Two words that get us through summer: Ice. Cream. Mouthwatering burgers and waffle fries don’t hurt either. 

The calendar may be telling us summer is coming to a close, but there are still plenty of blue-sky days on the horizon. You know the kind, when nothing quenches your appetite quite like a cone with a few special toppings. We get the scoop (sorry, not sorry) from  culinary director Jason Casey on all things from Mister Dips this season.

There are more ice cream spots in NYC than ever before. What makes Mister Dips special?

Yes, they’re everywhere. Luckily for us, ice cream is only about 30–40% of our menu. As much effort as we put into creating our signature, rotating dairy dips, we also have a well-thought out (and delicious) savory menu. Our single dip burgers, signature waffle fry options and Chixy Dips have really grounded our business, allowing us to attract more than the dessert-loving customer.

Customers care a lot about how ingredients are sourced these days. What can you tell us about how Mister Dips sources its ingredients?

Sourcing has always been one of our key drivers in developing the wacky rotating menu items throughout the years. With our core menu ingredients, we try to work with local New York distributors such as Pat LaFrieda beef, and our vanilla and chocolate custard bases are from upstate NY. There’s also a familiarity aspect to our business we try to be mindful of as well. Plus, Heinz ketchup all the way!

What makes the Seaport a great location for Mister Dips?

The view, the restaurants, concerts, all the activities throughout the year… it’s such a great place to be. A lot of New Yorkers come in and mention they haven’t been to the area since Sharper Image was here. It’s the perfect place for us to set up shop and provide some yummy food. 

How do you design the special menu items each month? Tell us it involves tastings!

We try to stick to a basic seasonality aspect and then decide what would make sense for that particular month. Then, we try to source what can be available in both NY and Detroit. From there, we usually do a few rounds of taste tests, get feedback and try to lock in the new item, verbiage and final look with the team.

What can you tell us about the current August cone and burger choices? 

For August we have the S’morning Glory cone, the Watermelon Mojo and the BBQ Bacon Dip. We wanted items that felt like summer. BBQs, cookouts, watermelon and s’mores at night… we’re just missing fireflies! 

Any intel on the September specials?

We are finalizing a new cone for September as we speak. I don’t want to give away too much but it could have something to do with back to school and cookies, with a fun brand partnership tied in. We’ll also be switching up our boozy lemonade offering to a cranberry-vodka concoction… getting ready for fall over here. 

What was the inspiration behind your Winnie the Pooh Berry cone? (It includes Hunny Nut ice cream, butterscotch-berry dip and bumble bee candies).

We love any opportunity to partner with a great brand that invokes a childhood nostalgia; the menu items are so much fun to develop. The Winnie the Pooh cone just seemed to all fall into place. The colors, the bees, the honey… they should offer it at Disney!

NYCWFF’s Burger Bash is coming up in the fall. What will the Mister Dips team do to top last year’s People’s Choice win?

We’re standing behind the same formula this year. It’s such a good burger and it’s really hard to not offer it again. With the Covid spike last year, the occupancy wasn’t at capacity. We are still a very small brand comparatively… the more burgers in mouths for us, the better!

About Mister Dips

Mister Dips was born in 2016 within a retrofitted 1974 Airstream trailer at The William Vale’s Vale Park, a 15,000 square-foot public green space overlooking the Williamsburg waterfront. Five years later, in 2021, the Mister Dips team opened its first brick-and-mortar location on Pier 17 here at the Seaport in downtown Manhattan.

The Seaport location serves Mister Dips’ signature griddle burgers, waffle fries, Chixy Dips and a list of playful Dairy Dips along with some newer additions: the Dipsy Doozy & the Boozy Doozy, extra thick shakes in four exciting flavors. Follow @eatmisterdips on Instagram to stay in the loop.