Thick Ice Cream opens shop In East Williamsburg with dense and delicious scoops   

By Scott Lynch

It’s not the most obvious spot to open an ice cream parlor, here at the base of the Williamsburg Houses on Graham Avenue, across from the backside of a fenced-in community center, the only retail shop on the entire block. But for Adriane Stewart, a long-time area resident who opened Thick Ice Cream here in the middle of February, that’s entirely the point.

“Williamsburg on the north side has tons of ice cream, and lots of fun places,” Stewart tells Brooklyn Magazine. “But the east side tends to be more diverse, with more Latino and Black residents, and there’s no ice cream in this area. So I thought you know what, let’s bring some joy to this place.”

Stewart makes all the ice cream on site at Thick in the back, and sells her rotating selection of flavors from a freezer up front as pre-scooped cups (there are no cones), hand-packed pints, and stuffed into the middle of several cleverly constructed sandwiches.

A couple of flavors on Saturday were of the more expected type, like a vanilla with chocolate sprinkles, and mint chocolate cookie, but Stewart’s specialty seems to be what she calls “the cultural stuff,” using both Latino and Southern soul food favorites as a starting point for her creations.

All of the ice cream we tried was delicious. Stewart goes the full-fat route, so the base is rich and creamy, and the flavors are wonderfully forceful and distinct. Sometimes ice cream, whether from small batch purveyors or the big brands, just tastes “cold,” and maybe “sweet.” That is definitely not the case at Thick.

My favorite scoop was probably the caramel fried cornbread pecan, studded with chunks of chewy pastry. The mango with flan was also very good, capturing both of the headliners in a single, smooth confection, as was the coconut fudge swirl.

From left: coconut fudge swirl, mango flan, and caramel fried cornbread pecan; $4 each (Scott Lynch)

Stewart also experiments with different takes on the classic ice cream sandwich, most successfully in her “stuffed muffins” collection. These are made by a local baker, then sliced and filled by Stewart. We tried the banana muffin packed with caramel ice cream and will be back for others.

Stuffed banana muffin with caramel ice cream, $5 (Scott Lynch)

Unlike Good Humor’s late, great Choco Taco, which used a waffle cone as its shell, Stewart’s chocolate-dipped taco is made with actual crisp-fried corn tortilla. We’re still not sure it’s a great idea, but we did finish the whole thing (mostly because of the mint ice cream nestled within).

Dipped taco stuffed with mint chocolate, $6 (Scott Lynch)

The “Fried Plantain Sammie” is undeniably a good idea, flavor-wise, but the plantains freeze so much stiffer than the ice cream that it’s difficult to eat, a structural issue Stewart is working on.

Fried Plantain Sammie with caramel ice cream, $5 (Scott Lynch)

Thick isn’t Stewart’s first ice cream rodeo. Her Lotus Scoop brand was, until fairly recently, available at grocery stores throughout Brooklyn, before what she calls a “battle” with her investors killed the brand. Some of the flavors at Thick are clearly based on Lotus Scoop all-stars, but it seems the constraints of making her ice cream once again in small batches, for a small shop, has only improved her product.

There’s no seating outside of Thick — the city housing authority is about to start renovations on the Williamsburg Houses and the corner will be covered with scaffolding — but there are stools, eating counters, and a couple of tables inside. And the interior is a delight, with the back wall and the entire floor covered in images by a local street photographer known as Ace, or Brooklyn Juice.

“We just wanted to spread the love,” says Stewart. “We’re not trying to be something we ain’t. Just trying to hang in there, Brooklyn-style.”

Stewart chats with a couple locals (Scott Lynch)

Thick Ice Cream is located at 206 Graham Avenue, just north of Scholes Street, and is currently open every day from 2 to 6 or 7 p.m., depending on the weather.