Screme Gelato Bar
Open Seasonally, 11am-12am Everyday
My husband and I were constant visitors to Screme when they had a location near Lincoln Center. We were terribly disappointed when they had to close, but I was absolutely thrilled when I discovered them on 94th Street. We visited Screme in the middle of Passover, when the kosher ice scream shop had changed its flavors in honor of the holiday. There were two charoset flavors, maple matzo, and a special butter cookie ice cream that was made with potato flour instead of wheat. I stood there, with the Manhattan Sideways team, sampling flavor after flavor – including chocolate orange, coconut, figs and tequila, and almond cream – trying to decide which one to order in a cup. A very difficult decision, as each was outstanding.
Zohan Sasson, the personable and enthusiastic owner, began making gelato in Israel, and then moved to New York in 2010. Everything at this tiny ice cream bar – that is only open in the warmer months – is homemade, with recipes carefully crafted by Screme. “It’s all natural ingredients, something you don’t find in America,” Zohan stated. There are no eggs in his recipes and it is made with whole milk rather than heavy cream. The only downside to Screme’s gelato is that because it is made with only fresh ingredients, the ice cream expires quickly, but to Zohan this enables him to rotate the flavor selection frequently. “We usually have even more amazing flavors,” Zohan said proudly, but because of the holiday, he had a few less. I, however, can attest to the variety of choices, as my family always loved the cereal choices, the mojito, anything chocolate and the fresh fruit sorbets, that included strawberry, cantaloupe, blueberries and pineapple.
“Our motto is quality,” Zohan insisted, and then declared, “We’re the Rolls Royce of gelato.”