Midtown Creamery Offers Ice Cream With a Tropical Twist

With an eye to diversity, while holding on to tradition, Andrew Rodriguez has a growing appetite for the real pleasure of ice cream.

The New York native, former owner of a boardwalk ice cream parlor in Coney Island, moved to Miami in 2015 and has been running the Midtown Creamery with his wife Suzanne McPherson for almost two years. The artisanal ice cream shop specializes in classic American flavors with an added tropical twist based on Miami's mix of Latin and Caribbean roots.

For Rodriguez, taste is as important as texture, which needs to be velvety and slightly airy for his daily handcrafted creations to go from batch to scoop.

"Some flavors are naturally sweet; however, if it's something that doesn't need more sugar in it, sugar won't go in," Rodriguez said. "Our ice cream is not centered on the sweetness; we keep it as close to neutral as possible."

The 550-square-foot shop, located across from Caja Caliente, offers a fun atmosphere where customers can sample any and every flavor, take a seat, and enjoy the upbeat music and wall art. On Fridays and Saturdays, Midtown serves ice cream until 1 a.m.
"I appreciate the great deal of creativity making ice cream requires and the fact that I can get new ideas from everywhere, " Rodriguez said. "But besides that, there's something special about the way ice cream brings people together, how they feel about sharing it."

Ice cream prices range from $4.79 for a single scoop to $8.39 for a three-scoop cup to $15 for a quart to go. Flavors like passionfruit, soursop, leche condensada, coconut, cookie dough, guava cream, and rum and raisin are available.

Among the shop's specialties are the bubble waffle supreme, a hot waffle rolled into a cone with two scoops of ice cream and unlimited toppings ($11.99); a whimsical fruity pebbles ice cream sandwich ($7.99); and the custom Nutella-filled sugar cone brownie sundae ($10.99). There's also the cinnamon waffle sundae ($12.29) and the Maria cookie trio with three mini guava ice cream sandwiches ($7.49).  A regular milkshake costs $7.99 and cereal shakes cost $9.35.

A highlight of a trip to Midtown Creamery is you can load up on all the toppings you like. All additions to your cone — breakfast cereal, berries, gummy bears, sprinkles, cookies, toasted coconut, mixed nuts, caramel, and guava sauce — are free.

To drink, there's cortadito ($2.59), hot chocolate ($2.80), and the affogato, which is espresso over ice cream ($6.99). The shop also offers the CBD Elevation ice cream line, sold in premade two-scoop portions for customers aged 18 or older for $20.

Midtown Creamery. 2690 NE Second Ave., Miami; 786-536-2281; midtowncreamery.com. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday 2 to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 2 p.m. to 1 a.m.