#saltandice

Downtown Palo Alto, CA | Raspberry Sorbet and Peach Cobbler Ice Cream

6.50 (2 scoops) + 0.59 tax = 7.09 + tip = probably 10 dollars

The salt for this place is so real; their ice cream was super squidgy and uninspired.

Alum Rock - San Jose, CA | Matcha Green Tea with a Cake Cone 

$3.25 (single scoop)

Y'alls be sleeping on Sweet Fix Creamery.  They are the real deal, with a large enough selection to give anyone decision fatigue and ultimate satisfaction.  No ridiculous price tags for premium ice cream.  Seriously, they make better matcha ice cream than MatchaLove (but to be fair, MatchaLove is more sweet than matcha anyways).  There's no skimping here, like, you can taste the love and care they put into every ice cream/Italian ice.  So flavorful. So magical.  Muy delish. Come here. Right now.  Pints are only $7 and you're allowed to get two different flavors so !!

Also shoutout to the worker who gave us tips on how to get the best deal (aka pint w/ two flavors.) You’re the realest, Gaby Dunn look-a-like.

5/5

Willow Glen, Almaden, CA | Passionfruit and Mango Ice & Chocolate Vanilla Custard Swirl, w/ almonds and coconut

$5.50 small (but it’s huge)

The colors of the italian ice are lowkey terrifyingly fluorescent, so I went for the tamest/most likely not to have food coloring added flavors possible.  The owner was in the back for a good 10 mins but that’s fine because I have horrible decision fatigue. 

Berkeley, CA | Ben&Jerry’s Truck -  Empower Mint, Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream, and Berry Berry Extraordinary Sorbet 

*free* 

While I hold myself accountable for providing objective reviews of ice cream based on value, I’m sure things taste better when they are free. It’s a subconscious thing I do when evaluating the value of eating out. Empower Mint (mint chocolate chip vanilla ice cream) and Americone Dream (vanilla ice cream w/ fudge covered waffle cones & caramel swirls) both share the bland vanilla base.  There were generous amounts of chocolate chunks with a deep, toasty cocoa flavor, paired with a gentle peppermint breeze.  Americone Dream was sweet and bland vanilla with chewy caramel interruptions. The waffle cone bits were more chunky than crispy, which is understandable. More sweet than berry, the berry sorbet was similar in flavor to what Costco berry smoothies used to taste like (they now make the smoothies by using a chunky old strawberry puree with a icy water slurry), but just a bit brighter. 

Out of the three flavors, I’d probably buy Empower Mint at the grocery store.

Cupertino, CA | Lychee Shaved Snow

around 6 dollars, small 

The portion size was quite small for voluminous ice (about a palm’s worth), and the snow was rather disappointing - pretty icy and sickly sweet in a sticky, syrupy way. However, the lychee flavor tasted quite natural, but I suggest driving to other places in the area to get your ice cream fix. 

Mitsuwa Marketplace - Saratoga, CA | (top, counter-clockwise) Matcha, Black Sesame and, Hojicha Bowl

waffle bowl, three flavors $6.01 (including tax)

Matcha

After having SweetFix Creamery, the Matcha from MatchaLove is decidedly sweet, bland, and uninspired. 

Black Sesame

Solid, best consumed in milkshake form, but ice cream form is pretty great too. 

Hojicha

The best flavor of ice cream from MatchaLove - toasty, not-too-sweet, and unique enough to warrant coming back here time and time again.  Dusted off with a layer of soybean powder.

Santa Cruz, CA | (top left, clockwise) Burnt Cinnamon, Straight Up Strawberry, Tahitian Vanilla Bean with Marshmallow Fluff

**I was actually busy babysitting this cute doge here, so I didn’t go into the shop to taste or purchase any ice cream.  Many thanks to my lovely friends who insisted on spoon feeding me ice cream. Y’alls are too much. 

See, so cute. 

Penny Ice Creamery is a hub for classic flavors, done in an “look at me, we are organic and artisanal” way.  What sets Penny aside from other shops is their in-house toasted marshmallow fluff, which can be yours for an addition 50 cents. 

Burnt Cinnamon

If Cinnamon Toast Crunch was boiled in milk and reduced until caramelized, it would be reborn as Burnt Cinnamon.  Toasty mallard, almost graham crackery flavors, punctuated by cinnamon, makes this deceptively basic flavor a delightful take on a childhood snack.  

Straight Up Strawberry

I generally have mixed feelings about strawberry in fresh fruit form. It makes me gag and raises my internal body temperature to borderline feverish levels. There’s something about that mix of grassy and cloying, mucous inducing sweetness that makes strawberry tough to swallow.  On the other hand, this strawberry flavor tasted very jammy, almost like Berkeley Social Club’s raspberry jam, which tastes amazing.  Straight Up Strawberry tastes like that jam, but without the tart goodness that makes raspberry one of the best fruits. 

Tahitian Vanilla Bean with Marshmallow Fluff

I had no idea vanilla could taste so good, until my eyes widened and a deep sigh escaped. Speckled with real vanilla pods are generally the extent to how companies try to prove that their ice cream uses “real vanilla” - another example of style without substance. Not all vanilla pods are made equal, varying in quality and freshness, thus, flavor.  Generally, I gravitate towards flavors that are difficult to purchase at grocery stores, but Penny’s vanilla proves that sometimes, basic flavors done right can be life changing. 

Oh and that marshmallow fluff? Save that 50 cents for a future outing. Sure, Penny pretty much perfected marshmallow fluff topping in terms of sweetness and texture in the face of extreme temperature differences (cold ice cream, torched sugar), but unless you are a massive fan of waiting, it’s eh. 

San Jose, CA | Lychee Crushed Ice and Matcha Jelly 

SHARED BETWEEN THREE PEOPLE

Lychee - $6.50

shaved ice with condensed milk, ai-yu jelly, basil seeds, nata de coco, taro & yam Q

The crushed ice was soaked with ai-yu jelly syrup, which was overwhelmingly sweet, and slightly acrid. However, it worked harmoniously with the bland but satisfyingly chewy taro and yam q’s.  Nata de coco is the same everywhere (pre-made in factories), and basil seeds add a jellied textural variety that can be spared the title of “sweetened slime bomb.”

Matcha - $5.95 

matcha shaved ice, matcha pudding, red bean, boba, sweet potato balls

I had low expectations going into this one despite the positive reviews on Yelp because one dude said that “their matcha was of poor quality” and the pudding was artificial tasting.  Honestly, at this point, I couldn’t even discern the quality of individual components because my tongue was so numb. Everything paired well with each other, and this was definitely the preferred dish over the sugary lychee slush.