Took F train to York St, walked a few blocks, East towards the water and then South past the Manhattan Bridge. Along Water Street, we stopped in at Jacques Torres Chocolate Shop, as we heard that's a place to check out. Tiny compared to say those Max Brenner chocolate shops in the city, but lots of yummy-sounding things, and many chocolate-dipped things such as corn flakes, cheerios, marshmellows, fruits and more. We wanted to try some of their fancy drinks but as we already had two treats in mind we held off. Bought small pieces of chocolate to try later. 
We made our way to Grimaldi's and found that the lines we'd heard of were very true indeed. The outside doesn't strike you as a place you'd think hosts the "best pizza in NYC" according to some, but the crowds are up on this fact, and wait patiently. It was a hot day and we stood outside for 30-40 minutes, now wishing we had gone ahead with the frozen hot-chocolate idea at Jacques Torres after all. We read the stories in the window while we waited, and observed the sign letting us know that even for take-out we must wait. Finally we were able to order our pizza and go; you can only order whole pies here, no slices. It was $13 for a small mozzarella pizza, and we carried it to the "park" along the river at DUMBO, between the Manhattan & Brooklyn bridges. Thankfully it was worth the wait....
Great thin crust, the right balance between being thin but not crunchy-cracker crust; the sauce tasted like actual fresh tomatoes chopped up just for our pizza, great fresh mozzarella, bits of basil. Can you say happiness in pizza form??
We enjoyed our pizza in the park, observing everyone who had brought their kids or family out for Memorial Day weekend, and the people walking across Brooklyn Bridge. It was nice to relax, and though I'm usually a big fan of travel, it was nice to not travel this Memorial Day. Soon it was time for dessert, our other "fav flav". We walked back over to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, facing the pier where the ferry comes in. Yet another long line to test the patience of those looking for some yummy Brooklyn treats, and it doesn't help that every tour bus or circle line boat that goes by points out the place to all of the eager tourists!
We had heard that the Ice Cream factory uses all natural ingredients and is made right there in small batches. They are not trying to overwhelm with endless flavors, but offer a limited range of very good quality flavors, and amazing chocolate sauce. After another agonizing 30 min wait, during which every person who walked out with an ice cream was given evil eyes of jealousy by all who still continued to wait, we were able to get our treats. The strawberry shake tested fresh and subtle. The vanilla ice cream and chocolate-chocolate chunk rich and decadent, and the hot fudge amazing. Delicious end to the day, and you can count these in with our favorite flavors too!
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