To Do: Magnum Ice Cream Bar Pop Up Shop

I LOVE ice cream! Yes, more than you... for an after dinner treat, reward for a job well done, or Saturday morning breakfast a snack at the beach/park/pool there is nothing better than ice cream. Recently, when I was in SoHo for dinner with a friend I passed by a store front with Magnum Ice Cream logos outside. You know, the wonderfully decadent ice cream bars at the grocery store that come encased in the most luscious chocolate. I was intrigued but, sadly, I couldn't stop in because I didn't want us to miss out on our reservation. Of course, I needed to know more; enter internet research! I was pleased to learn that what I had passed by was actually a make your own Magnum Ice Cream bar pop-up shop for the summer! Yes, let's all freak out about it together. Apparently, Magnum Ice Cream has been rolling out temporary make your own pop up pop shops like this around the world but, this is the first in the United States. When Hubby and I were heading out for date night, last Friday, this experience had to be dinner part of the equation. Yummy (non ice cream) dinner? Check. Wandering around SoHo looking at interesting street art? Check, (hello, #lovewall.) Delicious make your own ice cream concoctions? You bet!

When we went in I was surprised by the lack of a line or crowds in general. Don't get me wrong, there were people there but, not throngs of crazed ice cream lovers like me. Before they burst out from wherever they were hiding I approached the counter tentatively. I, honestly, wasn't sure where to start my Magnum pop up shop experience (at the cash register on the left so you can pay first) but, the staff was very helpful and ushered us forward. You start with a choice of chocolate or vanilla (no added hormone) ice cream, then comes the fun part. You pick three toppings from the assortment of over twenty different choices like chopped nuts, Himalayan sea salt, espresso sugar, or rose petals. Lastly your ice cream bar assistant will dip your bar in white, milk, or dark Belgian chocolate. While it cools they shake up your topping choices and then methodically sprinkle them over your waiting ice cream bar. They then finish it with another drizzle of chocolate and little chocolate M token.

Despite the overwhelming amount of choices we managed to make important ice cream decisions. Hubby got chocolate ice cream with espresso sugar, cookie crumble, hazelnut crunch, and a white chocolate drizzle. I got vanilla ice cream with chocolate covered sunflowers seeds, Himalayan pink salt, white chocolate covered rice crisp, and a white chocolate drizzle. Since there weren't hoards of people we were even able to take a seat and to enjoy our creations. Yum!  

So, make time and run, don't walk, to the Magnum Ice Cream bar pop-up shop in SoHo at 134 Prince Street, between Wooster Street and West Broadway. Their hours of operation are 12pm-8pm Sunday-Wednesday and 12pm-9pm Thudsay-Saturday from now until mid-August.  I will be heading back soon, as well, and we might bump into each other. Why? Because I need to try every permutation of deliciousness possible before the season ends and they close.

I was NOT compensated for this post the opinions are all my own.