The Best Ice Cream in the World is in Princeton, New Jersey
It was a moment of temporary euphoria and disorientation. With my fingers slowly thawing from having just come inside from the January chill, we sat at a window table that looked out onto the Christmas tree, still adorned with festive red and white lights, that stood in the middle of a darkened Palmer Square. We had just sat down at one of the three small tables that make up the only seating options here, and I had just put a spoon of the cranberry sorbet into my mouth.
The soft orb that slowly dissolved on my tongue was the purest expression of the brightest of summer days – an explosion of sweet berry flavor that, for the briefest moment, made me believe that it was a warm, lazy day in August, and that Christmas and the New Year were not just days behind us. The blood orange sorbet that shared the small cup with the cranberry was just as sweet, just as concentrated, just as redolent of starry nights and the sound of insects chirping in a rural field. With some measure of reluctance, I passed my wife’s cup back across the table to her, consoled only by my own serving of roasted praline gelato paired with a dark chocolate ice cream.
The Bent Spoon is a tiny storefront in Princeton that specializes in the freshest, tastiest artisanal ice cream, sorbet, and baked goods. It is a magical place where everything is done just right, the offerings are adventurous and unexpected, and your only regrets stem from your inability to taste everything in one visit. From the moment you set foot inside the shop, you can sense the passion that the owners have for their craft, and one spoon of their frozen wares, or a bite of cupcake, illustrates definitively that The Bent Spoon strikes the perfect balance between passion and raw talent. The success and popularity of the establishment is evidenced by the long lines of customers who wait patiently, in all manner of hot and cold weather, for the opportunity to sample the shop’s latest creations. More often than not, the line extends past the entrance and wraps around the front window of the shop, populated by families, couples on date night, and Princeton University students.
The flavors on offer are hand-printed on whimsical construction paper signs that are posted above the service counter, and change according to what’s fresh, what’s seasonal, and what’s still available that day. There are always some core crowd favorites on hand, such as the dark chocolate and vanilla bean. During the holiday season, you can count on finding flavors such as peppermint, eggnog, gingerbread, and pumpkin. Sorbets, such as the cranberry and blood orange varieties, are expertly crafted and showcase only the freshest local fruit. The baked goods take the form of vanilla and chocolate cupcakes, both full-size and mini, and a host of cookies for every taste – from chocolate chip, to oatmeal, to a decadent, thick, chewy, molasses variety that threatens to haunt my dreams. To top it all off, The Bent Spoon offers its own hot chocolate mix, in both a traditionally decadent version as well as a spicy habanero flavor. A quick note for coffee enthusiasts – The Bent Spoon grinds and brews each cup to order using a French press. The result is a more deeply rounded, intense cup of brew that pairs perfectly with one (or two) of their heavenly vanilla or chocolate cupcakes.
As you make your way to front of the line, you begin to realize that there’s good reason for the wait – as you slowly come within view of the day’s offerings of gelato, ice cream, and sorbet, whatever flavors you had previously set your mind on give way to new, extemporaneous impulses, and you start asking for a taste of this, a little taste of that – samples that the staff is always happy to provide. Then, just as you’ve made your final decisions, and are ready to pay, cash in hand, your eyes come across the myriad displays of cupcakes and cookies, and you’re faced with another agonizing choice – not whether you’re going to pick up any baked goods, but whether you’re going to eat all of it there, or take a box to go home.
