Chikalicious Dessert Club - scooponcones.com

the scoop on cones

The Vanilla Bean soft serve at Chikalicious Dessert Club should change the meaning of the phrase “plain vanilla.” There’s simply nothing plain about it. It has little flecks of vanilla bean, and the flavor is distinctive, though not overwhelming. At the same time, the texture was pure soft serve -- creamy and delightful.

Even better, try that soft serve inside of a ... wait for it ... cookie éclair!

That’s right, the decadent folks at Chikalicious take one of their éclairs, cut it in half, put a generous layer of soft serve inside, then drench the top with chocolate sauce. It is absolutely fantastic.

The éclair is almost like a shortbread (hence the “cookie” in the name) and one tester picked up a slight hint of feta cheese.

As for the sorbets, the Granny Smith Sorbet paired with a white wine (Paso a Paso Verdejo 2007) was so refreshing on hot summer night. The sorbet has bits of the green apple skin, and is almost like a semi-frozen apple sauce. Weird, but we like it. They also serve Cantaloupe Sorbet.

Chikaliocious has two locations: the Dessert Club, which we sampled, and the Dessert Bar, which is just across the street (the north side) and is fancier. The Dessert Bar is a sit-down dessert restaurant with a prix fixe menu. The Dessert Club has the same items available a la carte.

Hours: 7 a.m.-midnight Monday-Friday; Noon-midnight Saturday; 7 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday.

Price: $3.50 soft serve in cone or small cup; $4.95 sorbet

Phone: (212) 475-0929

Website: www.dessertclubchikalicious.com