Eleven Madison Park's Antique Snow Cone Machine, Plus 5 Chef-Invented Shaved Ices to Try Around the Country

by Alessandra Bulow
on 07/03/14 at 02:20 PM

04- Eleven Madison Park Snow Cone Machine

Trendsetting chef/owner Daniel Humm and pastry chef Angela Pinkerton are constantly hatching fun new ideas for Eleven Madison Park guests -- and this summer, the duo have reinvented the classic snow cone, carving desserts from a hand-cranked vintage shaved ice machine.

"You can find shaved ice and snow cone street carts all over NYC in the summertime--it's part of the culture of the city," Pinkerton says. "We wanted to take that story and bring it into the restaurant in a fun way -- with the EMP touch."


Humm and Pinkerton were so excited about the idea that they put a researcher on the case to find the vintage shaver. She found the perfect one while antique shopping in the Bronx, but it needed some help. After getting it refurbished by Regency Service Carts -- a Brooklyn company that also made the custom gueridon that the machine sits on -- they started playing around to see which flavors they liked and what would fit in with the restaurant's NYC menu theme.

"Shaved ice has been around NYC streets since the 1900s," Humm says. "Ice wagons would transport large blocks of ice and stop to shave off some for the kids, who would then go home and get flavoring put on by their parents. A lot of different immigrant communities in the city seized on and made their own version. Even today you can find shave ice in Italian, Taiwanese, Puerto Rican and Dominican communities throughout the five boroughs." 

Since Chef Humm is always a big green apple fan, Pinkerton started to play with flavors to see what might work well in the frozen treat: "We were still looking to use fruits because that's very classic with a snow cone, but also trying to put our flavor profile in with it. What's great is that green apple is kind of a classic flavor for snow cones anyway. So we just hit it with a little bit of floral jasmine coconut cream, which gives it a little bit of body so you're not just eating sugar and ice. Then added some our signature New York State apple brandy to give it some EMP identity as well. To give it more texture, we topped it with diced apple compressed in lemon juice. It's light and refreshing but different. Plus, it comes toward the end of the meal so you can still enjoy it because it's light."

2-EMP Snow Cone Ingredients

Anyone who's eaten a street cart snow cone knows that you need to eat it quickly before all the syrup falls to the bottom.

"Snow cones are usually made with ground ice," Pinkerton says. "We keep a big block of ice in the freezer so that when we shave it, we can get really fine snow. The snow needs to be fine so it can absorb the syrup so it's mixed in all the way through when you're eating it."

3- EMP Snow_Cones-059_Low_Res

The jasmine cream and apple snow cone rocks, but the ever-innovating team at EMP is about to roll out a new flavor: "For the summertime, we’re playing with blackberry liqueur, blackberry syrup, and a reduced lemon verbena cream. We make blackberry pate a fruit or maybe top it with little blackberry droops/sections," Pinkerton says.

EMP is the only fine dining restaurant in the US that's using an antique shaver to make its frozen treats but chefs in other cities are also creating distinctive snow cone-inspired desserts. Here are five fabulous shaved ice from across the country.

The Catbird Seat, Nashville - Chef Trevor Moran worked at Copenhagen's Noma (aka World's Best Restaurant) for five years before returning to the US to helm this local favorite this January. The Nordic influence shines through in his stunning deconstructed take on the snow cone: Cucumber Snow with Meyer Lemon, Elderflower and Cream.

Cucumber Snow_The Catbird Seat (credit Andrea Behrends)[2]

Oyamel, Washington, D.C. - Super star chef Jose Andres offers two awesome boozy snow cone-inspired desserts at his lively Mexican spot in Penn Quarter. For the Viva las Raspas, hibiscus-raspberry shave ice is spiked with smoky mezcal and served with coconut vanilla bean panna cotta, condensed milk and lime zest. The Paloma Postre dessert presents grapefruit in four delicious ways: a hollowed-out frozen grapefruit shell is filled with creamy vanilla custard, candied peanuts, segmented grapefruit, tequila-spiked granite made with lemon and grapefruit zests, chiffonaded mint, and grapefruit espuma. The finishing touches: mint leaves and a dash of spicy chile pequín. (Photo: Greg Powers)

Oyamel_Paloma j

TanakaSan, Seattle - Shave ice has been on the menu since chef Tom Douglas opened his modern Asian American restaurant in June 2013, but he constantly has new flavor ideas. Seasonal flavors include strawberry-Thai basil, rhubarb-lychee, and galangal. The ice is topped with a mixture of coconut milk, sugar, vanilla bean, and cinnamon, then topped with the homemade fruit syrups and garnished with tiny house made pate de fruits. Here's how Seattle food writer Shelley Lance described the strawberry-Thai basil shave ice to me: "It's surprisingly complex: first you get the rounded strawberry flavor and last you get the mellow coconut. In between you notice the herbaceousness of the basil and the brightness of the lime zest. As you eat it, the shave ice starts to melt, so you enjoy a variety of textures from icy to melted. Also those little fruit gel candies on top freeze harder and harder as you eat adding another texture element. Also it's so light you can eat this even if you didn’t save room for dessert!"

Lychee shaved ice[2]

Talde, Brooklyn - Chef Dale Talde puts a refined stoner food twist on his Filipino Halo Halo ("mix mix") by topping shave ice with sweetened condensed milk, candied young coconut, lemongrass kaffir lime tapioca pearls, green tea syrup, seasonal fruit, and replacing traditional puffed rice with sweet and crispy Cap'n Crunch cereal. 

Talde_Green Tea Halo Halo[1]

The Terrace at Trump, Chicago - Inspired by this outdoor dining spot's views of the Windy City's architecture, Japan-born pastry chef Aya Fukai created her own version of a skyscraper--with her over-the-top Fruit Raspado dessert. Fukai tops sky-high shave ice with homemade fruit syrups and serves it with vanilla ice cream and fresh berries. Guests can choose alcoholic or non-alcoholic versions.



Eleven Madison Park Photography by Sharon Radisch

Tagged with: Alessandra Bulow

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