Pitango Gilato: I stumbled across this highly regarded gelato shop during my travels in DC and tried four different flavors (two of which I purchased). The star anise was barely sweetened and distinctive in flavor; the blood orange, while very refreshing, tasted more of raspberry than citrus (the sign said it contained a bit of raspberry). I ended up ordering the milk and honey (very rich whole milk, the honey was slightly too sweet) and the cardamon (nice level of spice). Both had a great creamy texture. B... (read more) 4.0/5.0
pitangogelato pitango gelato cardamon icecream dessert frozen milk honey bloodorange staranise dc 4.0 recommended gilato
Powder Matcha Shaved Ice: This Taiwanese shaved ice shop on Divisadero in San Francisco has a variety of Asian flavors like black sesame, matcha, and Vietnamese coffee. Having had their excellent black sesame on a previous trip, I opted for matcha, which was shaved into thin, overlapping ribbons. While I remembered the black sesame shaved ice being remarkably light, this one texturally was more dense, with the ice cream packing together less than 1/3 of the way through. The matcha flavor, though, is very good and ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
recommended icecream taiwanese sanfrancisco powder matcha shaved ice 3.0
Powder Ube shaved ice with mochi and condensed milk: This is the third flavor I've had from Powder, a Taiwanese shaved ice shop in San Francisco. The first, black sesame, was excellent, with a light texture but creamy flavor. The second, matcha, had a great green tea flavor but was more dense in texture. This last one was, unfortunately, the worst texturally, which is apparent from just the image itself - the starchy potato may have made it harder to achieve the same airy consistency that the black sesame ice had. Ube is a seasonal summer ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
icecream ube sanfrancisco taiwanese shavedice powder shaved ice mochi condensed milk 3.0
Quenelle ras el hanout ice cream: A fragrantly spiced, creamy wonder. Perfectly balanced and incredibly smooth. 5.0/5.0
exceptional losangeles icecream quenelle ras el hanout ice cream 5.0
Quenelle strawberry lavender push pop: Fantastic fruity & creamy combo, floral notes are flavorful, not perfume-y 4.5/5.0
exceptional icecream frozen dessert quenelle strawberry lavender push pop 4.5
Quenelle Strawberry Rhubarb Sorbet: Three years ago, you took a detour to Burbank to check out a humble ice cream shop opened by a former pastry chef with a Michelin-starred pedigree. There, your palate was expanded, with singular flavors like ras el hanout. You were stunned that ice cream could be so good: so creamy and well balanced, yet challenging and complex. You gave it a rare 5.0, and even after consuming ice cream from many respectable places since then, that one scoop stands out in your memory. Fast forward three year... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended icecream sorbet losangeles longreads quenelle strawberry rhubarb 4.0