Consumer Product Review: Donut Ice Cream Sandwich

On Saturday, August 1, I wrote (in this post about Peter Pan’s newest culinary offering, the donut ice cream sandwich):

Methinks I will have to give this, the newest gustatory item to grace the Garden Spot, a whirl. Stay tuned— a product review will be forthcoming!

Sugar coma notwithstanding.

Today, dear readers, was that day.

This morning was pretty much like the (numerous) others which have preceded it: I awakened to find myself hungry. Very hungry. Not knowing what to eat I knocked back a couple cups of coffee. This was an unwise decision— but not an uncommon one for yours truly; although I like food— a lot— selecting what to eat on any given occasion is a source of considerable internal debate. In fact, I’d go so far to say peace treaties, cease fires, and U.N. interventions have come to pass in less time than it takes for me to select what I want for breakfast. Today was no exception.

After getting (more than) my fill of caffeine, I applied a little logic to my quandary:

1. I am hungry.
2. I need to eat breakfast.
3. It is hot outside.
4. Given points 1-3 I came to the conclusion a donut ice cream sandwich was just the ticket.

I headed to the Peter Pan Bakery without delay.

Upon entering I asked the incredibly nice waitress behind the counter if they had donut ice cream sandwiches for sale. She answered to the affirmative. I then asked her what “flavors” of this product they had on hand. This required summoning the manager, a very kindly lady, from whom I learned the protocol of donut ice cream sandwich construction:

1. Donut ice cream sandwiches are to be made with unglazed donuts only.
2. Although she recommended their red velvet cake donut paired with strawberry or vanilla ice cream, alas they were out of unglazed red velvet cake donuts*. Therefore…
3. she recommended their old-fashioned cake donut with cookies and cream ice cream.
4. I said “bring it on”.

My enthusiasm was met with a great deal of curiosity by the staff.

How did you learn about our donut ice cream sandwiches?

The waitress asked. To wit I replied:

I saw the sign in the window stating you are now selling ice cream. When my husband and I walked by last weekend I pointed this out to him. In turn, he noticed you were selling donut ice cream sandwiches— I didn’t catch this.

It’s pretty small writing.

She said.

My husband has an eye (or would that be stomach?) for this kind of thing.

I replied. After a quick consultation with the manager an unglazed donut was summoned and my waitress was given the scoop. She doled out a heaping helping of cookies and cream. She awaited further instructions.

There’s a special way to put it together.

She told me. When her co-worker, who has experience in this matter, came over she noticed my waitress had used the large scoop instead of the small one:

You’re supposed to use the small one.

She said, to wit her compatriot replied:

She (pointing to the manager) told me to use the large one.

Once this minor breach of donut ice cream sandwich craftsmanship was addressed, then came the big question:

How do I put it together?

Mash it.

Her confectionery comrade in arms replied.

The final product elicited a great deal of interest from fellow Peter Pan patrons. An older gentleman asked me if he could look at it. I gladly obliged him. The manager asked me if I wanted powdered sugar on top. I politely refused: there was already enough sugar in this sandwich to make me bounce off the walls for several hours. (And it did.)

But I have made you, dear readers, wait long enough. You want to see what all the fuss was about. Here it is.

After I took the above photograph a passerby asked:

Good enough to take a picture, eh?

I quickly called this chap on his impertinence:

This is no mere ice cream sandwich. It is a DONUT ice cream sandwich. They’re selling them at Peter Pan Bakery. They usually put powdered sugar on top but I declined. I thought that would be decadent.

He laughed.

New York Shitty analysis:

1. At $3.50 a pop this may not be the most recession-friendly product to hit the Greenpoint dining scene.
2. However, you get a lot for your money— and the people at Peter Pan are great. They really care about their customers.
3. Whatever you do, eat this product on the premises: the summer heat (as I learned) will quickly render it into the following unsightly (and very sticky) mess.

Closing thoughts/caveats: I am not big on sweets— but I enjoyed it. Moving forward methinks I would probably have preferred the red velvet cake/strawberry ice cream pairing better. But that will have to wait for another day. Check it out!

Donut Ice Cream Sandwiches
Price: $3.50
Flavors/Combinations:

• Old fashioned donut with cookies and cream ice cream
• Chocolate donut with vanilla ice cream (highly recommended by the manager who said “it’s like eating an Oreo”)
• Red velvet donut* with strawberry or vanilla ice cream

Peter Pan Bakery
727 Manhattan Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11222

Miss Heather

UPDATE, August 5, 2009 4:55 p.m.: It would appear the good news about donut ice cream sandwiches has found its way onto Williamsboard— with (overall) very enthusiastic feedback! Just take what “SHIIIITBALLS” has to say, for example:

i’m going to fuck this ice cream sandwich

Move over Michelin, why should we give a shit about your five stars when we can have a five knuckle shuffle instead? With this sandwich.

*A new product!