Let’s Hang! w/ Bad Habit

When asked how they spend their days off, Jesse and Javi Zuniga of Bad Habit ice cream in the East Village said, “We love to head uptown and hit a few of our favorites, maybe the Met or the MoMA.” Stogna dug into his bag of ideas and suggested a walkabout the American Museum of Natural History to look at the dinosaurs. 

What follows is our conversation, in and out between the rows of fossils, talking to two of the coolest cats making ice cream in NYC.

I was six-years old the first time I went to an ice cream parlor. I was my parents’ first child and they were idealistic – no sugar, no TV on the weekdays, no fast food. But there I was, against their better judgment, my eager eyes devouring the industrial tubs of ice cream still safely behind the cylindrical glass. 

I felt like a pariah admitted into the walls of the city, desperate to understand all that I’d been missing. In cartoons, the cones were stacked three or four scoops high. That would soon be me. But when the Scooper Guy asked for my order, Mom butted in to say I could pick one – mijo, pero one – flavor. How could I possibly choose just one?

Ice cream, the all-American treat, served atop a flaky cone made of what could only be sand fibers and insulation. Dribbling down your hand, the sugars destined to make your index and middle fingers stick together like Spock. Ice cream could be made from anything, really, and I’d love it. 

But – what if ice cream really was anything? What if someone took the best flavors of stuff – sumptuous fruit, piquant spices and herbs, umami oils – and made ice cream with it. Wouldn’t it rule?

Turns out, someone has. And yes, it does rule. 

We strolled through the wings of the Natural History museum, past the Indonesian artifacts and the pantheon of chimps as they told their story. The two of them were at ease, but prepared, polished. They’re taking care to build a brand and aware of the risks they’ve taken. 

“I was a semester short of finishing law school in Venezuela before I dropped out [to pursue cooking],” said Javi. “My parents weren’t stoked, but my dad bought me a set of knives.” 

They met while working at adjoining restaurants; Javi a pastry sous chef and Jesse cooking on the line.

In a black knit beanie, crisp gray crewneck, and Selleck-ian mustache, Javi doesn’t look like your neighborhood lawyer – or ice cream man, for that matter. Yet here he is, running Bad Habit with his partner Jesse, both not-too-removed from the bustle of NYC dinner service. They met while working at adjoining restaurants; Javi a pastry sous chef and Jesse cooking on the line. 

The genesis of Bad Habit was, fittingly, a pint of ice cream. While unwinding on the couch after service, recapping their evening amidst bites of Ben & Jerry’s, they paused. Wait – this is awesome. Why don’t we make this?

So they did. After incubating Bad Habit in their Brooklyn apartment (make ice cream at home, I dare you), they’ve expanded to a dedicated location and 130 flavors in their catalog. The idea to make ice cream took just minutes. Perfecting their hundred-plus flavors took years.

“When I come up with a new flavor, the most exciting part is telling Jesse,” said Javi, as we walked past the saurischian fossils. 

“The work is never ending, but that also means we get to spend all of our time with each other,” said Jesse. “We can also just throw random ideas out there and know the other person has the love and experience to listen.”

“The work is never ending, but that also means we get to spend all of our time with each other,” — Jesse.

Inside Bad Habit there’s black and white minimalist tile, a counter up front with a La Marzocco, a few dozen ice cream tubs, and a cozy nook in the back to split a bottle of Lambrusco. “Even if the space isn’t the most polished thing, it’s us,” said Jesse. If this is unpolished, few places aren’t. 

Their goal is to eventually get Bad Habits into stores, maybe open another location. Slide their Tahini Orange into dessert menus around the city. 

But for now, they’re cranking out deliciously unique but familiar flavors of ice cream and building a dream together. As we stood in the foyer of the Gilder Center, Jesse professes: “Working with my partner, we can be greater than the sum of our parts. It’s our life.” 

So make time and sneak away for a spoonful. You’ll discover Blueberry Cheesecake, Miso Plum, Grilled Peaches and Cream, or a Cherry Chocolate. Plus dozens more, each beckoning for a scoop. 

How could I possibly choose just one?