The smell of freshly made waffle cones hits you the moment you near MilkCraft in Fairfield – and it’s heavenly! The entire scene – ice cream being freshly frozen in clouds of liquid nitrogen behind the counter, the danciest of music pumping out, edgy-cool interior and exterior – it’s all an Instagramming dream. Not to mention the taste of those warm waffle cones and smooth, creamy ice cream! Ahhhh, if you haven’t been, get there pronto! When the weather gets warmer they’re known for having lines of people waiting to get their MilkCraft fix!
While we sampled ice cream and “blogeled” with it (because ice cream is always a favorite fashion-blogger accessory), we asked Lynn Mainiero some Qs about her and husband, David’s newest business venture. As restaurant concept designers they have been responsible for several other successful restaurants, including Spazzi in Fairfield. They opened MilkCraft in May 2016.
Tell us all about the concept of MilkCraft and how it came to be!
Our concept has been on the back burner for a few years as we’re restaurant concept designers. We travel to Italy often and one of our favorite family spots is Capri where they sell brioche stuffed with gelato, and that’s where our inspiration started. My oldest son David has an office in Shanghai, China where the inspiration of the Hong Kong style waffle began; our trademarked Bubblecone®.
Ok, why does it taste SOOOO good?
We make all our ice cream and caramelized Bubblecones in small batches every morning with farm fresh, locally sourced ingredients. All our milk and cream comes from farmer-owned co-op farms. We make 13 to 15 crafted flavors along with limited seasonal flavors like White Chocolate Candy Cane in a red velvet Bubblecone and a Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie with a piece of pie mixed into ice cream. We freeze every scoop to order with food grade liquid nitrogen, which is what 76% of the air we breathe is made up of. This freezes the ice cream and creates smaller ice crystals which results in a much smoother ice cream texture. No one is doing what we do. Ice cream is usually made in batch freezers and frozen for months. What we make in the morning, you are eating freshly frozen in front of you. Cow to cone !!
Keeping it in the family! Lynn and David’s son Jordan is the store manager (and DJ – we loved the tracklist that was playing while we were there!)
The design of the store is really awesome, who came up with it?
I am a hospitality interior designer (LID Interiors) and wanted to design a fun, urban, but modern storefront and bring a whimsical park-like feel to our outdoor patio. We have heaters built into the ceiling outdoors for customers’ comfort during the colder temps. We are also installing a fire pit.
What’s been the biggest hit?
Our top-selling flavors are Cookie Butter Speculoos and Chocolate Smores. We offer Strawberry Lemon Sorbet for a milk-free option. We also sell a Creameebun which is like a cross between a brioche and a warm glazed doughnut filled with a scoop of ice cream. Vietnamese Coffee stuffed in the warm doughnut is a hit!
Will you be opening more locations in the future?
We are working on other locations in the NY, New Haven, and West Hartford markets. We will also be selling our concept stores in other areas.
Happy customers!
We loved your music playlist –Jordan, can you share your current MilkCraft top 5?
The top 5 songs we play are Closer (The Chainsmokers), Ice Cream Paint Job (Dorrough), Heathens (Twenty One Pilots), My House (Flo Rida), and Controlla (Drake).
Post sponsored by MilkCraft. All opinions are our own.
Milkcraft, 1215 Post Road, Fairfield, Connecticut – Open every day 11am to 11pm
Words: Bev/Photos: Lora