If croqueta-shaped ice cream rolls, popsicle beer floats, and cookie and ice cream sandwiches sound good enough to cry over, then you'll want to head over to a newly opened artisan ice cream parlor in Palmetto Bay.
Although Lincoln's Beard Brewery owner John Falco never saw himself making ice cream, that's exactly what's transpired with the recent opening of his newest venture, Cry Baby Creamery.
A self-described beer and bar guy, Falco tells New Times he experimented with ice cream-inspired desserts for beer pairing dinners at his Miami brewery, offering guests crazy concoctions like fresh-fruit popsicle "floats" served in his own fruit-infused brews.
That was the extent of his dabbling in the sweet side — until now.
When the space formerly occupied by Sweet Melody Ice Cream, next door to his gastropub, Maxwell Bros. Clothing Store (a partnership between Falco and restaurateur Todd Maxwell) became available this past spring, the brewer knew he wanted it.
"We didn't plan to do desserts. We're beer guys," Falco says. "We dabbled in pizza at Maxwell Bros., which felt right. Ice cream was new to us. But since the space was already set up for an ice cream parlor, it made sense for us to carry the torch, while also giving it a lounge-like feel."
Co-designed with the help of Miami-based Freaks Design Co., Cry Baby Creamery is meant to offer a speakeasy-inspired ambiance reminiscent of a Las Vegas lounge, according to Falco.
The space will present guests with a menu of house-baked goods and small-batch artisan ice cream served to guests via a walk-up retail counter that can be enjoyed in the Cry Baby lounge space or Maxwell Bros.' dining room.
"Menu items will rotate frequently based on ingredients," Falco adds. "Many will be sourced locally and used to make small-batch, specialty items."
The menu here is heavy on house-made ice creams, baked goods, house cookies, and novelty dessert-themed eats served in a cocktail-themed space — minus the booze.
The focus, as the name suggests, is on the ice cream, with a number of opening day flavors that feature local artisans including Miami-based Per'la Coffee and Exquisito Chocolate.
Flavors currently available include the house vanilla (double-fold bourbon and Madagascar vanilla bean), "Bean to Cone" (locally made Exquisito milk chocolate ice cream with dark chocolate flakes), "Pastelito" (mascarpone and cream cheese ice cream with swirls of guava marmalade and caramelized puff pastry), "Espumita Boss" (a 24-hour-steeped cold brew coffee ice cream made with locally roasted Per'la coffee), "Party Animal" (vanilla ice cream with swirls of homemade frosting, rainbow sprinkles, and frosted animal crackers), and "Milk & Cookies" (salted vanilla ice cream with homemade chocolate chip cookies and Oreos).
Novelty items will rotate as weekly or monthly specials and feature the brand's own take on croquetas: ice cream shaped into croqueta-like cylinders and rolled in toppings like crumbled pie crust or ground cookies. Cry Baby will also offer limited batches of beer floats that pair house-made popsicles served in a tajin-rimmed mason jar and doused in Maxwell Bros. beer, as well as a variety of ice cream sandwiches.
Head pastry chef and general manager Stephanie Diaz, founder of Miami-based Sweetness Bake Shop, will run Cry Baby's day-to-day operations. Her baked-goods list focuses on fresh-baked cookies, sold by the piece or in quarter-pound boxes in flavors like chocolate chip, "Birthday Cake," oatmeal (raisin-free), and guava.
Cry Baby Creamery. 17389 S. Dixie Hwy., Palmetto Bay; @crybabycreamery. Monday through Thursday 2 to 10 p.m., Friday 2 to 11 p.m., Saturday noon to 11 p.m., and Sunday noon to 9 p.m.