Morgenstern's Tour Pine'Our soft serve: One of my favorite chefs, Paul Liebrandt, recently collaborated with the LES ice cream shop Morgenstern's and introduced a series of special soft serve flavors over the course of a month. I sampled the last one, a swirl of strawberry hibiscus sorbet and sunchoke ice cream. The texture of the soft serve was excellent, and I especially loved the sharpness of the sorbet. The sunchoke ice cream was fine, but more of a neutral base for the sorbet. The entire dessert was topped with toasted hazel... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended frozen sorbet strawberry hibiscus sunchoke icecream morgensterns tour pine'our soft serve 4.0 softserve
Naia Citrus Collection Fruit Pops (Blood Orange, Tangelo, and Meyer Lemon Sorbetto): Naia is a California-based gelato and sorbetto brand which was originally a shop in Berkeley (one that I unfortunately didn't get a chance to try firsthand as it closed back in 2012). I came across their fruit bars at Ballard Market and was immediately drawn into the unique variety, with each pack featuring a trio of popsicle flavors. This is perfect for me, as I could try three different flavors with a single purchase. The citrus pack features blood orange, tangelo, and Meyer lemon (listed ... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional fruit frozen naia citrus collection pops tangelo meyer 4.5 bloodorange lemon sorbetto ballardmarket
Naia Berry Collection Fruit Bars (Strawberry, Blackberry, and Raspberry Sorbetto): After having the excellent citrus collection fruit pops from Naia, I purchased a follow up set the next time I went grocery shopping at Ballard Market. While these berry flavors are more familiar, they are not at all ordinary. I loved getting to taste the texture of the seeds and was impressed by how accurately each captured the berries at their seasonal peak. The blackberry was my favorite, but all of them were entirely enjoyable and very well balanced - sweet treats that capture the tru... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional frozen naia berry collection fruit bars blackberry raspberry 4.5 strawberry sorbetto ballardmarket
N'ice Cream watermelon and mango sorbet: Located on Abbot Kinney in Venice, LA, this small shop offers an assortment of ice creams and sorbets. For a small, priced at $5, I was given two substantial scoops, both of very high quality. I was most impressed with the texture, which was perfectly smooth. The mango flavor was a bit faint but very clean, and the watermelon was especially distinct: a remarkably creamy take on a seasonal classic. Highly recommended. 4.0/5.0
nicecream la 4.0 recommended sorbet watermelon mango frozen dessert
Nichirei Cheese waffles: Probably meant for kids, I was nonetheless intrigued by the idea of cheese-filled waffle sticks and grabbed this bag from the frozen aisle as I was waiting in line at Aeon. They're a bit bigger than fish sticks but definitely portable and easy to heat up in the microwave. Surprisingly, the texture of the waffles is pretty decent, and it has a fluffier, softer consistency than the crispy waffles you might make in an iron, but the same familiar eggy flavor. The cheese is very minimal and mild,... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended japanese frozen aeon nichirei cheese waffles 3.5
People's Pop Melon Basil Popsicle: I got this popsicle from NYC-based frozen treat brand People's Pop for free at a pop-up. It had a refreshing concentrated cantaloupe flavor whose natural sweetness was complemented by fresh aromatic basil. A sweet and just a tad savory combination that worked really well in the summer heat. 4.0/5.0
recommended frozen cantaloupe sweets peoplespop melon basil popsicle 4.0