Westhouse Your House

Mohcine Azagar

Being #InResidence means being around a likeminded group of people who know the style and beat of the city intimately. A large part of New York culture is following food trends, and our culinary-savvy WestHouse ambassadors are self-described foodies. Here, Front Desk Agent Mohcine Azagar shares six of the most popular (and Instagram-worthy) sweet treats in the city.

1. UBE PURPLE YAM ICE CREAM AT SOFT SWERVE.

Brightly-colored desserts are trending up thanks to flavors like matcha and ube. If you haven’t heard of ube, it’s a purple root vegetable that’s all the rage in the foodie dessert world — and you’re about to see it everywhere. I recommend getting your first taste at Soft Swerve in the Lower East Side. Try “The Broadway,” a cone that features ube purple yam ice cream, Fruity Pebbles cereal, and marshmallows. Your Instagram followers will be eternally jealous.

2. SUGAR COOKIE DOUGH AT DO.

Confession: I’ve been sneaking bites of raw cookie dough from the mixing bowl for years. But now, thanks to DŌ, I can finally eat it without the guilt. This new Greenwich Village hotspot is a cookie dough scoop shop. Yes, you read that correctly: They serve raw (but safe to eat) cookie dough in cups and cones. On your first visit, I suggest starting with a time-honored classic like Sugar Cookie. After that, the sky is the limit. Bonus: DŌ has gluten-free, vegan, and grain-free options, so everyone can indulge.

3. THE DARK CHOCOLATE POPWICH AT POPBAR.

Popbar is a popular West Village ice cream shop known for their handcrafted Gelato on a Stick. This month, they debuted a brand-new sweet treat: the popWich. A fun twist on a classic, the popWich is a gourmet gelato sandwich on a stick. They make one that’s half-dipped in premium dark chocolate and topped with crushed waffle cone, and it’s downright delectable.

4. CINNAMON ROLL MARSHMALLOWS AT SQUISH.

The small-batch marshmallow movement is slowly taking New York by storm, and nobody makes a better ‘mallow than Squish. This East Village shop makes their marshmallows from scratch and hand cuts them all individually. Squish is always introducing new and seasonal flavors, but right now my favorite is Cinnamon Roll. You can eat the marshmallows as-is, but I like to pop one into my morning cup of coffee. It adds a burst of flavor and makes the whole room smell like cinnamon rolls. They also make deliciously decadent s’mores!

5. THE PISTACHIO RASPBERRY RING DING AT RING DING BAR.

These are not the Hostess devil’s food snack cakes I remember from my childhood — they’re so much more. Ring Ding Bar, located inside the Duane Park Patisserie in Tribeca, serves gourmet crème-filled cakes with a fudgy frosted coating. Each flavor is tastier than the last but right now I can’t get enough of the Pistachio Raspberry, which features a layer of pistachio buttercream and raspberry jam.

6. MATCHA MILK BUNS AT SPOT DESSERT BAR.

Matcha has been having a moment in the dessert world for a while now, and in my opinion, nobody is more imaginative with it than Spot Dessert Bar. Their newest green treat, the Matcha Milk Bun, is a hot commodity right now. And with good reason: It’s a charcoal soft milk bun filled with matcha cream and topped with a thin layer of matcha cookie and Oreo cookie crumbs. Try your luck at one of their three locations in the East Village, Koreatown, and Flushing.