Using liquid nitrogen is a favorite trick among Top Chef contestants and practitioners of molecular gastronomy, but Seth Tapper, owner of the new Lulu and Mooky's, thinks this cryogenic fluid might become the key ingredient of tomorrow’s ice cream parlor.
"It makes the densest, smoothest ice cream ever," says Tapper, who installed a liquid-nitrogen tank in his tiny LES storefront. You can choose from the 50 or so flavors on the menu--made from organic fruit, herb extracts and various purees--and watch as your ice cream is blended in a mixer that billows with cold clouds of liquid-nitrogen fog. The whole process takes seconds.
Or you can invent your own flavor blend, "and it’ll be named after you forever," Tapper says. His favorite so far: chocolate with cayenne and ginger. Given all the possible permutations, does the store really offer "10,000 flavors of liquid-nitrogen ice cream," as the sign over the door promises? You do the math.
Lulu and Mooky's is open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 5 p.m. to midnight and 1 to 7 p.m. on Sundays. At some point, a regular serving of two scoops will cost $4, but right now the ice cream is half price.
Lulu and Mooky’s, 129 Allen St. (between Rivington and Delancey sts.)
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