The Hungry Russian

SkyIce Sweet & Savory
63 5th Ave, Brooklyn 11217
(At St Marks Ave)

The first time I walked by Sky Ice I wasn’t exactly sure what to make of it. I took a glance inside and from what I gathered it was an ice cream/dessert place. Having walked by it another time, I saw a blackboard on the street that indicated they were serving savory Thai dishes as well. Clearly Sky Ice was not just a dessert spot. Last week I managed to convince a couple of my friends to sample this place with me. What followed was a mixed bag of reactions.

Diced Beef: To be perfectly honest, I don’t really remember the name of this dish and that’s ok because as nice as it may have looked, it was totally lackluster. The beef was somewhat dry and almost bland to the taste. Furthermore, the beef was basically served at room temperature. I don’t know if that’s how it’s supposed to be served or if it was just sitting there waiting to be picked up by the waitress. Either way I think it should have been served hot. The accompanying rice was no better. Slightly dry but overall insanely overloaded with tumeric or cumin (I always confuse the two). The only thing that slightly gave any flavor to the beef was the dipping sauce which was a tad tart. I think this dish may have been a special since I cannot seem to locate it on their regular menu. Thumbs down and not recommended!

Salmon Chu Chee: I thought we were in some serious trouble after that tasteless beef. Luckily, it was salmon to the rescue! Cubed chunks of salmon in a sweet and spicy curry sauce with broccoli and a side of white rice.  The salmon was prepared well. Moist, tender and not overcooked. The curry was quite flavorful with a rich sweetness as well a nice spicy kick. I can’t say that this dish was spectacular but it was definitely good and a huge improvement after that beef. It made me believe that perhaps they do serve food with flavor.

Chicken Wings: Your standard sweet and spicy wings. Pretty good but nothing to rave about either. Would have been nice if they were crispier as well.

Ice Cream: I had heard from a friend of mine some time ago that SkyIce has amazing ice cream. After the beef, salmon, and wings we weren’t quite sure if we should attempt something else but I managed to convince my friends that SkyIce is known to have very good ice cream. Reluctantly they agreed to give it a whirl as I went up to the counter to order the ice cream. One of my favorite ice cream flavors has always been coffee so when I saw Thai Coffee ice cream I knew I had to have it. I also needed to try something new and unique as well and when I spotted Black Sesame Seaweed my curiosity got the best of me. I got one scoop of Thai Coffee and one scoop of Black Sesame Seaweed. That coffee ice cream was delicious! A very rich and strong coffee flavor with a hint of something unique in it. Now it was time for Black Sesame Seaweed. I honestly did not know what to expect from it but I was preparing for the worse. I took a spoonful into my mouth and my tongue was immediately attacked by a wave of saltiness. Just as I was preparing to say “This is nothing but salt!”, what followed was a fantastic rush of sweetness from the black sesame! When the two flavors met it was definitely OMG fantastic! If you try nothing else at SkyIce then you must try the Black Sesame Seaweed ice cream. It may sound awful but it’s pretty awesome. I’ve been seriously craving it lately!

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I have a feeling that SkyIce really does have some hidden gems. The salmon was definitely a hint in the right direction. I feel compelled to come back and try some more of their food again. Something inside is just telling me that they really do have some delicious food and I need to find out what it is. Their food selection seems quite extensive and I only mention that because of their very confusing menu situation. I think I must have looked at possibly 3 or 4 different menus there. They really need to consolidate them! However, should their food turn out to be meh, I will still return for some more of that amazing ice cream!