Hoboken vs. Jersey City: Ice Cream

Torico

Torico was established in 1968, and has been on First and Erie St in Jersey City ever since. It is a staple to the Jersey City community. As a Jersey City resident, I've visited Torico many, many times. For this post, I visited Torico on a Wednesday evening just after 8pm with my husband. 

The Order: Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream in a waffle cone, and my husband had Lemon Sorbet in a cup. 

Presentation:

Torico serves homemade ice cream, which is prominately showcased. They offer more than 65 flavors, and some are rather unique, such as Avacado, Black Sesame Seed, Green Tea, and many more. The presentation of my ice cream cone was good, but nothing special. I think this also has to do with my order. I'm sure if I ordered something more involved the presentation would have been more special. I would say the presentation of the ice cream options is very well done.

Wait Time:

My husband and I arrived at Torico at 8:15pm. There were about six families in front of us and about 10 kids total. We were helped and served our ice cream at 8:23pm, so we waited a total of 8 minutes. There were 4 employees working. I thought their efficiently was great - helping six families in less than 10 minutes. They are continuously helping people and working hard.

Friendliness of Staff:

The staff is extremely friendly and patient. Our server was very nice, asked if we wanted to sample any ice cream (we did not), and was very quick to help us and take our order. Many of the people in front of us were sampling ice cream. I'm not sure if there is a limit to how many samples you can have, but the employees definitely make it fun and easy to sample the many flavors and don't make it known if there is a limit. 

Overall atmosphere:

Torico is very bright and colorful, and full of ice cream options. There are tables on the inside and outside of the building to enjoy your ice cream. The line forms inside, and therefore it can get very loud inside while everyone is waiting for their ice cream. But overall, Torico is everything you would want in an ice cream place.

Options:

As I previously stated, Torico has more than 65 flavors. Not only do they have many flavors to choose from, they have many different options - such as sundaes, milkshakes, banana boats, cakes to take home and more. They also have sorbet, sherbet, and italian ice, offering an option for any type of diet.

Taste:

The taste was great. 

Angel's Recipe Ice Cream Roll

Angel's Recipe Ice Cream Roll offers homemade Thai style ice cream, which is frozen and handrolled after you place your order. Angel's is located inside Gogi Grill at 79 Hudson Street in Hoboken. I had never been to Angel's before (mostly because I live in Jersey City and frequent ice cream places on this side of town). For this post, I visited on Thursday afternoon about 2pm.

The Order: Jake's S'mores {milk chocolate ice cream with reeses, grapham cracker, and toasted marshmallow}

Presentation

Angel's Recipe Ice Cream Roll's presentation was spot on. The ice cream is handrolled, so it already is unique looking, but the addition of teddy grahams, graham cracker pieces, and toasted marshmallow fluff really made for a good looking dish. I couldn't wait to dive in and try the ice cream that was just made in front of me.

Wait Time:

I arrived at 2:37pm on a Wednesday afternoon and there was no one in line in front of me. As soon as I walked up to the counter, the server took care of me. It took about five minutes to create my ice cream, which if there were a few people in line in front of me, I could see how the wait time could add up, but the five minutes flew by as I was mesmerized by the freezing and rolling of the ice cream in front of me. Definitely a neat thing to see!

Friendliness of Staff:

The server was very nice. He asked if I had ever been and when I told him I hadn't he explained to me how the menu worked, and all the customer favorites. He was very patient as I made my decision and overall just very friendly. 

Overall atmosphere:

The ice cream counter is located in Gogi Grill in the back corner. The lighting is a little on the darker side throughout the whole restaurant. There was a lunch crowd at Gogi Grill, but it wasn't overly loud. There are plenty of tables to enjoy your ice cream both inside and outside.

Options:

Angel's offers a number of different rolled ice cream combinations. In addition, they also have crepes, lattes, and coffee. They also have a vegan/non-dairy ice cream flavors - so again, there should be something for everyone! 

Taste:

It was seriously so good.