Morgenstern's BANANAS
Ice cream shop · Lower East Side ·
Creative ice cream & sorbet flavors plus gourmet sundae toppings.
Creative ice cream & sorbet flavors plus gourmet sundae toppings.
"A soft-serve spin-off that replaced the original Rivington Street shop, this spot is where operations will continue as the flagship winds down and the brand pivots." - Melissa McCart
"This Lower East Side spin-off nails banana soft serve—try the banana soft serve dipped in chocolate (or peanut butter) with optional toppings like whipped cream and fudge; the pared-back menu celebrates banana and companion flavors (coffee creamer, salted peanut butter, popcorn) and gets the soft-serve texture just right." - Charlie Hobbs
"Bananas looks like something you’d see on the Coney Island boardwalk, except it’s on the LES and makes non-dairy soft serve in flavors like coconut vanilla and sumo yuzu. Get the salted chocolate peanut butter. The bright yellow spot from the Morgenstern’s team has a loyal following. So if you stop by on a warm weekend afternoon, expect a line." - willa moore, hannah albertine, arden shore, molly fitzpatrick
"A two‑shop Manhattan operation with an immaculate, white‑tiled flagship in Lower Manhattan and a ramrod perfectionism that carries through both the storefront and the cookbook. The ice cream itself is highly praised for its clarity of flavor and texture; the recipes are technical, opinionated, and not hand‑holding, favoring minimal eggs and restrained sugar. Expect iterative takes on classics (multiple vanillas, chocolates, bananas, and strawberries), adventurous spins like salted caramel pretzel and s'mores (which uses a small amount of sugar, glucose, and toasted/blended marshmallows), and wild cards such as french fry, burnt sage, and tahini and jelly. The author demands practice for techniques like caramelization, and the book’s photography is styled more like contemporary art installations than appetizing scoops." - Rebecca Flint Marx
"In the East Village, Bananas is a minimalist Asian-American restaurant from a few folks who worked at Shmoné and Blue Ribbon. They’ll also be serving things like a caesar with fried anchovies, and a chopped cheese with Thai basil and red chilis, alongside sake flights and shochu-based cocktails. Look for the banana motifs around the restaurant." - will hartman, bryan kim