When I arrived at DF Mavens on a frosty February afternoon, I was greeted by the warmth of the welcoming staff at this new scoop shop. Janiri Jerez, who has been with the cafe since its opening in December 2014, offered me a warm cup of coffee with my choice of soy or almond creamer, since there are no dairy products in the store. “DF” stands for “dairy free” and Mavens is Yiddish for “expert.”
The shop’s supervisor, Rebecca Coltun, explained to me that DF was founded by the “godfather of ice cream,” Malcolm Stogo. Stogo, an ice cream scientist and founder of Ice Cream University, invented the chocolate dipped waffle cone and has served as a consultant for brands like Häagen Daz, Carvel, and TCBY. To accommodate those with lactose sensitivities, vegan dining preferences, and the desire to take a health conscious approach to ice cream, Stogo developed the DF Maven brand and began producing the frozen treats for both the café and retailers like Whole Foods. The brand works from New York’s only ice cream factory, located in Astoria, Queens, which also happens to be a Kosher facility.
Rebecca, who was raised macrobiotic, explained to me that despite the fact that everything in the DF Mavens shop is vegan and dairy free, the desserts are meant to be approachable and desirable to everyone. The DF Mavens ice cream flavors use coconut, soy, or almond milk instead of cream as their base. The soy-based New Orleans Salted Praline is the café’s bestseller, though Rebecca prefers the Del Lago Chocolate, and Janiri loves a mixture of Green Tea and Acai Berry.
When it was my turn to sample the selection, Janiri scooped dollops of the strawberry and blueberry cookie ice creams for me to try. I was pleasantly surprised by how much the non-traditional bases augmented the flavor of the ice cream, and how the crumbly texture of the cookie pieces was not lost within the swirl. A treat indeed.
While ice cream is the main attraction at DF Mavens, Rebecca and Janiri were quick to let me know it is not the only highlight. The shop also offers a full menu of coffee and espresso drinks - the beans are sourced from a family-run farm in Brazil. A juice bar next to the ice cream counter offers smoothies and shakes, and Brazilia - DF Mavens’ sister store - regularly delivers sandwiches, wraps, soups, salads, and breakfast items. The store manager Pamela even brews unique lemonades for guests to taste each day. The pitcher was full of a jalapeño-cucumber drink when I visited. The baked goods are also impressive - A member of the Sideways team, Olivia, who does not consider a meal without dairy to be a real meal at all, tasted a blueberry muffin and asked “Are you sure there’s no butter in this?”
The creative DF Mavens team has been working to bring even more of their dreams for their store to fruition. Soon there will be a salad bar and cold press juice station, and there is talk of house-made almond milk.
Rebecca hopes to see what is currently the only DF Mavens cafe in the country become a new neighborhood staple, a familiar place for locals to stop by for an easy, healthy grab-and-go snack, drink, or even meal. She says that amidst all the piercing and tattoo parlors of the street, DF Mavens is a neutral, non-intimidating place for visitors to relax.
