Das Eis at Henrys

Henrys

Later, I’d like to say I was the one who discovered Henrys. Sure, there was that TripAdvisor plaque of excellence displayed modestly behind the ice-cream shop window but I’d say if I hadn’t happened to pass the shop on that certain summer day, if my sweet tooth hadn’t been killing me that evening, the petite shop would have remained obscure, undiscovered and unappreciated. The world wouldn’t know of the whisky-flavored Eis or of the correct way to eat an Earl Gray. Take a bite. This way your teeth would sink into the baked cherries and if you’re not already in love, you will certainly be afterwards.

Sabine Menzel

Sabine runs Henrys. It has taken me two ice cream scoops, the marshmallowy chunky-chocolaty Rocky Road and Macbeth’s Double ‘Toil and’ Trouble to stop by one summer evening and commit the crime of asking for an interview instead of an ice-cream. Sabine says, “Well, that’s a lovely idea!” So I come around the next day and try my best to steer clear of the dipping cabinet, at least for a while.

You can never go wrong at Henry's!

Truth is I have already started doing the interview first time I stepped into Henrys. I had asked what Sabine’s favorite ice-cream was because I was blindsided by how good everything looked.

“I’m a bit conservative with mine.” Sabine had said, “So at the end of the day, even when I say peppermint-choco has found a place in my heart, I’ll always go for the strawberry.” Maybe not in her choice of a favorite flavor, but Sabine is certainly adventurous when it comes to developing her originals. Her rule of thumb?
“It should taste nice. It’s not just throwing everything in there but creating something that actually tastes good, something that works.”

Italians do it so well with their gelatos. They take the simplest of ingredients and they just bring out their inherent deliciousness. That’s art. The far-flung American ice-cream makers are more adventurous cause in Americas everything’s a tad “more”. More cream. More intense flavors. More wacky funny stuff and ‘they don’t need to jump through one hundred hoops to get it done!’

Henrys is a modest ice cream parlor though. Here, Sabine whips up her own original recipes out of fresh milk and cream and adds a little magic too. A little magic and freshly-made brownies and baked cherries and lots of love. Yes, she gets inspirations here and there. The brownies she makes using Nigella Lawson’s popular recipe and her sundaes take after their American counterparts. While German Eisbecher towers with heaping piles of Eis, cream, fruits and sauces, at Henrys sundae-simplicity is key.

Get adventurous and seasonal with Henry's Sundae! 

“So ours is just something baked, ice cream, and a sauce. And the sauce varies depending on the season. We had this amazing plum sauce a while ago and soon it will be cherries’ turn.”

But the ice cream remains the star at Henrys. So there are those rare occasions where clients stop by for a good cup of joe but the Eis steals the show every time. And there is something for everyone’s taste at Henrys; may it be the bestseller Peanut Brownies or Double Trouble or even vegan options like the intensely-chocolaty Schoko because you can’t live in Berlin without going maybe a little vegan, maybe a little organic.

“I’d love to go hundred percent organic but will our bio ice-cream be still affordable for those who love it so dearly?” Sabine points out, “So it’s all about the balance and inclusiveness.” Everybody needs to feel welcome, rich or poor, young or old, everybody. And the neighborhood is not particularly a rich area. It still has that old Berlin feel to it when it was getting diverse and international but nobody was sitting down starting at some MacBook all the time. And Sabine likes it that way and though the area wasn’t her first option when she was looking up places, the small shop grew on her.

Earl Grey and Peanut Brownies are already my favorites! 

“We started last June… mid-ice-cream season because there was simply so much to do.” Sabine says of the Henrys origins, “We were developing recipes for two years.” Some of these recipes are so close to her heart. The scotch-flavored Whiskey Eis took six weeks to develop and the Earl Gray with its subtle hint of English tea and baked cherries was perfected drawing inspirations from ice cream parlors in New York and San Francisco.

Henrys now has its passionate regulars who sometimes drop in a couple of times a day. They bring in their friends and family and the word gets around of the sweet Eis parlor off Schlossstraße. Go there sometime and ask for a cone if you’re still in touch with your inner child or get a cup if you like to eat the Eis your own pace. I’m looking at you control-freaks!

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So who’s Henry? I ask. Sabine laughs.

“O Henry… Henry’s my cat.”

Henry and Lilly (Guess who's our man!) Photo courtesy of Henry's Instagram