Big Gay Ice Cream Shares the Inside Scoop on NYC's Big Gay Brunch with Underground Eats

Big Gay Brunch is just around the corner, and we are absolutely stoked! Supporting the The Trevor Project and hosted by Underground Eats, Next Magazine and Big Gay Ice Cream at the Mercedes Club pool on the afternoon of June 22nd, the event will feature food by Top Chefs Dave Martin, Zac Young, and Elizabeth Falkner, along with specialty cocktails and a bloody mary bar. Combine that with music by DJ Whitney Day (from Cielo, PH-D, Pacha NYC, Greenhouse), bocce ball, an amateur synchronized Swimming Contest (yes, anybody can sign up), and a rooftop pool, and you’ve got the perfect start to NYC Pride Week!
Since we already brought you a preview of the Mercedes Club, this week we thought we’d chat with Bryan Petroff, one of the founders of NYC’s favorite LGBTQ-friendly ice cream parlor, Big Gay Ice Cream!
Untapped Cities: We can’t wait for Big Gay Brunch! What are you and the rest of Big Gay Ice Cream most excited about?
Bryan Petroff: Synchronized swimming competitions, of course!
UC: Obviously, we love your ice cream. (Who doesn’t?) But will you be serving ice cream at the brunch, or are you trying out some different recipes? Can you tell us a little about what kind of food Big Gay Ice Cream will be bringing, well, to the table?
Bryan: We actually are still shaking our Magic Eight Ball to determine what we are doing. We have done both boozy shakes and boozy floats before, and may end up doing something along those lines—especially since we have an entire Absolut Vodka Bar at our disposal. We have also bandied about the idea of an ice cream sundae bar. All shall be revealed, but not until later. We are in the middle of our LA Truck Pop-Up, which we can officially say is consuming our lives for the foreseeable future.
UC: How did you first connect with Underground Eats for this project?
Bryan: They came to us. It was one of those mutual admiration connections and we were looking for a way to work together for a while. Finally, one of us slapped the other across the face—I can’t remember who, but we were all hungover at the time—and said, Duh! Big Gay Brunch. We had to postpone doing it a while until everyone’s schedule meshed.
UC: Last question. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Bryan: My favorite is simple lemon sorbet. Or actually Concord grape sorbet. Cool and refreshing—the opposite of what we mostly do. Doug’s favorite is B3 (B cubed—brown sugar, brown butter, and brownie—from Toscanini’s in Cambridge).
Join us! Untapped is offering two levels of tickets, VIP at $150 which includes a free ride with access to the VIP area, Uber’s luxury service and premium ABSOLUTE Tune beverage service. General Admission is $90.
Get in touch with the author @kellitrapnell.