Post by sugarfueledbeast on Aug 6, 2013 14:58:12 GMT -5
This past Saturday I lived the dream: ice cream for lunch. LOTS of ice cream for lunch. Here's a rundown of the vendors who, between Saturday and Sunday, came out for Brooklyn's ice cream extravaganza:
Alchemy Creamery
Ample Hills
Bent Spoon
Blue Marble Ice Cream
Butter & Scotch
Fort Grace Ice Cream
Good Batch
Gourmet Sorbet
Joe & Liza's
Kelvin Slush
La Newyorkina
Luca & Bosco
Monsieur Singh
Odd Fellows
People's Pops
Phin & Phebes
Steve’s
Tea-rriffic
A few of them weren't there for Day One, but even so, there were enough options that I was unable to taste them all. It was a little overwhelming, but choices were made a easier because most of the creameries opted to bring safe, standard flavors. Of course I was there to try the wildest, most original varieties.
The first thing to grab my attention was La Newyorkina, known for paletas and other Mexican frozen treats, who were offering mini ice cream cones for $2 (pictured). I got my first ever taste of avocado ice cream (finally!), which was uber-creamy with a mild flavor, rich in texture but not heavy. The second tiny scoop I picked was horchata. It tasted exactly like the drink with just enough of cinnamon not to overpower the sweet rice. It was a little icy, not as smooth as the avocado, but that worked well to recreate the drink in frozen form. Too bad they didn't bring out the queso fresco-guava, though, because that sounds amazing.
I followed that with another mini cone with two scoops from Bent Spoon: Jersey corn & chocolate Earl Grey. Both could not have had more flavor, a feat made even more impressive given that I was consuming them in such small quantities. The corn had whole, juicy kernels in it and was like smooth, frozen creamed corn. I expected the Earl Grey to be overpowered by the chocolate, but that was far from the case. The two battled for dominance, and the result was the best tea-flavored ice cream I have ever had (and yes, I've had Tea-rriffic's Earl Grey too). Clearly this New Jersey scoop shop knows how to concoct a no-holds-barred base, but mix-in fans would be left disappointed.
Speaking of mix-ins, Ample Hills Creamery really lives up to its name. The Brooklyn-based shop, opened in 2011, is not afraid of amping up the cream-to-chunk ratio with some serious pieces of cake and candy. I tried the Sweet as Honey ("Home-made honey comb candy in a sweet cream ice cream") and Ooey Gooey Butter Cake ("The smoothest, creamiest vanilla ice cream with gobs of St. Louis Ooey Gooey Butter Cake pieces") and was immediately bowled over – pun very much intended – by the massive mix-ins. The honey was like eating crispy honeycomb candy with a side of ice cream, and the cake was not only the best cake ice cream I've had, but some of the best cake I've had period. These were as rich as Cold Stone's creations, however, so I passed on buying anything, swearing instead to go to Prospect Heights soon to get a more satisfying taste. I'm honestly glad this stuff isn't in stores because it would be more addictive than Talenti.
It was hard not to go sample crazy, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try more from Phin & Phebes. Banana Whama was reminiscent of fresh banana taffy, really light and dreamy, and the Coconut Key Lime was so good I had to repeatedly talk myself out of buying a scoop, placating my urges with the idea of buying a whole pint (or two!) later on. The best part of this booth, though, was getting to meet the ladies behind the brand, who are sweet and down to earth, clearly putting their whole hearts into their homegrown business. The same can be said of Gourmet Sorbet, who make what is undoubtedly some of the best sorbet I've ever had. Sorbet tends to feature one-note flavors, but these ladies were mixing it up with options like Cucumber White Wine Mint and Pistachio with Sea Salted Caramel. They were light and refreshing while packing in the promised flavors in high concentration. I wasn't sure about the pistachio-caramel combo, which seemed more fitting for ice cream, but it was a definite winner. They were also offering scoops of sorbet in lemonade, a genius idea and tough offer to refuse. Needless to say, if you get a chance to taste Gourmet Sorbet, leave your dairy-free hang-ups at the door and DO IT.
After that, I felt like I needed to settle on some scoops to really dig into, and I couldn't say no to goat cheese ice cream offered by Luca & Bosco. Unfortunately, each of their offerings made big promises but fell flat. I was as excited to try the whiskey fudge as the goat cheese, which is saying a lot, but I found hardly any whiskey OR fudge in the mix. It ended up being mostly standard chocolate. The goat cheese was disappointing too, and I was left feeling like Luca & Bosco is super afraid of flavor. It tasted as much like cow milk as goat, and without any mix-ins or swirls, it just made me kind of saddened by the missed opportunity. It's like they tried to make goat cheese ice cream for people who hate the unique taste of goat milk.
The best thing I had at Creme de la Creme came from OddFellows, the newly opened shop that lives up to every bit of its totally insane, national-level hype. I've been to the actual shop a few times already and would go every day if possible, but especially since the storefront is less than 5 blocks from Smorgasburg, I really meant to skip them on Saturday. Then I saw the rose, pink peppercorn, raspberry ice cream and had to give in. I follow their flavor announcements on Facebook and had read about that one a few days earlier, and I knew I'd regret it if I never got a taste. After a sample spoon, I not just wanted but needed more. The combination was simply perfect, the three flavors playing out one after the other (in the order listed). At first I thought I couldn't find the raspberry, but then it came in at the end, finishing off the somewhat strange mix with a familiar tartness, a fresh-picked fruit flavor rounded out by the dry peppercorn and surprisingly light rose. It should be said that OddFellows' ice creams are never very sweet, always with just the right amount of sugar without going overboard into kid country. This one was very delicate, almost but thankfully not quite perfumey, and yet didn't hold anything back. OddFellows Ice Cream Co. has definitely mastered its art, and thankfully this is only the beginning.
Alchemy Creamery
Ample Hills
Bent Spoon
Blue Marble Ice Cream
Butter & Scotch
Fort Grace Ice Cream
Good Batch
Gourmet Sorbet
Joe & Liza's
Kelvin Slush
La Newyorkina
Luca & Bosco
Monsieur Singh
Odd Fellows
People's Pops
Phin & Phebes
Steve’s
Tea-rriffic
A few of them weren't there for Day One, but even so, there were enough options that I was unable to taste them all. It was a little overwhelming, but choices were made a easier because most of the creameries opted to bring safe, standard flavors. Of course I was there to try the wildest, most original varieties.
The first thing to grab my attention was La Newyorkina, known for paletas and other Mexican frozen treats, who were offering mini ice cream cones for $2 (pictured). I got my first ever taste of avocado ice cream (finally!), which was uber-creamy with a mild flavor, rich in texture but not heavy. The second tiny scoop I picked was horchata. It tasted exactly like the drink with just enough of cinnamon not to overpower the sweet rice. It was a little icy, not as smooth as the avocado, but that worked well to recreate the drink in frozen form. Too bad they didn't bring out the queso fresco-guava, though, because that sounds amazing.
I followed that with another mini cone with two scoops from Bent Spoon: Jersey corn & chocolate Earl Grey. Both could not have had more flavor, a feat made even more impressive given that I was consuming them in such small quantities. The corn had whole, juicy kernels in it and was like smooth, frozen creamed corn. I expected the Earl Grey to be overpowered by the chocolate, but that was far from the case. The two battled for dominance, and the result was the best tea-flavored ice cream I have ever had (and yes, I've had Tea-rriffic's Earl Grey too). Clearly this New Jersey scoop shop knows how to concoct a no-holds-barred base, but mix-in fans would be left disappointed.
Speaking of mix-ins, Ample Hills Creamery really lives up to its name. The Brooklyn-based shop, opened in 2011, is not afraid of amping up the cream-to-chunk ratio with some serious pieces of cake and candy. I tried the Sweet as Honey ("Home-made honey comb candy in a sweet cream ice cream") and Ooey Gooey Butter Cake ("The smoothest, creamiest vanilla ice cream with gobs of St. Louis Ooey Gooey Butter Cake pieces") and was immediately bowled over – pun very much intended – by the massive mix-ins. The honey was like eating crispy honeycomb candy with a side of ice cream, and the cake was not only the best cake ice cream I've had, but some of the best cake I've had period. These were as rich as Cold Stone's creations, however, so I passed on buying anything, swearing instead to go to Prospect Heights soon to get a more satisfying taste. I'm honestly glad this stuff isn't in stores because it would be more addictive than Talenti.
It was hard not to go sample crazy, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try more from Phin & Phebes. Banana Whama was reminiscent of fresh banana taffy, really light and dreamy, and the Coconut Key Lime was so good I had to repeatedly talk myself out of buying a scoop, placating my urges with the idea of buying a whole pint (or two!) later on. The best part of this booth, though, was getting to meet the ladies behind the brand, who are sweet and down to earth, clearly putting their whole hearts into their homegrown business. The same can be said of Gourmet Sorbet, who make what is undoubtedly some of the best sorbet I've ever had. Sorbet tends to feature one-note flavors, but these ladies were mixing it up with options like Cucumber White Wine Mint and Pistachio with Sea Salted Caramel. They were light and refreshing while packing in the promised flavors in high concentration. I wasn't sure about the pistachio-caramel combo, which seemed more fitting for ice cream, but it was a definite winner. They were also offering scoops of sorbet in lemonade, a genius idea and tough offer to refuse. Needless to say, if you get a chance to taste Gourmet Sorbet, leave your dairy-free hang-ups at the door and DO IT.
After that, I felt like I needed to settle on some scoops to really dig into, and I couldn't say no to goat cheese ice cream offered by Luca & Bosco. Unfortunately, each of their offerings made big promises but fell flat. I was as excited to try the whiskey fudge as the goat cheese, which is saying a lot, but I found hardly any whiskey OR fudge in the mix. It ended up being mostly standard chocolate. The goat cheese was disappointing too, and I was left feeling like Luca & Bosco is super afraid of flavor. It tasted as much like cow milk as goat, and without any mix-ins or swirls, it just made me kind of saddened by the missed opportunity. It's like they tried to make goat cheese ice cream for people who hate the unique taste of goat milk.
The best thing I had at Creme de la Creme came from OddFellows, the newly opened shop that lives up to every bit of its totally insane, national-level hype. I've been to the actual shop a few times already and would go every day if possible, but especially since the storefront is less than 5 blocks from Smorgasburg, I really meant to skip them on Saturday. Then I saw the rose, pink peppercorn, raspberry ice cream and had to give in. I follow their flavor announcements on Facebook and had read about that one a few days earlier, and I knew I'd regret it if I never got a taste. After a sample spoon, I not just wanted but needed more. The combination was simply perfect, the three flavors playing out one after the other (in the order listed). At first I thought I couldn't find the raspberry, but then it came in at the end, finishing off the somewhat strange mix with a familiar tartness, a fresh-picked fruit flavor rounded out by the dry peppercorn and surprisingly light rose. It should be said that OddFellows' ice creams are never very sweet, always with just the right amount of sugar without going overboard into kid country. This one was very delicate, almost but thankfully not quite perfumey, and yet didn't hold anything back. OddFellows Ice Cream Co. has definitely mastered its art, and thankfully this is only the beginning.