Sometimes even ice cream is too heavy for a hot day. That's why Milk, known for its decadent ice creams and frozen desserts, is going a bit lighter this summer--shaved ice topped with homemade syrups. The treats are now available on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
There's hardly an easier frozen dessert than shaved ice. At Milk, a staffer runs a respador (a metal, hand-held shaver) across a glassy block of ice at a sidewalk table, and the fluffy shavings are dumped into a big plastic cup. Mix and match flavored syrups for the topping, grab a straw and off you go.
Milk uses fresh fruits and natural ingredients for the syrups, so they aren't cloying like pre-made ones. Go fruity with strawberry and a dash of tart "mojito" mix (mint, lime and simple syrup), or mango with a spike of tamarind-chile syrup. And blended coffee drinks from Starbucks have nothing on the Milk's version, topped with espresso syrup and condensed milk. The sweet frozen treats ($3) are somewhere between a snow cone and a slushy--perfect for summer days.
But get there fast: The shaved-ice table will disappear come August.
Milk, 7290 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles; 323-939-6455 or themilkshop.com
