ITHACA, NY — At the beginning of June, a new Thai-style ice cream shop on the Ithaca Commons opened its doors to enormous foot-traffic.
Just in time for the Ithaca Festival, 15 Below Ice Cream began offering its signature dessert — a rare style of fried ice cream rolls that has its roots in Thailand.
15 Below offers seven, toppings-rich options with a base of either vanilla or green tea ice cream, all of which are priced at $5.49. The desserts consist of rolls of frozen liquid ice cream, with toppings ranging from strawberries to gummy bears.
Each order is prepared in plain-sight, allowing patrons to view the unique process by which liquid ice cream is speedily frozen and scraped into creamy rolls.
Though fried ice cream has its roots in Thailand, it has spread to large cities in China and the United States.
According to employee Shay An,15 Below was founded by two Chinese immigrants who were inspired by the success of Thai-style ice cream shops in large American cities, including Manhattan’s Chinatown.
15 Below is the first of its kind in a city of Ithaca’s size.