Sundae Funday LA

Hi!!!!!! I know this blog is deader than that lizard I killed last night (I’m sorry, mom!) but I wanted to poke my nose in anyways, to say hello! (And also because I just love to sniff around- I am a very good sniffer!!) 

Oops. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Oliver Garden Braver, but you can call me Ollie. And I’m the official Dog of the Blog! 

Anyways, I had my very first taste of ice cream the other day (well actually it was like a month ago, but my paws are too big to hit the tiny keyboard keys, and India was too busy never doing anything ever during her general surgery rotation), so this is coming to you late. But better late than never CUZ I LOVEEEE ICE CREAM!!! Even more than cream cheese and tomatoes combined, which are my two other favorite foods. 

India & Jake (and Jake’s siblings Harrison & Courtney-ahhh!!! I met Courtney for the first time & Harrison got to see how much I improved since he first met me when I was 5 days home) took me to Big Bear, where we 1) went to my emporium and 2) got Ben & Jerry’s doggie ice cream!

India picked the Rosie's Batch Frozen Dog Treat With Pumpkin & Mini Cookies flavor, because she knows how much I love my daily dose of pumpkin! And ohmygourd!!!!! It was incredible!

 They’ve truly unleashed (and I don’t use that word lightly; being unleashed is the best) something amazing here- my palate was very impressed by how seamlessly all the flavors blended together. Plus, it was cold, and I love cold stuff. It was even better than ice cubes, and I also really love ice cubes. Mom says she’s never seen me this happy before, except for maybe when I see India’s Ajja (her grandpaw)!! She recorded it for posterity because it was one of the best moments of my life, but tumblr won’t let her post a video - RUDE ! Just ask her to see it in person I guess.

India is also telling me right now that Ben & Jerry’s is super cool because they’re basically socialist, and you could almost taste the means of production being regulated by the community as a whole. (Not really, but a dog can dream- the k9-5 life is so hard on pets everywhere- we need a revolution.) 

I can’t wait to have more ice cream again someday, and I am super grateful to Ben & Jerry for giving me this opportunity! 

We are still a Salt & Straw family through and through though! I even rock my Saltie collar every single day, and maybe one day my dad will even make me Salt & Straw dog ice cream if they ever release a recipe! (I get so jealous when he makes it for mom, so I think it’s only fair- Salt & Straw, if you’re reading this, help a good boy out!! LOOK HOW CUTE I AM!) 

But until then, maybe I’ll have to get myself some Ben & Jerry’s swag. 

Love and licks, 

DOTB (Dog of the Blog) 🐾

(Ollie)

Happy Thanksgiving, blog readers! It’s been a while… I’M SORRY!! Not that I have to justify my life to a bunch of random people on the internet, but I’ve been REALLY busy, ok?!? Which if you know me irl (tbh, you probably do! You’re not just a bunch of random people on the internet… you’re mostly my friends <3 and I love you!) is kind of crazy- like, who knew it was even possible to do more things than I was already doing without actually going insane? Could a crazy person make this?!?

*insert gif here of Adam Scott holding up this ice cream blog*

ANYWAYS here are some ice cream related highlight to catch you up for the past few months:

-          I went to Maine for the first time this summer (obviously NEVER in the Winter) and ate at two different ice cream places and one of them had a lobster statue

Sorry I didn’t blog the experience! I was too busy applying to medical school- you could say I was on a  *lobster* roll (...I’ve already seen myself out)

-          Speaking of medical school, I had an interview in SoCal (pre-all the fires) and Mel & I were reunited at the bougiest Salt & Straw aka Abbot Kinney

To all our LA readers, I literally only had 20 mins in LA before I had my interview and I had an interview in Florida the next morning, so I’m sorry we didn’t hang out! Next time!

-          AND MOST IMPORTANTLY….

We won the Salt & Straw national ice cream day contest!! They said they loved our blog, and I maybe cried. But the best part? They’ve been shipping me all the new seasonal scoops for the past three months. (Like, in an airplane, packed in dry ice, so it doesn’t melt… how cool is that? I literally feel like a celebrity! Or Amazon! Having access to this amount of power should be illegal!)

**Full Disclosure: Despite having received all these flavors for free, all opinions are my own, and I’m not being paid to say anything. (Damn, I’ve always wanted to do that.)**

Which brings us to today’s, seasonally appropriate, blog post. The Salt & Straw Thanksgiving flavors. 

But real quick- I just wanted to express how freaking GRATEFUL I am to all of you, to Salt & Straw, and to ice cream in general. Seriously, I’m getting overwhelmed with emotions just thinking about how lucky I am to just, like, be alive, at 7:20 am on this beautiful Thursday morning. That makes it sound like I’ve had a near death experience or something in the last couple months (I didn’t, I’m totally fine, I’m just hella dramatic), but seriously, I just love you all so much. You make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, or, in the case of ice cream, all cold-but-also-warm-and-fuzzy inside. And I’m going to stop now (feelings eww) at the risk of writing Katy Perry’s next hit single. (Cuz who am I, Sara Bareilles?)

FINALLY, the content you’ve actually been waiting for: the review. Who cares about the Nina, or the Santa Maria… it’s all about the Pint-a(s) of ice cream I’ve been sent.

­­­­

Let’s start with my first glutinous gobble, roasted peach & sage cornbread stuffing. There’s a spice peach jam woven throughout, and it’s so good. Like, I would buy jars of this jam and just eat it with my fingers cuz that’s how good it is. However, the overwhelming flavor present isn’t the threads of peach or the hints of cornbread cookies- it’s the sage. And in all my sage wisdom and years of ice cream expertise, it was a little too much. Now, if you’re like me, you probably know what sage looks like and even the smell of it, but it’s kind of hard to remember what sage tastes like. So let me just tell you, it tastes like stuffing. Which makes sense, given that this is a Thanksgiving flavor, but I prefer my ice cream to stuff me, not to stuff-ing my ice cream. And also, I’m just not the biggest stuffing fan in general. But if you, like the rest of the Northeast, disproportionately likes stuffing, boy, is this the flavor for you. I didn’t even know it was possible to get ice cream to taste this much like stuffing (but sweeter!) so props to the creative geniuses in the kitchen for that.

Let’s talk favorites: sweet potato casserole with maple pecans. First of all, I love sweet potatoes. It’s been a journey (I continuously force-fed myself them for my last two years of college until I acquired the taste), and now I can’t imagine life without them. And maple pecans? Maple pecan is my favorite flavor of ice cream, bar only salted caramel, which is significantly less common. Obviously, I was destined to love this. That said, it wasn’t life-changing as expected (admittedly a high bar), but it was still pretty good. It’s like comfort food and ice cream all rolled up into one. Also surprisingly cinnamon-y. It’s very sweet (potato-y) though, so the cinnamon and the pecans are a nice balance. Plus nuts in ice cream changes the whole texture in a wonderful way. Would recommend.

Next up: roasted cranberry sauce sorbet. Full disclosure, I do not like cranberry sauce. To be honest, I dislike most Thanksgiving food (turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie), so I thought that this would be an instance where I would just pil-grim and bear it. But… I liked it? It was surprisingly tangy and refreshing. Maybe cranberries only suck when they’re heated. But this was full of flavor and zest and cool and light. Granted it was a sorbet, but here for the vegan-ness of it. Also, it was gorgeous. It’s a deep ruby red that makes me want to paint my nails and wear a bunch of rings, so I can scoop it into a waffle cone and take a better picture of it. But alas, ain’t nobody got time for that.

Just ignore the freezer burn!

Okay, the next flavor is the opposite of vegan, and also, not even vegetarian, so I couldn’t even sample it: salted caramel thanksgiving turkey. But I’m gonna talk about it anyways! As long-time blog readers will know, Salt & Straw’s classic Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons is my very favorite flave in the world. I love salted caramel, and Salt & Straw does it perfectly. It’s just so good, and click here to hear me talk about it more. ANYWAYS, when I saw that there was a salted caramel flavor this month, I was psyched. But it’s full of turkey brittle, whatever that is. So I can’t even try it. But I guess you can’t do Thanksgiving flavors without a turkey one, so I’ll let it go this one time.

Which brings us to our last limited edition: Spiced Goat Cheese & Pumpkin Pie. Now, I generally don’t like goat cheese or pumpkin pie, so this flavor just wasn’t doing it for me. It tastes like cold pumpkin pie without any of the crust, which is the best part. I only sampled a little bit, but maybe that’s why I couldn’t even taste the goat cheese- it was supposed to be a spiced cheesecake base. BUT anyways, despite my disappointment with this supposedly goat cheese flavor, Salt & Straw is still the G.O.A.T.

Salt & Straw remains the Michael B. Jordan of ice cream. I am forever grateful to them (and also Emma at customer support!) for sending me the goods and letting me live out my wildest ice cream dreams.

** Overall Rating: 5/10 **

We probably put this one off long enough, haven’t we? But in honor of our our blog’s one-year anniversary and 25th post (!!!), it only seems right we review the OG of late-night suburban ice cream outings. 

Atmosphere:

* 1.5/5 *

When it comes to franchises as big as Dairy Queen, it’s true that atmosphere can vary from one location to another. Even just within a five mile radius from my childhood home there are two drastically different DQs: one in a tiny strip mall and another in an old-school barn. We were in a bit of a rush, having forgotten things aren’t open 24/7 in the suburbs, so we rushed to the nearer one (the strip mall one) to get some ice cream just before it closed.

Generally though, you know what you’re getting into when you go to Dairy Queen. If you’ve ever been to DQ, you know what I mean. if you’ve never been to DQ (which btw, how?), let me paint the picture for you: The air conditioning is a little too cold, so definitely don’t stand too close to the refrigerators of ice cream pints and sheet cakes. Everything is white and linoleum except for the backlit menu board behind the counter that manages to advertise its ice cream flavors, pulled pork sandwiches, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom all at once. The guy behind the counter looks sort of familiar (Was he a lifeguard at the pool last summer or were you in a community theater play together back in middle school? It’s so hard to tell when he’s hiding under that unflattering corporate-mandated hat and polo combo).

Basically, it’s about convenience above ambience.

If I didn’t do a good job, sorry here are some pictures from google dot com:

Taste:

* 3.5/5 *

Dairy Queen isn’t here for your food blogs. They’re not serving cereal milk flavor, they’re not spiking your milkshake, and they’re certainly not putting activated charcoal in your Blizzard.

DQ pushes the envelope in other ways. Want your ice cream and toppings blended together? They got you. Want to know what berries and cheesecake might taste like together? They got you. Want your soft serve coated in a strawberry-flavored shell and plopped on top of a funnel cake? They got you. Hell, did you drive all the way here to get some ice cream and then change your mind and decide you’re actually more in the mood for a turkey BLT? GURL THEY STILL GOTCHU.

But I digress. Because DQ is ubiquitous for a reason and that’s because DQ is honestly very good at what it does. Wherever you are and whatever you’re craving, it’s there! DQ is the ice cream equivalent of All Star by Smash Mouth  - a little corny, but a crowd-pleaser nevertheless.

And just look how pleased we were!!

(#Friendsoftheblog Alyssa and Joe)

(If you’re asking “Hey Mel, isn’t that the same shirt you were wearing in the last post, how often do you wear that shirt?” the answer is “not that often, the photos were actually taken on the same day because yes, I got ice cream twice in one day and that’s 100x more embarrassing wait why am I answering this hypothetically-asked question honestly, nay at all?”)

A wise man (Lin-Manuel Miranda, idk maybe you’ve heard of him?) once said “there’s nothing like summer in the city” and that’s true! But there’s *really* nothing like ice cream during the summer in the city - and especially when that day is a humid 89 degrees.

So! While I started my Saturday walking around Central Park with India and #friendoftheblog Miranda (all the way from LA!), I eventually made my way down to my sister Jenny’s apartment to cool off in front of her single wall-mounted A/C unit for twenty minutes before convincing her to join me in pursuit of the ultimate New York ice cream spot: Morgenstern’s.

** Overall Rating: 7/10 **

New Yorkers are notoriously loathe to wait in lines for food, but Morgenstern’s seems to be an exception. Located in the trendy Bowery neighborhood, this place is always busy, not to mention constantly showing up in my Instagram “Explore” tab. Does it live up to the hype? The answer: Sort of??

Atmosphere: 

* 2.5/5 *

This place is really cute. It’s minimalistic in a kitschy sort of way. It reminds me of an old fashioned ice cream parlor with its long counter and black-and-white tiled floors, but also there are some inexplicable schoolhouse-type seats? It doesn’t really commit to being anything, but that’s honestly the least of its problems.

The real issue is crowd control. Jenny and I showed up around 4:30 and there were about 20 people lined up outside. It was hot, but we figured we could stick it out for 15 minutes or so -- except that quickly turned into 25, and then 35, and ultimately FORTY-FIVE minutes. I’m not afraid to wait in a long line -- I buy tickets from the TKTS booth in Times Square and visit Walt Disney World too frequently to -- but it was completely blindsiding. Once we were inside ordering, we couldn’t even really figure out what had been taking so long. Thankfully, we were able to order our ice cream and a grab a seat inside without issue.

Anyway, here’s a really bad photo I took of the storefront from where we stood in line:

And here is what the storefront would look like if there wasn’t a line (but there is *always* a line):

Taste:

* 4.5/5 *

By the time we were inside, I really wanted to hate Morgenstern’s, but it turns out their ice cream is the real deal.

First of all, they have *a ton* of flavors - and not one of them is half-assed. Here’s a photo I snapped from the aforementioned hellscape that was the line for this place (though they have a big board behind the counter too):

They only let you sample three flavors, which is a shame, but luckily(?) you have a lot of time to muse over which to try while you wait. Initially, Jenny and I were both interested in the Creme Brulée, since they torch it on the cone. Ultimately, the flavor was a little too sweet and so Jenny ordered the Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp and I ordered the Cardamom Lemon Jam.

The ice cream is great quality. It’s on the expensive side, but the ingredients are top-notch and you do get a nice size scoop. On a hot day like we had, it was incredibly refreshing. We ate pretty much in silence, just soaking up the A/C and scarfing down our cones in probably five minutes flat.

We took this cone pic (peep us in the mirror tho):

And also this #RegrettableSelfie:

Hello blogosphere! (Sorry, that was cornier written out then when I said it in my head!)

Recently our lil blog turned one year old! And to celebrate the anniversary of our blog, I hopped on a plane to SFO with an ice cream dream and my cardigan. AKA I went to Salt & Straw three times in two days.

Because what could be more fitting?!? Started with Salt & Straw now we’re (still) here. In the one year, twenty-three blog posts, and six states that we’ve visited, nothing has managed to top Salt & Straw. 

(Read our previous Salt & Straw reviews here and here.) 

So, without further ado, here are your reviews of the May flavors.

April showers bring May flowers, and Salt & Straw brings it. Their May menu really puts the petal to the metal, so to speak, with fun, flavorful, fresh takes on flower-filled favorites.

I’m all about flower power, and May’s flavors are a floral fanatic’s fever fantasy. There are five limited edition bloom-based blends, and they’re mostly creative and colorful concoctions. But, for the sake of editorial integrity, I do want to say that I hadn’t been to a proper Salt & Straw since October, and my excitement surrounding this Odyssean homecoming was at an all time high and probably also pretty bias-ing. What I’m trying to say, is this review is written while wearing rose-colored glasses. But now for your actual content and probably more flower puns! 

I think the two strongest seasonal specials are the Rhubarb Crumble with Toasted Anise and the Jasmine Milk Blossom Tea & Chocolate. However, the scooper at their Fillmore scoop shop told me that the Crumble and the Wildflower Honey with Ricotta Walnut Lace Cookies were the common customer’s choice. 

The Crumble was sweet and full of flavor. I think my biggest complaint with some of the other flavors was that you couldn’t really taste the flower influence. Like the Chocolate Rose Petal literally tasted like you were eating (good) chocolate ice cream and somebody said the name of a flower in a different room. It was too subtle. The Crumble, meanwhile, was a unique combination of tastes that all worked really well together. Who said Infinity Wars was the most ambitious crossover of all time?? The toasted anise kind of tasted a little bit like licorice, and it was an important presence, but not the overwhelming force. Kind of like the Spider Man to the rhubarb’s Iron Man. (Side note: listen to the Avengers episode of Mel & my movie podcast here.) 

But, despite the rhubarb being very good, I went with my classic Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons in the waffle cone because it is my favorite ice cream in the world and has had so many positive memories of me living in LA associated with it, so how could I not? So on Take 1, I went to the newer Hayes Valley Salt & Straw location with my friend Ben basically right after landing and forced my body to endure a nine-hour time change (I was in Italy), and it was worth it. I forgot to take pictures though, so here’s Ben sipping on his Chocolate Gooey Brownie shake.

The next day, I went to the original San Francisco Salt & Straw on Fillmore Street in what I think is technically Pacific Heights. I had been here before on my SF trip last year, and maybe it has something to do with it being the original or maybe it’s just a slightly better location, but this store is always packed. It was 3:30 on a Thursday and it was pretty popular.

This time I ordered the Jasmine Blossom Milk Tea & Chocolate, which was my personal fave of the May flaves. The chocolate turned out to be similar to nutella, something I don’t generally enjoy on its own, but is perfect when mixed into ice cream. It changes up the texture just a bit and the jasmine blossom flavor in a milk tea/vanilla base and some almonds truly elevate it to excellence. Was a big fan. I literally took exactly one selfie with my sugar cone and it is not flattering, but I am secure about myself as a person, so here it is. 

I sampled the rest of the seasonals. The Orange Blossom Sorbet with Edible Flowers was fine (AND VEGAN 😊) but I’m not a huge sorbet person and the actual act of eating flowers wasn’t that enjoyable. BUT AGAIN, hat’s off to their creativity and cruelty free commitment!

I actually did enjoy the Wildflower Honey with Ricotta Walnut Lace Cookies, but I personally wouldn’t order it because I’m not a huge honey person. Literally whenever a recipe calls for honey, I substitute in maple syrup, and had this been Maple Syrup with Ricotta Walnut Lace Cookies, I would have cried tear of joy- I’m a total sap.

ANYWAYS, Ben came back from work around 5:30 and he (but also he could have just been being nice) wanted to go to Salt & Straw, and who am I to deny his heart’s desire? We went to the Hayes Valley storefront, so it wasn’t like I went back to the same store twice in two hours. We both ordered Chocolate Gooey Brownie shakes, and it was pretty awesome. I had never tried their shakes before (the price point is a bit expensive but so is their ice cream and also we were in SF), but I am happy I finally did. Some of the brownie bits got stuck at the bottom, but that’s a problem when you blend in anything big, and then you just get to scoop them out at the end, so it was a non-issue. I love the waffle cones though, so not sure I will get a shake again next time, but definitely again someday. Like when I move to my favorite city (San Diego) and live on India street (where the SD Salt & Straw is- it’s kismet!!)

Until next time, Salt & Straw, you’ll be in my heart. <3

Love,

India 

Mel & I are back on the same coast for the summer (minus the three days I go to California tomorrow- SO EXCITED FOR SALT & STRAW), but get ready for all the east coast based blog posts! Yesterday, Mel finally saw my childhood bedroom (it’s bear themed), and then we went and got ice cream in good ol’ NJ after accidentally crashing a party at a beer garden, oops.

** Overall Rating: 6.5/10 **

We went to As You Like It in Raritan, NJ because I am obsessed with both William Shakespeare and ice cream, obviously. We went at 8:30 on a Monday night and ended up coming at the perfect time because immediately after we ordered, the place was overrun by families and kids and doggos <3. I imagine it gets even more crowded in the summer, so try to go at an off time.

Atmosphere:

* 3/5 *

First of all, this place is called As You Like It, aka the same name as the seminal Shakespearean comedy that features iconic lines such as, “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players.” But the only one getting played here was ME. There were absolutely no references to my favorite poet/playwright, and this made me sad, as it’s an oddly specific name to choose for an otherwise ordinary scoops shop.

But their failure is my triumph, the rest of this blog post shall be written in verse*- not iambic though, cuz ain’t nobody got time for that.

The place was small

With flavors on the wall

Not a lot of seating

But a very friendly greeting

The name suggests an homage to the bard

But we didn’t even get one reference-

Despite it not being that hard :( 

 The decorations instead, were very bovine

A flavor shout out, to our state’s coastline

 The store was cute but kind of cramped

If I was in charge, it would be revamped

The neighborhood though was very adorable

The parking situation is kind of deplorable

 Taste:

* 3.5/5 *

The offerings themselves were rather ordinary

The pistachio though, was quite extraordinary

I settled for the sea salt chocolate malt crunch

It was very rich, I enjoyed it a bunch

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Thou art more tasty and more temperate.

 Ice cream and shakes, the darling nights of May,

The summer treats, consumed by fate

Taste rating is super subjective

Better than decent, is our perspective

Nothing special, nothing great

It is good, but not worth a long wait

 However, a midsummer night’s dream

Most definitely involves ice cream

Titania is queen of the fairies,

But I think she would prefer, Sir Ben & Jerry’s

In case you missed it: We went to Texas!

BIG UPS to our friend Maddie, who looked out for us and our ice cream needs on the San Antonio leg of the trip!! Here we are at The Alamo, which is very important to remember for reasons that are still not totally clear:

But of course, second only to remembering the Alamo is remembering to eat ice cream! So Maddie took us to The House, a hole-in-the-wall homemade ice cream place popular among locals and not that far from the #iconic San Antonio River Walk.

** Overall Rating: 8.5/10 **

Is it premature to call this place the Salt & Straw of Texas when I’ve literally only been to two ice cream places in Texas? Probably. Am I doing it anyway? YES.

But seriously, this place is such a hidden gem and I’m not alone in thinking that - the reviews on Yelp and TripAdvisor are almost unanimous praise and when does that EVER happen (I can’t be the only person who only leaves bad reviews and can’t be bothered to leave good reviews, right)? 

Atmosphere:

* 4/5 *

The House is certainly cute *enough*. It’s sort of rustic and minimalistic, but not in the way that its trying to be either of those things. It could probably use a little bit of sprucing up, but it scores major points for its location. The House is located just a few blocks off the River Walk, which means its an easy walk from the central hub of activity in San Antonio, but far enough away that it isn’t totally packed with tourists -- in fact, it’s pretty much the opposite of packed.

Maddie told us that the owner is pretty spontaneous, and chooses the flavors of the day as well as when to open and close on whims. If you’re someone who values consistency then this probably isn’t your place, but I was inclined toward the quirkiness!

Taste:

* 4.5/5 *

But don’t let the lack of patrons fool you! The ice cream is to die get drunk for. That’s right: the ice cream is ~boozy~ and not just in a gimmicky sort of way! In fact, I barely felt the margarita I’d had at dinner, but I certainly felt a little looser after going to town on my first scoop... 

As Maddie said, the flavors change frequently, but here’s what they were serving the night we were in town:

Two minor downsides:

- There are only eight flavors (four boozy flavors & four “friendly” flavors), nine if you count the one dairy free flavor (lol plz)

- There are no samples

However, both of these things are pretty understandable considering all the ice cream is made on-site daily. Plus, they offer an ice cream flight, which involves four smaller (though still sizable) scoops:

Obviously, the flight is the way to go! I ordered (top to bottom) the Dirty Sailor, Pina Colada, Groom’s Cake, and Apple. Since this place is also a bar, India was able to DIY some boozy flavors by mixing the “friendly” flavors with the alcohol they had on hand. These were served in Mason jars and definitely seemed like a lot more ice cream (and a lot more alcohol too?!)

The result was that we ordered A LOT OF ICE CREAM:

Like a “we don’t even know how to process this much ice cream” amount of ice cream:

Of course, we still ate it all, and after feeling very full and a little tipsy we went to see A Wrinkle in Time because India and I pretty much only see movies together when we are some state of intoxicated (See: Get Out after many mimosas, Blade Runner 2049 after a VERY LONG DAY). Also is cross-promotion a thing? India and I also have a podcast on which we reviewed A Wrinkle in Time and you can listen to that here.

TL;DR We love Texas and will 100% be back for both the amazing ice cream and the amazing people who we are lucky enough to call our friends! <3

♪ Oh Amy’s at night

A true delight ♫

👏👏👏👏

DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS

We went to Texas, in case YA’LL couldn’t tell by that musical intro.* We went to San Antonio and Austin, but I’m coming at you live from Philadelphia (ugh) to review Amy’s, Austin’s most famous ice cream chain and also the name of my middle school best friend- shout out to Amy Isler!!!

Mel will be blogging about our San Antonio Sweet & Sober Experience (JK we managed to get tipsy off boozy ice cream?) so look forward to our House Boozy review coming soon. YAY for ice cream and alcohol… in moderation of course, stay in school, kids.

** Overall rating: 8/10 **

We went to Amy’s last Sunday night in SoCo (South Congress! Look at me pretending to know things about Texas!) after getting pizza at Home Slice.

Atmosphere:

* 4/5 *

Amy’s is adorable, but small and generally super busy. However, the service is good, so the line moves fast. Plus you’re in Austin, so get ready for some A+ people watching. #KeepAustinWeird

Friend of the Blog Katie LeCornu accompanied us, and she told us that SoCo was one of the only parts of Austin that had generally remained untouched over the last couple of years (the rest of the city has exploded!), so I feel like it’s definitely the place to go to experience the true heart of the city- other than like, Sixth Street. (♪ The bars at night/Are a crazy sight ♫ 👏👏👏👏 ) 

ANYWAYS, the location is prime- only a two minute walk from Home Slice <3 and right across from that famous coffee shop where everyone instagrams that I love you so much mural. We didn’t do that though because we’re only mostly really basic, but not completely. Also cuz we’re not dating people rn; if you’re hot and you want to date us, plz let us know.

Anyways, we’re docking a point because there is no indoor seating. There are plenty of outdoor tables and benches though. The weather in Austin is generally good, so this isn’t a real problem most of the time, but in case you haven’t met me, I hate both the cold and the rain (independently of each other, like I hate the cold and the rain separately, and also unequally- I hate the cold more), so this could be a turn off.

BUT overall, Amy’s has a lot of seating for a place its size- and check out this Stranger Things themed tip jar.

* 11/11 * Tip jar rating 

There are also cute lil cartoon characters decorating the exterior, and I was here for it.

Taste:

* 4/5 *

Wow, there are so many options!! And it’s all locally made- there are 12 Austin locations because this place is poppin’ and popular.

In the slightly modified words of Pure Prairie League, ♪ Amyyyyyyyy’s, what you want to choose?!? ♫ This is turning into quite the musical blog post. In addition to having maybe a dozen flavors at a time, there’s a rotation of 350 different ones, and Amy’s offers crush’ns and toppings. There are also dairy-free fruit ices and frozen yogurts for weird people. Your options seem infinite.

So much diversity! You can never get bored!

I tried the Mexican Vanilla, the Belgian Chocolate, and their Mocha-Guinness flavor. I ended up with the Mexican Vanilla because that’s their most popular flavor and I wanted to commit to the authentic Amy’s Austin experience/also because it was my favorite. I covered it with the pecan praline sauce and also something else (I forgot what though), and apparently if you choose toppings that aren’t sprinkles, you have to get your cream in a cup. 😞 BUT my scooper was nice and gave my cup a little party hat cone. 😄 

Look how cute!

Docking a point because waffle cones are extra, but sugar and cake cones are free. The price point overall is affordable compared to most major cities though. Plus, you get a lot of ice cream.

I was less impressed with how chocolatey their chocolate flavors were (not rich enough), but their vanilla is exceptional. Mel got the Mocha-Guinness one, which she said did not taste enough like Guinness and I thought tasted too much like Guinness… guess which one of us actually likes beer? I forgot what Katie got, so I’ll update this when I find out. 

Overall, their ice cream is sweet and creamy and local (but not low-cal!), and these are all positives.

I know what you’re thinking, loyal blog reader, 1) where the hell have you guys been? 2) this is a chocolate store not a scoops shop and 3) did I forget to unplug my hair straightener?? And to that I say, 1) SORRY it’s been rlly cold and we’ve been rlly busy (listen to our new feminist movie podcast The Bechdel Quest here) 2) I KNOW but this was legitimately the only ice cream in all of Ft. Lauderdale that somebody on Yelp seemed actively and genuinely excited about and 3) IDK you should go figure that out.

** Overall rating: 6.5/10 **

ANYWAYS we’re back: last weekend I went to Hoffman’s Chocolate in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Atmosphere:

* 3/5 *

 Ok, I will admit, it feels like your classic chocolate specialty shop. There are glass cases full of delectable delights and tasty truffles and treats that are not ice cream- the displays are wonderful. I had a milk chocolate peanut butter cup and also a chocolate pecan cluster, and they were both pretty good. I swear I came for the ice cream tho.

The interior is simple, but cute enough; there is a dark brown and baby blue color palette going on, which also definitely seems like a color theme for somebody’s baby shower, but I think it works better for chocolate. It feels very quaint.

There is an ice cream bar in the back which has a decent amount of flavors and a little gift shop area with even more chocolate but now in pretty packages in case you don’t want to eat it right away. Or, like, if you have friends or something.

However, they do not have any seating inside. This was not a problem given that we were at the las Olas location and it’s a super fun street to just walk around; gotta work off those calories!! Had it been raining, this would have been annoying, and it manages to rain a lot in Florida, so #FtLauderFAIL. There were two benches outside were you could potentially also sit and enjoy your ice cream, weather permitting.

Seating situation not ideal, but great location at least!

Taste:

* 3.5/5 *

This was very good ice cream for a place that does not devote itself entirely to ice cream. Plus, Rosemary, my scooper, was a charming character: she had a thick Long Island accent and let me have as many samples as I wanted… which was a lot.

I tried the coffee flavor (very good), carrot cake (LEGIT tastes like actual carrot cake and not even like ice cream despite the difference in texture), chocolate fudge brownie (surprisingly ehh for a chocolate shop), and dulce de leche cheesecake (good but not great), before finally settling on special praline (YUM!).

The ice cream was rich and creamy and not overly sweet, an issue I had when sampling some of their darker chocolates. Prices were a bit expensive (for the ice cream), but not peak touristy expensive, despite the location. (The chocolate was.)

There was a surprising amount of diversity in their flavor offerings, although nothing super unusual or creative. They offered almost every classic flavor I could think of and a few on top of that. Overall, it was better than average, but it won’t blow your mind. It wins over Kilwins (in fact, it kills Kilwins*), which is its main competitor, and that’s all that matters.

In blog news, Mel & I are going to Texas next month, so hit us up with your San Antonio and Austin based ice cream suggestions!

We’re reviewing ice cream from the great state we grew up in: New Jersey! IT’S SO FREAKING COLD HERE, but ice cream makes it better, provided you’re wearing enough layers and literally only venture into the cold to run the ten seconds to your car.

** Overall rating: 8.5/10 **

We went to Penguin Ice Cream in Bernardsville, New Jersey, and it was actually pretty cool, in a non-temperature-related way too.

Atmosphere:

* 4.5/5 *

This place is family friendly, fun, and feathery- there are little kid drawings of penguins decorating the walls and a trio of penguins outside, just waving at you to waddle on in.

There’s limited seating, which was not a problem at 1:00 on a Tuesday in the middle of Winter, but as a testament to how beloved this place apparently is, there were five other customers there, excluding us. I imagine it gets quite crowded during the summer, which is unfortunate as there isn’t a lot of street parking.

This place is cute and charming and wholesome and winning. It’s not trendy or touristy or trying too hard, it’s just a themed ice cream shop in the type of town that Ben Folds would write a song about rockin’. (Bernardsville is definitely very male, middle-class, and white.)

This place is an adorable arctic avian adventure, an emperor emporium, a seabird scoops shop… go adopt some kids and raise them for a couple years and then watch them break into a smile upon entering.

Taste:

* 4/5 *

This is homemade ice cream with some heart! But also with some thought- there are seasonal and unique flavors, besides just the standard vanilla/chocolate/strawberry. PLUS the sample sizes are generous, so you can actually taste a whole bunch of different flavors before deciding- love the #penguinportions.  

Mel got the ginger snap and I went with my usual salted caramel toffee for blog consistency purposes. But every flavor I sampled was delicious- creamy and not overly sweet!!

Each treat comes topped with a swedish fish- a fish in every dish! Because penguins eat fish! So I guess we are the penguins now? Whatever; it’s cute.

It’s kinda pricy ($3.45 without tax) for a single scoop in the suburbs, so fill up on the samples a bit first. However, you get what you pay for: this ice cream is fresh and flavorful. They have a “cow to cone” policy of four days- dairy is sourced from local NJ farms; perfect for any lactose-loving locavores out there.

Overall, would recommend. March on over to Penguin’s.

** Overall Rating: 6.5/10 **

Mel here! Did you miss me? Or did you forget I existed because I literally haven’t posted more than two reviews and even then that was MONTHS ago?

Well, we’re throwing it back to the summer when India and I both lived in LA and went to Sweet Rose Creamery in Studio City after seeing The Big Sick (yeah, it was that long ago)!

Atmosphere:

* 4/5 *

Sweet Rose Creamery is super kitschy and cute in a way that most places in LA are not. No hint of minimalism! Not a succulent in sight! The ice cream flavors are written on chalkboards in various colors and the walls are hand-painted with a whole bunch of scenes of animals and nature because why not? Sweet Rose feels like the kind of ice cream place you go to on vacation at the Jersey Shore, and when you’re in LA for the summer and missing home just a little bit, that earns major points.

The space is smaller than most, but the Studio City location is on Tujunga Ave - one of our favorite streets in LA. You’re much better off taking a walk while you lick your cone instead of trying to score seating inside, and that’s not such a bad thing in a city that is often the opposite of walkable (got to get your 10,000 steps somewhere!)

Taste:

* 2.5/5 *

Sweet Rose’s menu is pretty standard for any ice cream joint. It’s mostly the flavors you expect, but they do cycle in a few new ones seasonally as well as offer some dairy-free options. Overall, nothing particularly standout. The ice cream is good quality, but not enough to forget that Salt & Straw is quite literally just around the corner.

I’m pretty sure India and I went for Salted Caramel and Caffe Luxe Coffee respectively (both “classic” flavors, according to the Sweet Rose site), but I wrote this review too many months too late to remember exactly (I’m sorry I suck).

** Overall rating: 4.5/10 **

Mel and I went to New York because we’re both on break (#finally) and we both love theater. And ice cream. We saw a show and then went for something sweet. Welcome to our first we’re-in-NYC-together ice cream review. We’ll try to have a couple more reviews for you soon, before we have to go our separate ways again for a bit. (We’re planning on hitting up the Texas ice cream scene together in March too, so look forward to that as well!!!)

We went to Bingbox Snow Cream. Co in NYC, right by Union Square.

ALSO CERTAIN PPL (Aka Taylor & Rachel) HAVE RECENTLY EXPRESSED ISSUES WITH OUR RATING SYSTEM, BUT THEY CAN JUST DEAL WITH IT, k.

Atmosphere:

* 2/5 * 

This place is small (to be expected, it’s New York and the rent is too damn high), but also it’s just kind of bland, which is not to be expected. It’s New York- everything here is supposed to be romantic or exciting or alive or whatever. Or at the very least, ya know, gimmicky- for the tourists. You kind of just assume that if you’re going to a place in New York, it’s going to have character, in some capacity. Hell, New York City itself is a character in pretty much every Christmas rom com or Woody Allen (fuck him btw) movie. Unfortunately, despite being located in the heart of the city that never sleeps, it really seems like somebody fell asleep on the job.

The interior was very plain and basic, but not in an artsy minimalist way, more like in a we-all-just-completely-forgot-it-was-Justin’s-birthday-and-there-are-no-decorations type of way. (Sorry Justin!) There are also only three small tables and you’re located close enough to NYU that this is probably a problem during the school year. There are some white Christmas lights on the walls, but not sure if this is simply seasonal or not. I was just mostly underwhelmed, and compared to the extravagance that is the rest of NYC at Christmas time, the lack of effort really stood out and put me off.

Taste:

* 2.5/5 *

So, I want to be clear, we only tried their soft serve ice cream. Bingbox is known for their snow cream/shaved ice, in case you couldn’t tell by the name. Their shaved ice actually looks pretty cute. I have no idea how it tastes. Here’s a picture I stole off Yelp.

BUT THAT IS NOT THIS REVIEW.

Let’s talk soft serve. Mel pointed out that this place is very similar to Little Damage (review here), in that they have a very limited soft serve menu, but they sell you on the cones. In this case, the cones were a deep red, instead of a charcoal black. They still tasted like normal cones though.

In terms of the flavors, they only offer two at a time; we got to pick between lychee and honeydew, or a twist of the two. We sampled both and both preferred the honeydew. Plus, it was green, so look at how Christmas-y our cones look!

In terms of the taste though, for me, this was more of a ChristMISS. Honey-do? More like Honey-DON’T. I’m not opposed to unusual flavors (in fact, I love a good creative cone!), but if you’re going to pick a melon, honeydew is ALWAYS the melon you pick around when eating fruit salad. It’s a filler fruit.

It wasn’t terrible or anything, but I’m not sure I would describe it as tasty either. The lychee was just kind of odd tasting and weirdly not sweet? However, in the words of Bob Barker, the price was right; they’re offering a BOGO deal Monday-Wednesday in December, so that’s nice.

BUT THEN, just as we were finishing our lackluster lactose, I get this text from the one and only Joel Braver, aka my dad.

(Also peep that relatable message about group texts that I was unable to crop out!)

So, the one place in NYC that offers Salt & Straw closes at 9 pm, so obviously we booked it. We ran SO MANY BLOCKS, but we made it. The true meaning of Christmas is being kind to your family and friends, aka running from one ice cream place to another despite it being freezing outside- thanks Mel! <3 Unfortunately, they don’t offer the seasonal scoops in New York, so I’ll probably still have to move back to LA, but I did get a pint of Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons, and that’s really all I wanted for Christmas. Happy holidays from our blog to you.

** Overall rating: 6/10 ** Winter is coming, but it’s never too cold for ice cream! I went to Winterfell Dessert, a place located literally 3 minutes walking distance from my apartment, after my Cell Signaling class last Wednesday with my friend Jiyoon. 

Atmosphere:

* 3.5/5 * 

I know what you’re thinking, with a name like that, it’s GOT to be GoT themed! For those of you who don’t watch as much tv as me (which is actually probably everyone tbh), GoT is Game of Thrones, and you probably already knew that anyways because your friends wouldn’t shut up about it this summer. #Tbt to Mel’s Game of Cones series she wrote.

I went in expecting them to have COMMITTED to the theme, especially since I always walk past the door when I walk to the subway:

Alas Poor Hodor! RIP!

HOWEVER, I was sorely disappointed. Whoever owns this place is clearly dedicated to nerd culture, but srsly, you’re gonna have an entire collection of Funko Pops at a shop called Winterfell Desserts and not have a single Game of Thrones one?!?

They did have a sizable collection of board games (no Codenames tho), which is a neat idea. They also had some comfy looking couches, and a lot of additional seating, so that is a plus.

There are two Game of Thrones themed menu items, but neither of them are even punny.* We have a flavor called Snow White, but no Jon Snow references? Disappointed. The only other Game of Thrones related thing is their social media hashtag they encourage you to use: #JustGOTWinterfell.

This place is cute and clean and a good use of space, but I was expecting so much more. If you’ve met me for half a second, you know that there is basically nothing I love more than just going for it and really committing to a bit, and this place just… well, it failed. Taste:

* 2.5/5 *

Ugh. First of all, this is a shaved ice place, not an ice cream place. And I have no issues with shaved ice, when it’s executed well. We never managed to review Sul & Beans in Koreatown in LA (next time I visit!), but that is a place that makes shaved ice shine. Winterfell Dessert does not. I ordered the Red Wedding (which is a terrible name because Rob was my favorite character, and I still miss him), mostly because it was one of the two Game of Thrones flavors, and I like strawberries. There was no red bean in it though, which I assumed it would have, because this is a Taiwanese shaved ice place, and the flavor had red in the name. Instead, it was overly sweet and tasted like artificial flavoring dumped onto some ice, with some other stuff stuck on top. To be fair, that is probably exactly what it was. 

IT WAS REALLY PRETTY THO so like, perfect for an Instagram shot if you run an ice cream blog.

They also have vegan options because this is Philadelphia and every place has vegan options surprisingly, and I am here for it.  Mostly though, I was not impressed, and it was hella expensive. Not worth the $6.25 it costs for a small, but I handed over my credit card anyways because a Lannister always pays their debts.** I’ve been told they have good bubble tea at least?

The quest for the perfect Philadelphia ice cream will just have to continue. * List of better Game of Thrones flavors:

- You Know Nothing, Jon Snowcone - Casterly Rocky Road (or DothRaki Road) - Mint-er is Coming - Jorah Mormint - A Song of Ice Cream and Fire - Brienne of Tart - Varys Berries - Joffrey Toffee (or coffee) - Cookies-N-Queen Cersei ** JK I am def not a Lannister, but idk what I am, so I’m gonna go take a Buzzfeed quiz rn and let some algorithm decide:

Today’s post is brought to you by the letter S! S begins all kinds of Significant words, like sleeping (something I should be doing right now), Sesame and Street (the inspiration for these first two sentences), AND Salt & Straw! Stupendous! Scrumptious! Super! Spectacular! Spooktacular! Sinister! Synonyms!

I went to Salt & Straw three times in the last week (I was in LA for four days, and unfortunately, I didn’t plan my last day correctly and alas, missed out on the perfect streak), and all was finally right with the world. Except not really, but enjoying my favorite ice cream DID make me temporarily forget about Hollywood’s unaddressed sexual assault problem and Agent Orange in the White House and idiots on twitter, and that’s still nothing to scoff at.

BASICALLY Salt & Straw can work miracles, is what I’m trying to say. Step aside, Jesus, there’s a new savior in town, and it’s not just savory (savior-y?), it’s also sweet. I’m talking about HALLOWEEN FLAVORS!

We’ve already reviewed Salt & Straw (click here!) / if you’re reading this blog, you’re probably our friend and we only talk about Salt & Straw, like, all the time, so I’m not going to spend too much more time expounding upon its awesomeness. Instead this is just a quick update about their new seasonal flavors.

There are FIVE of them, and ready for the kicker? None of them are pumpkin spice related! Finally, five fun, fresh, fall flavors (this post now co-sponsored by the letter F apparently) with some real flair and feeling to them. What a time to be alive.

Unfortunately, only three of the five were vegetarian (one of them had real bugs in it, and the other had blood pudding which I think contains sausage? Some sort of meat idk), so I’m only here to talk to you about the other three. Mel & I did make our friend Alex try those two, so this post will be updated if/when he reviews them, which will probably be when I remember to ask him to.

Let’s start with my favorite, the Great Candycopia! As long time blog readers will know, my go-to ice cream flavor is always salted caramel. This is a nice twist on that- it’s actually a salted butterscotch base, but it tastes pretty similar to their classic caramel one. However, blended in are an abundance of homemade snickers, whoppers, heath bars, and peanut butter cups! It’s basically like somebody stuffed all your favorite candy into a cone.* I will admit, the snickers taste is a bit overwhelming, and we could do with some more peanut butter cups in there, but overall, this is delicious and delightful. I LOVED it!

Mel’s favorite was the Freckle & Hyde Potion. I sampled it, and to me, it tasted pomegranate-y, but I think it was described as cranberry sorbet. There was also some chocolate mixed in, and some type of activated charcoal thing- which can maybe mess with your birth control?? Still unclear on that, and I’m too lazy to google it, but probably not, or they couldn’t sell it, right? I love this idea for a flavor (I did a Robert Louis Stevenson tour when I visited Edinburgh), and it was very tangy and refreshing, perfect for a LA fall day.

We also tried the Essence of Ghost, and I have literally no idea what was in it. It’s a sherbet that’s a little bit bitter and supposed to make your mouth feel like it’s being possessed by a spirit or something. Oddly enough, it seemed more appropriate for the December holidays than October- it had specks of cocoa mixed in and its taste profile kind of reminded me of a fruitcake.

For me, this was more of a ghost-of-Christmas-PASS type deal, and not something I foresee again in my future. But as usual, I admire them for trying.

Look, your two favorite ice cream bloggers were reunited/adorable, and there is photographic proof!

ANYWAYS, idk when I’ll be able to go to Salt & Straw again, but until then I’ll just be over here in my Philadelphia corner of the Internet, eating less superior ice cream, singing the words "I LOVE SALT & STRAW” over and over again to the tunes of various pop songs. (Of course, that’s not a real thing I’ve done before…)**

  *Except whoppers because literally nobody likes whoppers. Whoppers are the Jar Jar Binks of Halloween candy; it’s fine when you’re six and don’t know better, but then you grow up, and are like, just… nope!

Guess what?!? Mel and I are about to be temporarily reunited in LA in about 9 hours, but thanks to time travel, it’ll only be like 6 hours cuz that’s how time zones work, right??

Basically it’s 3 am, and I have to leave for the airport in an hour, and I’m too excited to sleep, so I’m blogging about ice cream.

Other than going to Salt & Straw every day, Mel & I will also try to check out a new place together JUST LIKE OLD TIMES! :,) Or we might just review the Salt & Straw Halloween flavors, we’ll see.

But also, we have plans to meet up in D.C. next month as well, and NYC the month after (got to get in our Broadway shows!), so you’ll get plenty of #newcontent from us coming up.

Okay, now back to your regularly scheduled ice cream review! 

** Overall rating: 7.5/10 **

And I was like baby, baby, baby oh

I went to Little Baby’s in Kensington/Fishtown about three weeks ago (I had exams, ok!!!) with my friend Elly.

My friend Jonah recommended the place because he used to work at their D.C. popup location, and Jonah has excellent taste in things (he likes Bojack Horseman, Pod Save America, AND ME!) so I was pretty excited.

We went on a Sunday morning after a Puppy Yoga class (#millenials #basic) and nobody was there. To be fair, not many people wake up early on a Sunday to get ice cream, but they are missing out. #sundaefunday

Atmosphere:

* 3.5 / 5 *

The place is cute but definitely weird. Fishtown is theoretically Philly’s equivalent of East LA (think Silver Lake or Eagle Rock), and this is where the hipsters come to brunch and also to make art and stuff. It was my first time in Fishtown though, and we literally only got ice cream, so I can’t really talk more about the location, but apparently this neighborhood is cool.

OH, and it’s located right next to Pizza Brain, which is home to the world's largest collection of pizza related items, as certified by the Guinness Book of Records, so that is awesome if you’re a pizza blogger.

There’s a West Philly location too, where I actually live, but it’s past 45th street, so bring some friends or take an uber if it’s late.

Anyway, like I said, this place is weird. I dug it. There’s lots of googly-eyed plants, and geometric shapes, and furry monster-esque thingys. There does not seem to be any sort of cohesive theme, unless the theme is stuff babies like (just going off the name here), but this kind of seems like a stretch if so. I guess they were going for an avant-garde aesthetic, but I personally prefer a proper theme, as anyone whose known me for any of my birthdays will know.

I still think this place is cool. There’s also a wall full of album art type designs which is neat.

There are a few tables, so if it happens to be a busy time, seating might be an issue. It’s a pretty small place, and it’s also an odd use of space- like you have to go through an archway to order, but the archway just makes the shop seem smaller and slightly cramped.

Parking is definitely an issue, but nobody drives in Philly, so who cares.

The taste:

* 4 / 5 *

FINALLY, a place with some excellent experimental flavors!

I got the tasting flight, so I sampled 6 mini scoops for $8- this ends up being a lot more ice cream than you think, but also super helpful if you run an ice cream blog.

Little Baby’s offers five dairy flavors (referred to as Philadelphia style), and four vegan options. They swap out the flavors pretty consistently, so I’ll have to go back.

They offer unique dairy flavors like Buttered Popcorn and Blueberry Ginger (both solid choices- you can really taste the ginger too, which was interesting but not unpleasant!), but even their vegan flavors are LIKE NO UDDER.

((Sorry I’ll show myself out now.))

No basic boring options for your vegan friends- they go all out. I tried their vegan chocolate salt malt and their lychee lemonade. However, like a lot of vegan ice cream, I think it must be made from coconuts (this is my least fave type of vegan ice cream ugh) because the coconutty taste shines through in both. I do think Philly is possibly the best city in America for vegan food, so if your veg friends also don’t like coconut ice cream, there are other places you can accommodate them. However, if they do, then bring them to Little Baby’s because nowhere else will you find vegan sushi flavored ice cream. (I did not try this, so cannot vouch for its taste.)

I also got some sort of spiced apple pie flavor, as well as chocolate cookie dough- I think the chocolate was my favorite, but if you’re here, you might as well go crazy and try something that’s more out there. Good to note though that they don’t sacrifice making the more normal flavors good, in order to just focus on the extraordinary.

Elly got a chocolate cookie dough cone, and she liked it too.

** Overall rating: 7.5/10 **

I finally found a Philly ice cream place that I mostly liked! I also discovered that bars in Philly sell 40s?!? Philly is a weird (potentially alcoholic?!) place, and now that I’ve found a decent ice creamery, everything is looking sunny. You might even say it’s always sunny in Philadelphia, which is also a show on FXX but not the show on FXX that was the inspiration for this blog’s name. *

Atmosphere:

* 4 / 5 *

I went to Scoop DeVille at 10:30 pm on a Friday night with my roommate Tiffany and James. James is actually in my cell biology class, which is where I am right now, as I type this review during our five-minute break! #multitasking

ALSO this is the first blog review where my sole experience with the store’s ice cream was when I was slightly tipsy (just call me Sweet Dee), so I’ll update this review later if my opinion changes when sober. I take this job (as an ice cream blogger) ((that I assigned myself and do not get paid for)) very seriously.

There was a little bit of a line, but it went fast, which was kind of odd considering HOW MANY OPTIONS THERE ARE. There are so many. More on that later though!

This place is also pretty cute. It’s very pink with some light blue pastel shades thrown in too, and there’s a painted giant ice cream sundae on the wall. The aesthetic feels like what would happen if Bubbles from The Powerpuff Girls designed an ice cream shop- great for kids, but I think it’s also the type of place my dad would walk into and immediately want to walk out of- it’s a little over-the-top. There are some tables and seating inside, but not a lot, so on hot days, probably best to get your ice cream and go.

The taste:

* 3.5 / 5 *

First off, let’s talk about the number of options. The menu is extensive- there are so many blends and toppings and mix-ins, from bananas to bacon and probably whatever else you can think of. And if for some reason, the millions of options don’t appeal to you, you can create your own soft serve blend.

If you know me literally at all, you know I suck at making decisions- my AP English teacher literally compared me to Hamlet when we read it, because even he knew how indecisive I am, even though I never really had to make any decisions in class?!? IDK. Fortunately, nobody has to die just because you don’t know what type of ice cream you want.

As dear Polonius (before he dies) says, ““Brevity is the soul of wit.” They were smart enough to include a list of suggested blends for people like me who were completely overwhelmed. They also have an under-250-calories menu, vegan and gluten free menus, and a menu for things that are not ice cream- cakes, cookies, brownies, funnel cake, gourmet chocolate- it’s your one stop dessert shop. (Plus they make sundaes and splits using all this stuff too!)

You can also order milk shots, which is a shot of milk (chocolate/strawberry/whatever) in a small baked cookie cup- unfortunately, I missed my shot at having one because I had already ordered when I learned of their existence, so I’ll have to go back cuz I’M NOT THROWING AWAY MY [milk] SHOT! Gotta make my boy Alex proud. **

They let you have samples, but not of the blends, which is what they’re famous for; this is understandable though. I got the Peanut Butter Cookie Crunch, a bestseller, in a cone. Tiffany got it in a cup, AND IT COST HER MORE WHICH IS DUMB!

However, Monday-Friday from 5-7 pm, they have ICE CREAM HAPPY HOUR! You can get any size blend you want for $4! Who can resist a great deal?

They did do the annoying thing that Magpies did where they didn’t fill the cone all the way to the top, so you have to eat your ice cream with a spoon. Quality wise, the ice cream was better than Magpies though.

It wasn’t overly sweet or creamy, although my blended-in cookie crunch barely added any texture, so it wasn’t the exact consistency I was craving. But after my disappointment with Big Gay Ice Cream’s taste the day before, this was still what I needed.

It was a delicious and unique experience, and the happy hour price cannot be beat.

* This blog’s name was inspired by Sunday Fundays on FXX’s You’re the Worst- A show Mel & I ALSO have a podcast dedicated to! Click here to subscribe!

** Overall rating: 6.5/10 **

I got ice cream TWO DAYS IN A ROW this weekend because I deserved it. (Also it’s sad cuz in LA, I did this basically every weekend, but I guess Philly has changed me!?!)

Also like, I’m writing this blog post even tho I literally don’t have any time because ice cream is important!!! WHO NEEDS SLEEP?!? Who knew that over-committing to literally everything you do can actually be problematic?? NOT ME, apparently.  

ANYWAYS, ice cream makes everything better, so here we are!

I went to Big Gay Ice Cream (a NYC import!) in Center City, Philadelphia last Thursday at 9:30 pm with my friend Mary!

Atmosphere:

* 4 / 5 *

Big Gay Ice Cream is not quite as big or as gay as you might expect from the name (like, in my head, I was imagining drag queens serving us ice cream! #icecreamqueens), but it’s still pretty cool.

You walk in, and there’s both a mural of a unicorn and the Golden Girls in a vivid Warhol-esque pop art print. (Side note, I freaking love Andy Warhol!!)

There was not really a line at this particular time, but the guys behind the counter said this was unusual. I believe them. This is the kind of themed place that you know people come to for the novelty and experience- like an ice cream version of a Rainforest Café but replace the forest with a bow and the animatronic animals with Kesha’s Animal album.

The place was fun and bright and cheery and colorful- literally the only thing white about it was Betty- I was really digging the GG theme!

It’s also spacious with plenty of seating- actual tables and booths! Not just bar stools!

This place screams fun, and I would have no issues recommending it EXCEPT I WISH THE ICE CREAM WAS BETTER! Also parking is potentially a problem here too, but Philly has excellent public transport, so just do that.

The taste:

* 2.5 / 5 *

Big Gay Ice Cream has some interesting flavor ideas- I was intrigued, and I wanted to like it.

Consistent blog readers will know that I’m not the biggest soft serve fan, but I think this was just disappointing in general.

First off, prices are a bit steep. It’s $6 for a basic cone (totally underwhelming- don’t do it!) and $10 for a specialty one. They only let you sample whatever their random flavor of the month is, so I didn’t get to try every flavor.

Some of the flavor names are fun – American Globs (named after American Gods! I thought this was clever because there’s a groundbreaking sex-positive gay relationship between two Arab men on the tv adaptation, but apparently Neil Gaiman used to visit the Big Gay Ice Cream truck in NYC, and so they just named a flavor after him.) – and some of the flavor concepts are cool – a sundae with a key lime pie curd – but the taste profile is just… not great?

I had the “Salty Pimp,” a dulce de leche vanilla soft serve coated in a chocolate casing, and it was kind of lackluster. The vanilla was bland, and the dulce de leche was hard to differentiate from the chocolate.

Mary had the Rocky Roadhouse, and this was a missed opportunity on their part to 1) Make some reference to the fact that the Rocky movies take place in the slums of Philadelphia and 2) reference The Rocky Horror Picture Show- this place is called BIG GAY ICE CREAM and instead they make references to the 1989 film Roadhouse to advertise this flavor instead?? Wth?? Somebody needs to help them with their branding here because they could be so much more clever.

Anyways, this flavor was basically chocolate covered with almonds and marshmallows, served in a cup because the toppings weighed it down too much.

I think Mary liked it, but I’m not sure it’s anything special.

I do appreciate their diversity of toppings; you can get Wasabi Pea Dust or Ginger Syrup- some unusual options! Toppings cost extra though, which is annoying, but not entirely unexpected. I firmly believe all ice cream shops should offer one free topping though.

Overall, while the place itself is neat, the ice cream fails to excite.