Danny's Ices

Every parent hopes to give their child great memories and treats often have a special place in a child's heart. Here's a sweet, memory-making recommendation from one Tribeca parent:

I've heard they call it "prenatal marking"--in other words if you eat a lot of something while pregnant, your child develops a particular fondness for it. With my eldest, it was avocados. With my youngest, it's "Catch the Flava". Tribeca families know what I'm talking about. Nine years ago, hugely pregnant, I would pick up my 5 year old at Downtown Day Camp. We would always stop at the little cart on Chambers Street, otherwise known as Danny's Ices or "Coco Helado"...or "Catch the Flava". My daughter would work her way through the various "flavas", but I stayed true to the creamy, coconut and- almost from the day she was born- her younger sister has seldom wavered from it too. Danny Castro smiles at me every time she orders it. Judging from the line of kids that snakes its way down Chambers Street, the other flavors have fans: Rainbow will remind you of "Pixie Stix", "Mango" is smooth and tropical. Cherry is tart and intense. Sometimes he'll have specials like Tamarind or Strawberry/Kiwi--both worth getting.

Danny has a smile for everybody and treats each child like a special connoisseur. I suspect that 30 years from now, when the Tribeca kids have grown and meet up, one of the neighborhood institutions they'll reminisce about will be Danny and his ices. This afternoon,as we walked away, my daughter said, "I don't know what I'd do if Danny wasn't there. Something would really be missing from my life".

You can "catch" him on the northeast corner of Chambers and Greenwich--look for the green and white umbrella. On summer weekends, he sometimes moves to Soho at Prince and Broadway. He's in business from Spring through Fall, weather dependent. No phone, no reservations, just respect the line.