Van Leeuwen BBQ NYC cornbread ice cream grilled by The Post
We have a scoop for you.
Brooklyn’s beloved Van Leeuwen has launched a new quirky ice cream flavor that combines summer favorites cornbread and barbecue sauce into an impressive $10.50 pint that’s not for the faint of heart.
Aptly named BBQ Gold Cornbread Crumble, it’s a homey concoction of sweet harvested corn ice cream with thick chunks of cornbread and a heavy dollop of barbecue sauce to top it off.
Platters of the extreme, limited combination – which follows other Van Leeuwen wildcards like Kraft Mac ‘n’ Cheese and Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Ice Cream – were offered for free at select locations across the Big Apple on Tuesday. It’s also available exclusively from Uber Eats or at any brick-and-mortar location in VL.
Whether it’s worth trying or buying, well buckle up, mate, because The Post has opinions as strong as the ice cream.
Alex’s Opinion: BBQ misses the mark
To quote Jeff Goldblum’s character from Jurassic Park: “Your scientists were so concerned with whether they could, they didn’t consider whether they should.”
This ice cream is no problem. It’s an attempt at classic candy And All-in-one gimmick is hearty, but fetches a few bulls less than a rodeo.
No matter how you slice it (or, in this case, toss it), barbecue sauce mixes poorly as a dessert component. At the first taste, my whole body honestly cringed like Kramer from Seinfeld.
The condiment has far too much spiciness and its flavor is so overpowering that you forget it was intended as an accompaniment to ice cream.
Complex neurons in the human brain may initially interpret barbecue sauce as some sort of exotic chocolate squirt, but that quickly wears off when you’re trying to process all other flavors.
This weaponized exaggeration is particularly unfortunate given that the cornbread chunks make do with a savory, textured, and cookie-like flavor even in ice cream — sans BBQ sauce.
Even the conservative “vanilla or chocolate” crowd might enjoy it Only that sprinkled on their treats.
Moral of the story: This pint isn’t big enough for both of them, and barbecue sauce is the outlaw in the showdown.
Ben’s Opinion: The perfect gift for your ex
Unlike the ice cream, this review is short and sweet.
A challenge for fast food beyond the usual treats is bringing improbable flavor combinations to life – in junk food form. Most are a combination of artificial ingredients that taste like a mix of food coloring additives.
Van Leeuwen does an admirable job trying to impossibly condense the essence and even texture of BBQ sauce and cornbread, like a frozen version of the three-course meal gum from Willy Wonka.
But maybe that’s not a plus in this discordant sweet and savory mashup.
It tasted hot and sour, like someone had literally poured BBQ sauce onto cornbread and then mashed both into a cup of vanilla ice cream.
In summary, BBQ sauce, cornbread, and ice cream are great — even on their own.
Their combination is similar to mixing ammonia and bleach to create a volatile mustard gas for your taste buds.
That’s coming from a guy who drank beer along with a hot dog.
