As I sat on the floor with my kids last weekend of the Ample Hills‘ play area on Vanderbilt Ave., I realized how cool the place really is. Before I became a fan, I wondered what all the swarms of people always in and out, were all about. Ice cream? Really? With the almost sickening resurgence of “old-timey,” quintessentially perfect, artisanal-foodie, and environmentally-conscious “everything” in our faces all the time in Brooklyn (I still shudder at the $9 ice cream cone I bought for my daughter in Williamsburg a few weeks ago at what seemed like a fake ice cream parlor created for Disney World), sometimes it takes a just naturally “special” place to make you feel like all of that healthy, well-thought-out stuff can be really be fun, too. Like, it’s special without being a production-designed, demographic show-pony-type place. You know what I mean. It’s so nice to know that an ice cream shop our kids love can also be great for us as well. It’s neither one nor the other- it should suit both ages. What was special about Ample Hills last Sunday? Well, for one, I adore the worn, yet carefully curated book collection in their little library area (all children’s books about ice cream). I like the high ceilings, and the staff that smile. They listen, smile, and serve. I probably don’t need to go into too much detail about that, because we all know how rare that kind of connected service can be these days in the precious hipster hangouts I spoke of above. I like the mural of the cow having ice cream in Prospect Park, and the tiny hand-drawn illustrations on the labels of each ice cream flavor. The collages of ice cream related 50’s and 60’s advertisements on the tables, and the coolers full of yummy refreshments. I like the hard plastic, colorful ice cream toys they have, and the cute sitting areas outside. The postcards and sweet tattoos for $1. The whole amalgamation makes it special. You go to have ice cream as a treat, and this kind of place brings back that idea. I contacted them that day, and spoke with one of the founders- Jackie Cuscuna. Her answers to my questions will make you love Ample Hills more, if you don’t already. Here is our interview:
What is the general history of how Ample Hills started?
My husband Brian and I started with a push cart in Prospect Park. When we received such wonderful feedback from people, we decided to take the next step of opening a brick and mortar shop. We wanted to create a community gathering spot where people could come with their kids and share sundaes and scoops and have a place for kids to play and adults to have a moment together. As a family living in Brooklyn, we yearned for this space ourselves. Then we happened upon 623 Vanderbilt when having dinner at our friends’ house a few doors down. We took a chance and called the landlord even though the sign had said no restaurants. Technically, we were not that. The landlord had been offered to lease the space from Chase Bank for only half the space and double the rent we could afford at the time. To his credit; he declined the bank and chose us as he wanted his community to have an ice cream shop as opposed to an ATM. We love Dan the landlord!
Are the ingredients healthier than most? Where do they come from?
We buy hormone free all natural milk from Battenkill Valley, and free range eggs from a farm in PA. We use organic cane sugar, organic, dye-free colored, and real chocolate sprinkles. Unless we’re creating a brazenly unnatural flavor like Breakfast Trash (made with all sugary processed cereal), most all of our ingredients are all-natural.
Tell us about the play area in the back of the store on Vanderbilt…Who painted the mural, who chose the ice cream books (and which books are they)?
The play area was an important part of our shop design. While we could have elected to have more seating, we wanted to make sure we had an area for kids to play. As parents, we know how important it is to have your children engage in activity, and be excited to go to a shop that has toys and activities to play with. We also wanted to have a library of sorts that honored and celebrated ice cream. We carefully curated those books, and made sure that they are all ice cream-centric books. While you may find a non-ice cream book in the midst, it’s a book someone else left behind. One of my favorites is a Mo Willems book “Should I Share My Ice Cream?” Lauren (our art director) drew the new mural you see at Vanderbilt. She started as a scooper, and drew an amazing “Used Spoon” sign. Now, she draws and creates art for all of our shops.
Adults love Ample Hills as much as kids do- why? It has a cool factor, what is it? What are the awesome collaged tables all about?
Maybe adults love the fact that we don’t care about being cool so much, so that’s cool. We’re also not trying to create complicated, intellectual ice cream. We are aiming to put folks in touch with their inner child in some way. And sometimes, our inner child craves marshmallow ice cream with Rice Krispie pieces, or pretzel-infused ice cream with toasted crackers and M& M’s. We wanted to offer something rich and visual with our tables, and we again wanted to pay homage to the history and nostalgia of ice cream. We collected lots of vintage ice cream ads and photos and then had Lauren collage them all together.
What are your most popular flavors, and with whom?
The Salted Crack and Ooey Gooey Butter Cake are our most popular flavors. The crack is popular with adults both on the young and older side. Ooey Gooey is an all-encompassing crowd pleaser. Oh, and then there’s cotton candy which is the under 12 sets most popular. I think Cotton Candy’s popularity is mainly due to its blue hue which is an all natural color as well as flavor.
If Ample Hills was a celebrity which one would it be?
Hmmmmm, I’m going to say… Whoopie Goldberg. Why? She’s outspoken and eclectic; she’s comedic and heartfelt. She’s a native New Yorker like me, and her name is “Whoopie,” which, of course, reminds me of Whoopie Pies, which would be an amazing mix in to an ice cream flavor don’t you think?
What is the party deal like at Ample Hills? Like, if a person wanted to rent it out for a party, could they?
We host parties at both our Gowanus location and our Vanderbilt location. At Vanderbilt we rent out the entire shop in the mornings from 10am-12pm before we open for the day. Our ice cream parties ($575) are for up to 20 participating kids ($10 per additional child up to 30 maximum), take place for two hours, and include a bike demonstration wherein a single flavor/batch of ice cream is made (both kids and adults have the opportunity to ride the bike and churn their custom flavor). We also take photo’s of each person on the bike that can be incorporated into one of several craft projects we offer. The parties culminate with their ice cream creation atop a home made fresh waffle and sundae bar. Our Vanderbilt Avenue parties have a maximum of 25 kids. We have hosted birthday party’s from ages 1-99 as well as bridal shower’s bachelorette parties and even a bris.
Lastly, Tell me about these flavors:
Mexican hot chocolate: This is a deep, dark chocolate that taps into our cravings for chocolate and then finishes with kick of heat that sometimes surprises people. The Dude: is a reference to the character played by Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski who drinks White Russians. As you can imagine, The Dude is our ice cream version of a White Russian.
Bourbon Street: is a Vanilla ice cream made with Maker’s Mark Bourbon and our house made pecan praline brittle; a boozy southern treat. Sweet As Honey: started as a flavor we called “Hundred Acre Wood,” the land inhabited by Winnie The Pooh. Originally, it had our homemade honey comb candy along with organic gummy bears to represent Pooh and Honey. Then we realized frozen Gummy bears are not so pleasant to eat and can actually extract a tooth, so we had to take out the bears and rename it. We still use our gummy bears, but as a much more chewable, non-frozen topping. Salted Crack Caramel: was created when our friend Deb used to make and gift us crack cookies made with saltines, butter, sugar and chocolate. We fell in love, and knew we had to put these in ice cream. The salted caramel was a perfect base, as it is salty and bitter and plays perfectly against the chocolaty crunchiness of the cookies. However, the salted crack can be a very polarizing flavor. People either hate it or love it, which is why we make sure people try it before ordering a whole scoop.
Rebecca Conroy is an artist, stylist, and Editor of A Child Grows in Brooklyn. She is from New York City, and has an MFA from Columbia University in screenwriting. Rebecca often finds herself on film and photography sets making things run or look better, and is the mom of two outrageously wonderful kids.
