Uji Time Tofu Soft Serve: This flavor has eluded me for several months. I sampled the tofu the first time I ever came to this Japanese ice cream shop in Berkeley and loved it but opted for the classic black sesame for my first cup. Ever subsequent time I went back to Uji, the tofu was sold out. Finally, a few months ago, I was able to get it, but this time, the texture had degraded a bit, with the soft serve being uncharacteristically icy. Still, the soy milk flavor is excellent and easily identifiable to anyone ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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Pineapple Express Pineapple soft serve: Right in the middle of the ultra-touristy (and, thus, overly-stressful) Chelsea Market is a little oasis in the form of Pineapple Express, a stand/hut wrapped in bamboo sticks and straw trim, decorated with hanging pineapple-shaped Christmas lights. Here, they serve a variety of tropical treats, from fresh coconut juice to full-on ice cream sundaes. The price tag is still entirely Chelsea Market (get ready to dish out $7 for Dole Whip), or you can opt for the minuscule soft serve cone, bar... (read more) 4.5/5.0
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Uji Lavender soft serve in Taiyaki cone: The best lavender ice cream I've ever had was in Hokkaido, Japan at Farm Tomita, where their lush, seemingly endless fields of lavender are the basis for wondrously floral and creamy soft serve. I have yet to find anything that comes close, but the seasonal lavender flavor at Uji, a Japanese ice cream shop in Berkeley, is a strong contender. The trick is their careful balance - the lavender does not overpower (which otherwise would lead to a mouthful of perfume-flavored cream), yet the flav... (read more) 4.5/5.0
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Dominique Ansel Kitchen What-a-melon watermelon soft serve: Dominique Ansel celebrates the start of summer with a special watermelon soft serve, served in a fresh watermelon "taco" topped with thin seed-shaped chocolate. We braved the line of Instagram fanatics for 20 minutes in advance of the soft serve window opening at 11am at the West Village Dominique Ansel Kitchen. Admittedly, it's as photogenic as any Ansel dessert, with a mountainous swirl of glistening orange-pink sorbet. The soft serve itself had a concentrated melon flavor and great textu... (read more) 4.0/5.0
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Cheeseboard Buffalo Milk Soft Serve Ice Cream: Regrettably, I ordered the swirl of chocolate and plain milk flavors, and while the texture was smooth and creamy, the chocolate had a generic taste that masked the more mild milk flavor. While it was higher quality, this ice cream did remind me a bit of the little cups of vanilla and chocolate ice cream you ate with a wooden spoon as a kid. Not bad per se, but not great either. 2.5/5.0
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Uji Purple Potato Soft Serve: Returning to this small ice cream shop on Shattuck to sample additional soft serve flavors, I tried their seasonal purple potato ice cream, which came in a lovely shade of lavender. The ice cream had a rich milk flavor with only a hint of potato at the end. Given that the tofu, black sesame, and matcha flavors from Uji are all vastly superior (I've sampled all three flavors by now), I wouldn't recommend the purple potato ice cream, but it's decent. 3.0/5.0
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