Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, the NYC born and nationally beloved brand known for its made-from-scratch dairy and vegan ice creams, will open a scoop shop in Westport on February 6. The launch marks a return to its roots for co-founders Ben and Pete Van Leeuwen who are Fairfield County natives and whose ice cream journey began here twenty years ago.
In celebration, Van Leeuwen Westport will offer $1 scoops on opening day (Feb. 6) from 3pm-5pm and free totes to the first 100 customers beginning at 3pm.
The scoop shop will also showcase a special limited-time offering created by Westport-based cookbook author and creator Julia Dzafic (@lemonstripes). The vegan sundae features scoops of strawberry shortcake ice cream and banana pudding ice cream, and is topped with sprinkles, hot fudge and a “party hat” AKA a sugar cone.
The popular ice cream brand, Van Leeuwen, whose humble beginnings were as an ice cream truck in New York City, has just opened a scoop shop on Greenwich Avenue.
Owned by brothers and Greenwich natives Ben and Pete Van Leeuwen, who, if we’re really getting technical about their ice cream origin story, actually started in their hometown as the two rented a Good Humor truck to drive around and sell ice cream in for two summers beginning in 2002. And they’re both pretty stoked to not only be back in Greenwich, but to have opened their first suburban storefront.
With a stellar location in Westport on the Saugatuck, and a Taiwanese chef, trained in Japanese cuisine with more than 20 years in the restaurant business, Westporters have something to be hopeful about in a new local take out and delivery place.
Bistro 88, a family run restaurant, is dishing up food from several Asian destinations including China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and even Indonesia, in the form of traditional Sambal. Lucky for us that points of political contention hasn’t gotten in the way of allowing us to choose freely from this flowing menu of Asian delights. Looming largely as a take out and delivery business, this tiny joint also has limited seating with service for those who prefer to eat there. Plus, the menu is so extensive (reading like a Bible for Asian food), there is surely something for everyone.
In the window of Edo there’s a New York Times review from 2004 that touts the virtues of Edo’s sushi, but that’s not the reason why we came. Sushi or Japanese food is not the reason to go to Edo. Sure, its name is Japanese, but we were there for the Korean fare. Like so many Asian restaurants in Fairfield County, Edo tries to squeeze multiple cultures into a single venue which isn’t always for the best, but go to Edo for the Korean dishes. You'll be happy you did.
