Ice & Vice Nankhatai n' cream ice cream : Ice & Vice currently has a variety of Cookies and Cream riffs, ranging from sweet potato and sesame to tomatillo and blue corn. The version I ordered combines chai with bits of pistachio cardamom cookie. The single scoop was pricy, but the portion was generous. It has a smooth consistency with a concentrated spiced flavor that worked really well together. I did find it to be overly rich, and that combined with the large portion size made it feel a bit samey as I was reaching the end, so I wo... (read more) 3.5/5.0
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Amausaan uji Matcha Matcha Ice Cream: Green-tea-flavored soft serve from Japanese sweets stand Amausaan uji Matcha in the Richmond district of SF (they also have a location in Berkeley). At $5, this large portion comes in a waffle cone and is topped with matcha powder. Most of the bitter matcha flavor comes from the powder, but the ice cream is creamy and smooth; the cone is standard in both flavor and texture. I enjoyed it overall, but sampling it at the Berkeley location the next day, I found the ice cream to be too sweet, ... (read more) 3.5/5.0
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New City Microcreamery Fennel and pistachio ice cream: At a little over $4, this kiddie scoop from Cambridge ice cream shop New City Microcreamery was fairly micro-sized, but large enough to get a good sense of the quality. The ice cream, made with liquid nitrogen, has a smooth consistency. I was hoping for more aniseed licorice flavor from the fennel, but it mostly tasted like a solid milk base with bits of pistachio, though there was a little something extra to the aftertaste that told you it wasn't just straight-up vanilla. Would come agai... (read more) 3.5/5.0
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Snowdays So Seoulful shaved ice: Snowdays is a shaved ice dessert chain in NYC. Over time, they've expanded their menu and also store concept; now, most also stock various Asian snacks in a convenience-store-like format alongside their shaved ice. I went to the shop in Bay Ridge Brooklyn, on the edge of Sunset Park and ordered their So Seoulful, a combination of black sesame shaved ice, a spoonful of red bean, segments of vanilla waffle cookie, and a drizzle of thick peanut syrup. The black sesame shaved ice was very light ... (read more) 3.5/5.0
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Eat Me Golden Chai Ice Cream: Another solid pint of coconut-milk-based dairy-free ice cream from Rochester-based Eat Me Ice Cream. This one has a swirl of orange and yellow ice cream flavored with turmeric, ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon. As far as chai ice creams go, this is definitely one of the better ones I've had. I'm a little worried about the nutrition facts, since it's coconut-based, but the label is conveniently missing the label, so I could just enjoy it for the flavor! Purchased at the Park Slope Food Coop. 3.5/5.0
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The Penny Ice Creamery Lemon Poppy Seed Ice Cream with Blackberry Compote: Waited in line for about 20 minutes to enter this small ice cream shop in downtown Santa Cruz. Entire clientele was student-aged. They make all their ice cream in house, and they had some interesting flavors like celery and raisin sorbet (which I sampled but found did not taste as much of celery as I would like). I got a mini scoop of their lemon poppy seed ice cream with fresh made blackberry compote, which cost a little more than $4. You can tell from the texture of the ice cream that ... (read more) 3.5/5.0
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