Blue Marble Ice Cream, Brooklyn

This eco-friendly, Brooklynite franchise is a Mother Theresa of all NYC’s ice-cream spots, and it doesn’t go modestly about it. There are good reasons for it—“We use as many biodegradable/compostable/ recycled supplies as possible and encourage our customers to dispose of them properly in the provided bins,” boast the founders and owners, Alexis and Jennie. “All our dairy is grass-fed, hormone and antibiotic free. Natural by Nature Products are certified organic.” And surely enough, the homey looking brown cow that glances at you from the wall looks healthier than any genuine New Yorker. As far as the ice-cream is concerned, the flavors are pretty standard, with the spotlight on frozen yoghurt. Last time I heard, the Blue Marble owners wanted to cut down to milk coming from cows owning their rent-stabilized meadows. The funky, pale blue space designed by Andrea Steele and Andrew Deibel, will calm anybody’s nerves (Is that why that cow is smiling? I swear to god, it’s smiling.) with pastels as soft and sweet as their ice-cream. The cozy back patio creates the best hangout space in summer. At the end, I personally remain most happy with the cool toys in the kids’ corner. Blue Marble also serves decent coffee, tea and pastries, which makes this blue and green joint an enchanting café-style hangout in the middle of industrialized Atlantic Avenue. And as any self-respecting small neighborhood business, Blue Marble offers a selection of their brand merchandise like t-shirts and coffee grains. So Hurry up, before the health-fixated owners realize that the ice-cream coloring contains a lot of e132.