Yesterday, Juicy J and I headed into the city for the Celebrate Flatiron Chefs event in Madison Square Park.  The weather was beautiful so we rolled down the windows and blasted some tunes out of our brightly colored Ciao Bella van.  With our four flavors on hand (Chocolate Sorbet, Banana Mango Sorbet, Strawberry Gelato, and Malted Milk Ball gelato), we headed from the Lincoln Tunnel over to 5^th Avenue, observing New York City fashion on the streets.  But just as we were cruising down 5^th Avenue, I felt the van come to a sudden halt right before a green light.  I looked over at Juicy J who was even more puzzled than me and I knew something was wrong.  She fumbled with the keys, but the van’s ignition had locked up.  Cars and taxis were endlessly beeping at us.  We couldn’t figure out where the button for the hazard lights was on the dashboard.  And even worse, we were afraid that someone would come sailing into the back of our van! 

 Thankfully, the light turned red and we had a minute or two to attempt to restart the car.  In a calm panic, Juicy J spotted a NYPD car to the right of us that was stopped at the light.  I ran out into the middle of 5^th Avenue and knocked on the officer’s window and all I could say was “Our car just stopped.”  I suppose I startled him by knocking on his window in the middle of the street, as the only thing he said was “What?”  I repeated “We can’t move” and pointed to the van.  At that exact moment, both the officer and I heard the van’s engine pick up.  “Seems to be working just fine” was his response as he pulled away at the green light.  I ran back over to Juicy J and hopped into the van.  We were both relieved, but nervous the van would stall again. 

 After parking the van and setting up for the event just in time, we seemed to forget the whole ordeal.  Talking with Ciao Bella lovers and introducing others to our delicious product was a great way to unwind from the near disaster.  The event was a success and we went through our entire product just as it was ending.  Malted Milk Ball was definitely a crowd favorite, although we received rave reviews about every flavor!         

 Following a call to the office about the van incident, we hopped back in feeling better about driving it back to Ciao Bella.  We returned in one piece and even managed to joke the entire ride home about our experience!  A beautiful and sunny afternoon definitely turned into an interesting but fun night.  We are thankful that it ended this way!

Event Buzz:

Juicy J and I will be scooping outside of Universal News at 50 West 23^rd Street in NYC from 11am-2pm tomorrow.  Please come by and let us know you heard about the event from our blog!  We look forward to meeting you