Ronnybrook Milk Bar

I half expected to see a cow lumber into Ronnybrook Milk Bar - that's how fresh the milk is. And it's not just milk; it's ice cream, baked macaroni and cheese, milkshakes, yogurt, and sandwiches made with fresh dill farmer's cheese. Not for the lactose intolerant, but an indescribable pleasure for everyone else!

Today was the milk bar's eighth day of operation, and the place was already swarmed with people hellbent on ice cream. Ronnybrook serves cones, sundaes, and ice cream stuffed into cookie sandwiches and doughnut bowls. Ice cream is just about the only thing I didn't try today.

I sprung for the macaroni and cheese, asparagus soup, chocolate-covered strawberry milkshake and warm cookies. I also got to try the lavender milk and the "apple pie a la mode" drink, which was a milkshake of homemade apple compote, milk, vanilla ice cream and apple cider, dusted with cinnamon.

The macaroni and cheese was a ramekin of little elbows smothered in cheddar and topped with ultra-buttery, crisp breadcrumbs. Cheese melted and pooled in the bottom of the dish and I scraped it off with my fork. I looked at my bowl of soup with guilt; how on earth would I finish this bright green puree, its dollop of creme fraiche sporting a sprinkling of chives?

I decided to have it packed up so I could concentrate on my chocolate strawberry drink, a thick shake of fresh strawberries, chocolate milk and strawberry yogurt. It truly tasted like a chocolate-covered strawberry. And then there were the warm chocolate-chip cookies! "Where do you get the chocolate?" I asked, a helpless mess by this point. "It's a secret," the owner replied, cryptically.

Oh well. I guess the important thing is that all the dairy products come from Ronnybrook Farm!

Ronnybrook Milk Bar: Chelsea Market, 75 Ninth Ave., (212) 741-6455.