A taste of Peru has come to Ridgewood.
The owners of Créme & Sugar, a brand-new ice cream parlor and coffee shop in Ridgewood, are putting a unique twist on a classic treat, introducing four fruity Peruvian flavors of ice cream as well as wine ice cream.
Jonathan Alvarado and Nelly Alers opened Créme & Sugar, located at 58-42A Catalpa Ave., on March 26, and have already amassed a following thanks to their creative take on ice cream, as first reported on Ridgewood Social.
They began selling their lucuma-flavored ice cream out of a food truck in 2015, and as their popularity grew, they eventually began participating in food markets and adding new flavors to their repertoire.
“We were giving out samples and then people starting loving it, so they wanted to buy it and the response so good, so we decided why not,” Alers said. “Then we wondered if they would like chirimoya, and it was a hit with the kids.”
After their Peruvian flavors took off, the duo wanted to open an ice cream parlor right in Ridgewood to serve their international treats, noticing that there weren’t any other ice cream shops in the neighborhood, other than Carvel.
“It’s great,” Alvarado said of opening the shop. “I’ve lived in the neighborhood for almost 25 years. I’ve seen the neighborhood, how it used to be and how it’s changed. I love how it’s changing, but I hope it doesn’t change too much. I like the balance that it has now.”
While children are busy trying the shop’s exotic fruit and more traditional flavors, Créme & Sugar offers a special treat just for adults: wine ice cream.
That’s right, ice cream that tastes like wine.
Créme & Sugar currently offers five flavors of wine ice cream: Riesling, raspberry chardonnay, strawberry sparkling, cherry merlot and chocolate cabernet.
“The cherry merlot, it has wine-infused cherries so when you bite into the cherry you taste the wine even more,” Alers said.
The wine ice creams have a creamy texture, which is customary for Peruvian ice cream. The raspberry chardonnay has a smooth taste with a sweet hint of raspberry, while the Riesling has a crisp and fruity flavor to it.
You must be 21 years or older to order the wine ice cream because it does contain 5 percent alcohol, the owners warned.
“It is still a food item, so you can’t get drunk from eating it,” Alvarado said. “You would have to eat a lot of it. You would probably get sick from eating so much first before you feel anything, but it does have that flavor to it.”
Créme & Sugar offers more than just wild ice cream flavors. They also sell Peruvian coffee with beans right from Peru, multicolored bagels that match the flag of Cusco, Peruvian candies and a multitude of pastries. For those looking to enjoy their treats on site, Créme & Sugar is decorated with items from Peru and Cusco, as well as chalkboards with fun designs that allow customers to sign their names and let people know they were there.
Créme & Sugar offers seating, inside and out, and a wide array of table games for customers to enjoy. Alvarado and Alers will even get in on the fun and games from time to time.
Créme & Sugar is open on Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays from 8 a.m. to midnight, and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
