The Best NYC Date Night Idea? It’s Just a Cocktail and an Ice Cream Cone

The beauty of a New York City summer is that you don’t have to work too hard, or spend too much money, to have a good time. This is what we have going for us, despite the boiling garbage and thriving rat community—fun and nice and delicious things to do on nearly every block, such that you might arrive at one entirely by accident.

There is no need to elbow for space at a hotel pool or plan your day around a Resy drop the bots beat you to regardless. In this town, you can breezily craft a casual, low-cost, mildly indulgent excursion without breaking a sweat.

Don’t overthink it: The best thing to do in NYC is drink a fancy cocktail and then immediately eat an ice cream cone.

Having a drink and an ice cream in quick succession is hedonism, pleasure without compromise. On a hot day, a sensible person might determine that either a cold cocktail or a cone sounds like a good idea. Push past this thought; what you need is both.

Aside from the obvious reasons—liquor, sugar—this pairing feels good because it’s like mainlining the rush of childhood summer and the leisure of adult summer at the same time. It’s harmlessly scandalous and a little bit healing, like staying up past your bedtime or wearing too short of a skirt. Summer is already a suspension of disbelief, a season spent pretending life is just wearing tank tops and spending whole afternoons in the park. It seems only right to lean in and order like someone who always lives large.

I stumbled upon the perfection of the drink-and-cone combo during my first summer in New York, working as an intern at this very publication. Desperate to catch up to my cool and knowledgeable coworkers, I zeroed in on the categories where I could conceivably contribute. Fine dining (or any “dining,” really) was not in the budget, but a drink and a cone? I could swing that.

The benefits were bountiful, at work and in my personal life: I could confidently declare Amor y Amargo the site of a superlative Negroni to a chorus of nods, and also drag a crush to Sundaes and Cones after for a double scoop of black sesame and honeydew, in a move that looked cultured and cool. I started a note on my phone of the best bar and scoop shop pairings and returned to this playbook again and again.

A drink and an ice cream is ideal as a first or early date, as the matchup is designed to check a lot of boxes. It’s undeniably fun, and the vibes are strategically low-key. It is economical, financially and temporally. You learn a lot about the other person, as they’re forced to make at least two consecutive personality-revealing choices. And when planned correctly, the night features a short walk between the two activities.

In mapping your course, I suggest working backward from the ice cream shop, to find a bar close enough to walk to. This walk is deeply informative. Take the route from Oldies in Sunset Park—a special-feeling starting point, for old-school Japanese highballs—to the Industry City location of Ample Hills, just around the corner. The few-minute jaunt is all you need to take in your company’s outfit in full, see how it feels to maneuver the street at their side, and gauge just how much you’re feeling that Suntory Toki. On the other end of the walk? A scoop of Oatmeal Lace.

Do you have to be on a date to enjoy a drink and a cone? Certainly not. But if not with a potentially romantic near-stranger, I think this kind of evening should be reserved for someone you love. Maybe it’s the fluttery feeling of summer’s potential, or the literal mingling of sugar, dairy, and booze in one’s bloodstream, but I find the combination intimate and powerful. It’s a great best friend move, or a night to share with a partner.

Does the cocktail have to be fancy? No way. This is a format that flexes to fit your needs. The drink can be fancy, or the ice cream can be, or both, or neither. No shine is lost if you opt for a dive bar Spaghett and a Drumstick from the bodega. None is added if you order a drink that comes with its own cloche and a small-batch artisanal scoop.

Finally, does it have to be a cone? Unfortunately, yes. To tap into the potential of this pairing, you gotta get a cone. It’s not that eating ice cream from a cup is never allowed, but live a little. Save one spoon from a landfill. Eat the dang vessel. Particularly when the night is flirtatious in nature—now you’re two people licking stuff while walking down the street. Funny, weird, bound to go somewhere.

This summer is my eleventh in New York City—and in that time I’ve had more nights of drinks and ice cream than I can count. The note on my phone that I started in 2012 is lengthy and in need of a good edit; many spots have closed (Ice and Vice) or evolved into something new (Angel’s Share). But the framework continues to serve me well. Why stress over a dinner reservation when a cocktail and a cone goes down so easy?

Kendra’s Go-To Cocktail and Cone Pairings (Right Now):

EAST VILLAGE

Amor y Amargo
95 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009

Sundaes and Cones
95 E 10th St., New York, NY 10003

LOWER EAST SIDE

Bar Goto
245 Eldridge St., New York, NY 10002

Il Laboratorio Del Gelato
188 Ludlow St., New York, NY 10002

WEST VILLAGE

The Up & Up
116 MacDougal St., New York, NY 10012

Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream
88 W Houston St., New York, NY 10012

HARLEM

Sugar Monk
2292 Frederick Douglass Blvd., New York, NY 10027

Sugar Hill Creamery
184 Malcolm X Blvd., New York, NY 10026

UPPER EAST SIDE

The Hunterian
413 E 70th St., New York, NY 10021

Sedutto
1498 1st Ave. #1, New York, NY 10075

UPPER WEST SIDE

The Owl’s Tail
215 W 75th St., New York, NY 10023

Emack & Bolio’s
389 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10024

WILLIAMSBURG

Fresh Kills
161 Grand St., Brooklyn, NY 11249

Oddfellows Ice Cream Co., Domino Park
40 River St., Brooklyn, NY 11249

COBBLE HILL

Clover Club
210 Smith St., Brooklyn, NY 11201

Malai
268 Smith St., Brooklyn, NY 11231

INDUSTRY CITY

Oldies
269 36th St., Brooklyn, NY 11232

Ample Hills
254 36th St., Brooklyn, NY 11232

PROSPECT HEIGHTS

Weather Up 
589 Vanderbilt Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11238

Van Leeuwen
550 Vanderbilt Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11238

ASTORIA

Diamond Dogs
34-04 31st Ave., Queens, NY 11106

Marvel’s Frozen Dairy
37-01 30th Ave., Queens, NY 11103

SUNNYSIDE

Ida’s Nearabout
43-13 Queens Blvd., Sunnyside, NY 11104

Acrobaleno Gelateria
44-09 Queens Blvd., Sunnyside, NY 11104

FOREST HILLS

Bloom Botanical Bistro
103-19 Metropolitan Ave., Queens, NY 11375

Eddie’s Sweet Shop
105-29 Metropolitan Ave. #1, Forest Hills, NY 11375