Caffe Panna Peach Olive Oil Soft Serve: I had so heard so much about Caffe Panna, so I was excited to finally get a chance to try this popular ice cream shop started by Danny Meyer's daughter. The line took about 20 minutes to get through on a Sunday evening at the Gramercy location, and I opted for the soft serve with peach and an olive oil drizzle. Unfortunately, as you can see in the picture, it seemed to be already melting by the time it was handed to me, and once I found a bench 2 minutes later to sit and consume it, it was ... (read more) 2.0/5.0
softserve icecream nyc caffepanna peach olive oil soft serve 2.0Trader Joe's Yuzu Ripple Coconut Frozen Dessert: This vegan coconut-based "ice cream" is one of the best things I've ever had from Trader Joe's. The coconut base is more neutral than other vegan frozen desserts I've had, making the acidic yuzu ripples the dominant flavor. It seems to be flavored with both yuzu zest as well as marmalade-like yuzu "ripples" that add a satisfying chewy texture. Perfect for hot summer days. 4.5/5.0
exceptional vegan desserts icecream traderjoes yuzu ripple coconut frozen dessert 4.5Awan Coffee Chocolate Chip Ice Cream: Awan is a vegan ice cream shop with a small "window" in West Hollywood where you can take scoops / pints to go. I'm not normally one to get coffee or chocolate ice cream, but after sampling a few flavors, the coffee chocolate chip was the clear winner to me. The texture is remarkably smooth and creamy for vegan ice cream, and the coffee flavor was toasty and rich, with chips of chocolate chip that had a quality snap in texture. Kiddie size was perfect even for sharing. 4.0/5.0
recommended icecream losangeles vegan awan coffee chocolate chip ice cream 4.0Acme Valley Strawberry Ice Cream: This ice cream was available for free through a promotion at PCC, a PNW co-op that's kind of like a more expensive Whole Foods with local produce and products. I don't generally shop there but thought I'd take advantage of the free pint. Acme is a Washington-based company that advertises its ice cream as Full Strength with "one-of-a-kind rich taffy-like texture." Unfortunately, it isn't like Turkish ice cream, which is what I thought it looked like from the photograph on the label, but it... (read more) 3.0/5.0
icecream PCC acmevalley strawberry ice cream 3.0Bottega Italiana Pear and Grapefruit Mint Sorbet: Bottega Italiana is a little ice cream shop about a five minute walk from Pike Place. After a filling dinner of fried fish and chips from Ivar's, I wanted a sharp fruit sorbet and opted for one scoop with two flavors: a white pear sorbet, sweet and concentrated, and a grapefruit mint, which had a terrific acidity and refreshing, balanced amount of mint. They both tasted extremely fresh, and the texture was impressively smooth. By far the best ice cream I've had in Seattle – would not hesi... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional sorbet seattle icecream fruit bottegaitaliana pear grapefruit mint 4.5Matcha Man Ice Cream and Taiyaki Black sesame taiyaki ice cream: This taiyaki ice cream shop in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood is the first to serve taiyaki in Seattle and proved popular on a Saturday evening, taking about 25 min from line to ice-cream in hand. They feature classic flavors like matcha and black sesame as well as Thai iced tea and dole whip. Being a big black sesame fan, I had to go for the classic in a fish-shaped waffle cone. The waffle is more western than taiyaki you would get in Japan, which is very crispy. This one instead was mor... (read more) 3.0/5.0
icecream blacksesame seattle matchamanicecreamandtaiyaki black sesame taiyaki ice cream 3.0