Lula’s Sweet Apothecary

An all-vegan ice cream parlor that looks like an old-time sweet shop, Lula’s will please even rampant omnivores. The menu includes a couple of soy milk-based ice creams, including a convincing cake batter flavor, and about ten nut milk-based ice creams, many of them gluten-free. My favorite of the nut-based flavors is cinnamon, but other notables include orange creamsicle, cookies and cream, and mango coconut. Sampling is not only permitted, but encouraged, and I didn’t get any “OMG she’s asking for a fourth sample” attitude.

(There seems to be some variation in scoop sizing. On my second trip I got a much larger scoop)

As for taste, this is a pretty good dairy substitute, with no weird soy flavor and spot-on creamy texture. There’s a lack of buttery richness, but I can eat about half a dish ($3.75) before I register it. Vegan treats like white-“chocolate” covered pretzels and pectin gummi bears are also for sale, not to mention egg creams ($3.75). An egg cream is a classic NYC beverage (Lou Reed even wrote a song about it) that usually consists of chocolate syrup, seltzer and milk mixed to form a fizzy head. Lula’s non-dairy version was a fair approximation of the egg cream I’d had at Gem Spa, although in both cases I got the sense that I was drinking a poor man’s ice cream float.

Lula’s Sweet Apothecary
516 East 6th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B
Wed 3pm-10pm Thu 3pm-12am Fri-Sat 3pm-1am