Grimaldi's Pizza and The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory

Last night's culinary adventure was a trip to Grimaldi's Pizza and The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, both located by the river in Brooklyn. If you haven't been to Grimaldi's, let me tempt you: the thin-crusted pizza is topped with fresh mozzarella, not the shredded Velveeta that you find at so many Brooklyn pizzerias. Our favorite toppings are the sweet roasted red peppers (fresh, not canned) and the salty whole black olives (no tinny sliced olives here)!

We abstained from dessert (the usual suspects: tortoni, spumoni and cannoli) in order to visit the now-legendary Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, which has only been open since September 2001. Various neighbors are protesting the existence of the Factory, so if you want to support good ice cream, sign the petition. We already lost Pete's, open for 25 years, to a landlord who raised the rent by 75%; the Factory is a good alternative (although I miss the brownies at Pete's!).

The Factory is close to my heart because it uses Michel Cluizel Belgian chocolate in the hot fudge. So I went all out for the creamy chocolate chunk ice cream (HUGE dark chocolate chunks) with hot fudge and whipped cream! My partner chose the strawberry ice cream, a little milky and sweet for my taste. We will try the peaches and cream next time, as well as toppings like toasted almonds and caramel.

Grimaldi's: 19 Old Fulton St., Brooklyn. (718) 858-4300. Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory: 2 Old Fulton St., Brooklyn. (718) 246-3963.