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Clear your weekend schedule because Sasha Zabar’s cult-favorite hot chocolate is back this Friday, November 7, and it’s ready to melt its way through New York’s holiday crowds. Glace, Zabar’s Upper East Side treat shop and the birthplace of the now-legendary s’mores hot chocolate, is relaunching its full winter menu both at its Madison Avenue flagship and at its iconic Rockefeller Center truck.
If you’ve somehow missed the saga: Glace became a cold-weather celebrity almost by accident. After a strong summer selling ice cream, sales dipped as temperatures dropped and Zabar improvised a hot drinks menu anchored by a s’mores hot chocolate built from semi-sweet 56% dark chocolate, dairy from upstate’s Battenkill Valley Creamery and a warm, house-made marshmallow crown torched to order. What started as a handful of cups a day turned into hundreds, then more than a thousand daily, with lines looping around the block deep into January.
This year’s lineup brings back the hits and adds several maximalist newcomers. The classic s’mores returns, complete with its toasted marshmallow halo. Brownie batter arrives as a rich, melty version of its namesake, loaded with hot fudge and actual brownie bites. Ferrero Glace leans into gianduja decadence with candied hazelnuts and Glace’s own Nutella. Cookies and cream doubles down with an Oreo-dipped marshmallow ring and whipped cream flecked with cookie crumbs. And salted caramel keeps things classic with a glossy ribbon of caramel over the marshmallow crown. All of them land on Friday, with more seasonal flavors and limited-edition collabs rolling out as winter goes on.
Rockefeller Center gets its own twist on the craze via Glace’s vintage-inspired dessert truck on Center Plaza along 49th Street. The truck—part classic American ice cream rig, part French Citroën daydream—will also dole out cups of the hot chocolate phenomenon. It’s open seven days a week from noon to 7pm, perfectly positioned for anyone braving the holiday crowds, checking out the tree or simply craving something sweet on the way through midtown. If the past two years are any indication, prepare to wait—and prepare for it to be worth it.