2 Things that Make a Sweaty Day Tolerable

Cold lemonade from Brooklyn Soda Works at the Brooklyn Flea and Kristin's homemade mint chocolate-chip ice cream. Both worth the venture out into this suddenly summery, two-shower, sunburned-neck kind of Saturday.

Forgotten Photos: Minneapolis

I recently stumbled across a few photos that I took on a trip to Minneapolis last summer with my friends Sonal and Danny. I don't know why I didn't post them at the time, and I also don't know why I didn't take more pictures in that very-cool city. I do think, though, that it's very characteristic that I only seemed to snap shots of two things: a museum and an ice cream shop.

Food and art. Do we really need anything more?

This is what happens when a food truck grows up.

Big cartoon hearts fill my eyes every time I pass the Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream shop that has opened up near me on Bergen Street. I dig a story of a small idea--delicious artisan ice cream served from a truck--that gets a little bigger and a little more popular, resulting in the delicious artisan ice cream now being served in a couple bricks-and-mortar stores and in pints at a few local grocers.

The way Van Leeuwen has grown still feels true to its beginnings and what it stands for--just now, we don't have to race down a truck to grab some tastiness. Unless we want to.

Kristin's Magic Kitchen

There are lots of things I like about being friends with my girl (and neighbor) Kristin. And this summer, one of the things I PARTICULARLY like is the fact that, because she is at the helm of a delicious monthlong ice-cream blog over at RealSimple.com, when you are her friend (and neighbor), you get to taste all the magic she's brewing up in her amazing kitchen. Here's just a small peek.

P.S. Go over and visit her blog ASAP--tell her I sent you!