You may not be able to get a seat at some top Brooklyn restaurants, but you can taste a scoop. Through August 4, Williamsburg’s Republic of Booza, which serves ancient Middle Eastern ice cream in flavors like babka, labneh and honey, salted oreo and vanilla, has partnered with ten local restaurants (in Brooklyn and Manhattan) to create one-of-a-kind flavors. They’ll be sold in the ice cream shop, and, in some cases, also at the restaurants which inspired them.
“We love ice cream, but we also love great food and interesting flavors in general, for which booza is a wonderful vehicle. It doesn’t have as much sugar as other ice creams and is served at a temperature that brings out the full intensity and complexity of flavors across the spectrum of taste. This allows us to explore a wider variety of flavors with booza than one could with regular ice cream,” says Republic of Booze founder Michael Sadler. “Republic of Booza is all about discovery of unique flavors and experiences, so it’s natural that the adventure brought us to the experts, institutions, specialists, and artisans at the top of their crafts. New York is the gastronomical mecca of the world, so fortunately for us, these connoisseurs were right in our backyard.”
Exploring the city’s flavors, ranging from global regional cuisine to familiar classics inspired Sadler to come up with the list of restaurants to partner with restaurants, who, below, have shared their inspirations and flavors to expect.
Clinton Street Baking Company’s Blueberry Pancake Booza (Through April 14)
“When we were approached by Republic of Booza about creating a flavor partnership we were immediately intrigued: Classic milkshakes and ice cream sundaes are featured on our menu at Clinton St. Baking Co, and we also have an outpost in Dubai. On our visits to the UAE, we’ve become enamored with all kinds of Arabic flavors and customs. The mashup seemed like a natural fit. We were also very impressed with Republic of Booza’s flavor selections. They were original, globally influenced, and culinarily modern with just the right combinations and appeal. Never before had we thought about blueberry pancakes in ice cream (duh!) but the way Republic of Booza adds our pancakes, blueberry sauce, whole berries and maple butter to the sweet cream base makes it a no-brainer. Our customers eat pancakes for dessert all the time and now at Republic of Booza, they can eat pancakes with ice cream for dessert too.” – Dede Lahman
Black Seed Bagels’ Everything Bagel Booza (April 29 – May 12)
“Whenever Black Seed chooses to partner with someone, we make sure their brand personality and food offerings have a similar ethos to ours. Republic of Booza is similar to Black Seed Bagels as they took something that is hundreds of years old and created their own version of it (while still keeping it classic and timeless). I’ve seen several attempts that just end up bastardizing a cult classic. We chose to do this flavor as we wanted something that screamed ‘bagels!’ and that was also something intriguing. The everything bagel flavor that Republic of Booza created for us is extremely interesting and also unexpected!” – Dianna Daoheung
Win Son’s Guava - Plum Powder Sorbet (May 13 – May 27)
“Like most of our collabs, we just like working with good people who are doing cool, meaningful things. We understood that collaborating with Republic of Booza would mean learning about eastern Mediterranean ice cream, which is denser, smoother and more flavorful. We were also excited that they were open to us getting in the kitchen with their production chef, Jeffrey Lan, who is coincidentally Taiwanese-American — we had fun spitballing and working together. When we were throwing out flavors we’ve had at fruit milk stands in Taiwan, Jeff was the one who suggested the classic guava and plum powder combo and that was game over. This coincidental chemistry only comes from both parties going out of their way to make this work genuinely, which is super appreciated. We looked for plum powder in Flushing and Kalustiyans in the city (best place ever) while we were waiting for the Taiwanese brand that we wanted to come in the mail. We also tried fresh ripe guava (with skin on and off) as well as a specialty pre-made puree that employs super ripe and organic guavas (better than what we we were working with). It’s also always cool to work with products that are new to us like sahlab (ground orchid root) and mastic that bind and create more elasticity.” – Trigg Brown and Josh Ku
Murray’s Cheese’s Cheese & Wine’ Flavor Flight including Langres and Champagne, Cambozola and Tawny Port and Up In Smoke & Rye Whiskey (June 24- July 7)
“When Murray’s was approached to partner with Republic of Booza to create cheese and beverage pairings in the form of ice cream, it seemed like a no-brainer. We’re very excited for people to be able to experience the pleasures of cheese and wine and cheese and whiskey pairings through the medium of ice cream. It’s a unique offering that we’ve never seen before and we’re elated to be able to partner with Republic of Booza to make these pairings come to life.”
Tacocina’s Elote Preparado (July 8 – July 21)
“We were very excited to partner with Republic of Booza because they are right here in our neighborhood, they opened right around the same time we did last summer and they are making an really cool product that is new to us, therefore really exciting! After speaking with their team I knew we wanted to do a flavor that wasn’t already a dessert or ice cream, so we thought of corn because even though we think of it as a savory product in the summer they get to be really sweet. And the best way we like to eat Elote is with its classic Mexican garnishes of lime, cotija cheese and chili powder.” - Barbara Garcia
Seed + Mill’s Chocolate Swirled Halva (July 22 – August 4)
“Both our products originate from the Middle East where they have been loved for centuries. I love the way we are both re-thinking traditional historic foods and introducing them to a new and curious American audience, but with contemporary and unexpected flavor combinations. What’s old is new again! Importantly, I also love the quality and authenticity behind the Republic of Booza brand. I am proud of the fact that we are both making artisanal handmade products, focusing on premium ingredients with a very unique taste. The combined stretchy texture of Booza, combined with the delicate flaky texture of halva is going to blow people away.” – Rachel Simmons
Other participants include Okonomi with Sake Kasu and Yuzu Kosho Sorbet (April 15 – April 28), Emily Miller‘s Malaysian Breakfast: Pulled Tea and Kaya Toast (May 28 – June 9) and Meme’s Diner‘s Vietnamese Iced Coffee Cake (June 10 – June 23).
The Republic of Booza is located at 76 North 4th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Booza prices start at $5.25 for a small, $6.25 for medium, $7.25 for large and $8.25 for X-large.
