Morgenstern's BANANAS

"In the East Village, Bananas is a minimalist Asian-American restaurant from a few folks who worked at Shmoné and Blue Ribbon. They’ll also be serving things like a caesar with fried anchovies, and a chopped cheese with Thai basil and red chilis, alongside sake flights and shochu-based cocktails. Look for the banana motifs around the restaurant." - will hartman, bryan kim

"Opening: September Shrimp wonton étouffee sounds promising. You can get some, once Bananas opens in the East Village. The minimalist Asian-American restaurant, from a few folks who worked at Shmoné and Blue Ribbon, will also be serving things like a miso caesar, alongside sake flights and shochu-based cocktails." - bryan kim

"Morgenstern’s converted its original ice cream parlor into a vegan soft-serve spot with a bright yellow facade where everything is dairy-free. Flavors include banana caramel, salted peanut, popcorn, and prickly punch. Shakes called busters are provided, and also mix-ins featuring things like pineapple and graham teddies." - John Tsung, Eater Staff

"Bananas feels like something you’d see on the Coney Island Boardwalk, except it’s on the LES and makes non-dairy soft serve in flavors like coconut vanilla and sumo yuzu. Get the salted chocolate peanut butter soft serve. The bright yellow spot from the Morgenstern’s team has a loyal following. So if you stop by on a warm weekend afternoon, expect a line." - hannah albertine, willa moore, arden shore, molly fitzpatrick

"There are, of course, many valid reasons not to consume dairy. No dairy does not necessarily mean no ice cream, especially in the past few years, as ingredients such as cashew milk and coconut cream have been taken to new heights, but it does typically mean no soft serve. Enter Morgenstern’s Bananas, a new venture from the ice-cream impresario Nick Morgenstern, in the site of his original store (2 Rivington St.; soft serve $5.55-$9.99). This is not a place specializing, as I first assumed, in banana soft serve (also known as “banana whip” or “nice cream”), for which the frozen fruit is blended, sometimes with add-ins, to surprisingly creamy effect. Only one of the non-dairy soft-serve flavors here contains bananas: banana vanilla, with a base of coconut cream." - Hannah Goldfield