goodness with which supermarket varieties can not even compete!
The menu also boasts such ice cream parlor classic favorites such as banana splits, sundaes, and even brownie sundaes. Even the toppings are bountiful! Customers may choose amongst hot fudge, marshmallow, chocolate sprinkles, gummy bears, nuts, and much more. Better yet, the ice cream is homemade. Another amazing offering, which is difficult to find elsewhere is the soft serve ice cream in a cone. Decadent vegan sweets such as cookies or breads are available for purchase here, as are Sweet & Sara snack bars. Shakes and ice cream floats are also on their vast menu.
I sampled a few flavors. It was an extremely difficult decision to determine what to purchase. 
I wanted to experience pure vegan decadent indulgence, so I opted for the brownie sundae. As a vegan of eight years, I had never eaten a vegan sundae. The day had finally arrived..yay!! My flavors of choice were the chocolate raspberry swirl and the caramel marshmallow graham cracker ice cream. For the toppings, I selected hot fudge and chocolate sprinkles. It was smoothered with vegan, soy whipped cream and a cherry on top. All I can say is “WOW”!! It exceeded my expectations!! It brought back memories of my childhood as a vegetarian when I would enjoy these treats! I could now again could experience the wonderful and tasty indulging of a sundae! The ice cream was smooth and flavorful, the hot fudge sauce was perfectly sweet, and the extra added options of whipped cream and sprinkles made it ever so special. Yummy!!
Lula’s Sweet Apothocary is a truely impressive place! Vegans will treasure this all-vegan, ice cream and dessert heaven on earth!! I highly recommend it! Vegans should not miss this stop on their visit to New York City!!
Stogo:
Address: 159 2nd Ave with our entrance on E. 10th St, at the corner of E. 10th Street and Stuyvesant Street, New York City, NY
Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 12 pm until 11 pm. On Fridays and Saturdays until midnight.
Lulas Sweet Apothacary:
Address: 516 E. 6th Street, New York, NY
Hours: Sun 3pm – 10pm, Mon closed, Tues – Weds 3pm – 10pm, Thurs – Sat 3pm – 11:30pm.