Coolhaus NY

Twitter really is a marvelous thing. I am now officially (and happily) converted. It connects me to a world full of inspiration and fabulous food that I otherwise may not have known about. Every day I am shown a link to something, whether a photograph, a recipe or a beautiful piece of writing, that leaves me feeling moved or excited...or hungry (or all of the above). Twitter is about sharing. And sharing is (say it with me) caring. Sharing the picture of what you made for dinner that night - that is caring.

Sharing your belief that the little cafe where you're brunching houses the best coffee in Melbourne - that's caring.

Sharing the location of a mobile ice-cream sandwich truck in NYC - that, that is caring.

I care.

And so I'm sharing this with you now. Not to taunt you with my NYC travels, honest, but to share with you this gem so that when (and I man when) you visit The States, you can go here. And you can delight in ice-cream sandwiches and also feel cared for.

See?

I care.

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One sunny day last August, my friends and I walked The High Line (an old elevated rail-line converted to a park/walk-way, which connects the West Side of Manhattan). It's a great way to see the city from above. We moseyed along, albeit at a fairly brisk pace, as the sun was very eager that day.

Isn't it pretty...

Towards the end of The High Line was The Lot, a large area made into a public space with activities and food carts. Awesome. How fun is that?!

It appears that this set-up was a 'Summer of 2011' only deal. Who knows what The Lot will be developed into. I think we can guarantee that, sadly, it won't involve rollerskating and ice-cream sandwiches. Thankfully on the days we visited, it did.

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Coolhaus is a mobile food cart, which visits multiple locations around NYC (LA and Austin, Texas, too). That in itself is cool, yet then throw in the fact that it is a food cart specialising in ice-cream sandwiches and well, that's just too much coolness to handle. On this day, they were at The Lot. Thank you for sharing that information via Twitter, Coolhaus. Very cool of you. (I've been overusing the word 'cool', haven't I. Sorry. So not cool).

Coolhaus bake their cookies, make their ice-cream...and then you get to eat them. Together.

Or, if you're not keen on a cookie, you can eat your ice-cream in a little cup.

To make your ice-cream sandwich, choose whichever combination takes your fancy. It's a nice little activity in creativity. Their flavours are daring too - yes they've got the old favourites (usually with a classy edge), but they also blow your mind with exciting ice-cream flavours like Brown Butter and Candied Bacon, or Root Beer Float. They even have a Potato Chip Cookie (yes, you read that correctly).

Oh, and don't forget about the edible paper, which is wrapped around your ice-cream sandwich, making enjoying this delight somewhat less messy (although I still managed to drip ice-cream everywhere). A fabulous, all-natural, calorie-free, 'green' way to serve ice-cream sandwiches. A+.

On this day, I chose Peanut Butter Ice-Cream and Chocolate Chip Cookie - compared to the flavours listed above my choice appears tame, but those who know me well know that I can't go past a nut butter. And what better way to sandwich my peanut butter ice-cream than with a chocolate chip cookie?

The cookie was gorgeous - fresh and moist (I'm sorry, I hate that word too, but it's true). It was the perfect, delicious vehicle to carry the rich, creamy, positively perfect peanut butter filling. Friends, this was one of the best things I have ever eaten.

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I have to say that when we visited Coolhaus NY a second time, the memory of our first experience must have been clouding our minds and raising our expectations for deliciousness...we were a little let down. The cookies tasted decidedly less fresh and the ice-cream was not as jazzy. I feel the need to tell you this, as I do not want you to feel disheartened if you have a similar experience. Trust me, they do good work - case in point, the ice-cream sandwich displayed here. It truly was one completely blissful moment. With an environmentally friendly wrapping. Oh snap.

Let's have another look at it....ahhh yes. There it is. Thank you, twitter. Thanks for caring and sharing.