Midtown Lunch

La Maison du Chocolat, the haute French chocolatier in Rockefeller Center, has served up some of the best ice cream in Midtown for years (apologies to Miss Softee!) The only problem is that the ice cream is only available during the summer months.  Well, June 21 has officially come and La Maison du Chocolat has made their ice cream available once again. I went into the shop the other day to scoop out the scene (pun intended), and it seems as if they’re doing things a little differently this year. The ice cream is still locally made using ingredients imported from France, but now they’re pre-packaging them. I don’t know if the older ladies who work in the Rock Center store have been getting weaker biceps or if this is a case of portion control. Now that they’re pre-packaged, it means no more samples and no more cones. And last year they charged $4 for a waffle cone and now you can only get a 4 ounce plastic cup for $4.50.

The limited flavors, which include a handful of fruit sorbets, are pretty standard. And I loved this ice cream last year, but with the new higher prices and unattractive serving style, La Maison du Chocolat may have officially taken the fun out of stopping in here for an afternoon ice cream fix.