** ~ Ice Cream Eating Now Thread -- Round 4 ~ **

[AdamWW]

Coolhaus' Banana's Foster



Decided to take a 'break' from my fancy pants S&S escapades and try out a more common brand here... and a pretty simple flavor today.



From the top, you can see the Dulce De Leche Swirl coming through, and obviously the smooth-looking banana ice cream base. According to the ingredients, there is a rum element to the swirl, but I did not detect any hints of that as I worked my way down.





In general, the swirl was concentrated toward the sides as you can see. The base flavor, obviously the dominant component unless you manually worked in the caramel by spooning it from one of the pockets on the border of the pint, was good. It was superior IMO to B&J's banana bases used in the Chunky Monkey option(s) and did feel more of a custard than ice cream. Quite smooth overall.









The caramel, while pleasant, didn't really 'wow' me much. Maybe I'm getting too spoiled with the complexity of the options I've been having lately but this pint, although both primary notes of bananas and caramel were quite tasty, it felt... flat. The base was neither profoundly 'banana-y' nor was the swirl uniquely potent or plentiful. And, frankly, there was something to me that just didn't feel great texture wise because the base was uber-smooth and the swirl came at best in globs... so even with everything mixed together, it just ends up a churned glob when it comes together. A tasty glob... but a glob.








I definitely had to work to spread that caramel around....




Again you can see here... it was not evenly spread. LOTS of base, little pockets of caramel.

So all in all, it was fine. The base was very very smooth, with a good banana flavor, but not especially fresh, potent, or remarkable.

The caramel, again, tasted very nice... but the base was smooth/creamy already and the combination of custard-y banana with the globby swirl just didn't do anything for me. It lacked a 'wow' factor, and lacked contrasting textures.

Nothing to write home about, but not too bad.

Overall Score: 6.5/10

[AdamWW]

Coolhaus Street Cart Churro Dough



Second flavor in the pairing I picked up for Coolhaus, and my second ever flavor from them, I was certainly up for a cinnamon-sugar churro dough mixin and the company’s choice of a brown butter base.

The one apprehention I had was the chocolate chip swirl being paired with something like churro. I’m not a big fan of chocolate + spices like cinnamon, so there was a chance I might have to ‘eat around’ bits and pieces to make it something I enjoyed.



Immediately, though, it appears as though this ‘swirl’ Coolhause mentioned wasn’t a swirl at all, but consistant, homogenious tiny specks of chocolate. For some, this might be a deterant, but I think – for me – it probably worked out for the best because ultimately the base only had a subtle hint of chocolate in it.

In fact, the base of the ice cream really came through as more of a lightly chocolate-chipped ice cream. I did really enjoyed the base (brown butter + chocolate chip flecks) BUT, having the consisent tiny pieces in there did take away from making the ‘brown butter’ element noticeable. Brown butter isn’t a super strong flavor when you line it up against chocolate, so again it just kind of came through as a slightly chocolate-chip infused base.





As you can see, I didn’t really hit any of the churro pieces for over an inch deep.



I really liked these churro dough chunks. You could definitely get that hit of cinnamon spice, and the texture was good. It reminded me a lot of the little cinnamon bun dough bits from B&J’s Cinnamon Bunz but perhaps a little more spicy. They also had a slightly burnt ‘shell’ to them almost which probably caused some of that pungency.







Eventually a more liberal display of the dough was seen, but this did not last throughout the pint. I hit a ‘sweet spot’ in the mid-range area and then it tapered off again, so I savored this time with those little chunks.

As far as pairing with the chocolate chips and the base, I gotta say I don’t know why the chocolate was there. Really.

In isolation (just the base + chocolate) the little chocolate flecks (NOT A SWIRL) were fine... they tasted good. But if you had – say – two dough chunks and also the base... all you got was the cinnamon flavor because it kind of overpowered the chocolate anyway. I don’t think having the chocolate flecks really did anything for the combination at all. They would have been MUCH wiser to include something that wasn’t as harsh as chocolate to compliment the dough... like even a marshmallow swirl or something. I just don’t ‘get’ why they added those flecks.



All in all this was a good tasting pint.

I actually did enjoy every element. The base (brown butter), although kind of obscured by the chocolate flecks, was smooth and rich, and as a standalone without the dough I did enjoy it as a simple ice cream.

But, i’ll reiterate, THIS ISN’T A SWIRL... I have no idea why they call it a swirl.

The churro dough was clearly the tastiest part, but not well-spread. And, just thinking about the pairing of the base + flecks + dough... I just don’t think it was complimentary in this case. Bad? No... but come on, they gotta know other options would have done better.

Next time, maybe replace the chocolate flecks with an actual swirl of marshmallow or some kind of custard/cream, etc... here, I just think they got the ideas confused.

Still fun to pick at though and hunt for those dough chunks.

Over Score: 7.5/10

[lazymuchacho]

Well written reviews Adam.

It is encouraging to see you going through these pints at an advanced pace. Seems like you've turned a new page on your life.

Kudos.

[AdamWW]

Well written reviews Adam.

It is encouraging to see you going through these pints at an advanced pace. Seems like you've turned a new page on your life.

Kudos.

Thanks bud.

I've definitely been feeling very motivated lately and more and more comfortable just accepting that it's OK to just let go and enjoy the finer things in life

[ADD61]

A good friend is in the Northwest on vacation. He stopped by S&S for the first of likely multiple trips while he’s there. So far of the three he tried he ranked them:

Duck Fat
Rose Petal
PB&J

He’s like most of us here so he’s ordered S&S, Ample Hills, etc. before.

[jaredmus]

Churro flavor looked real good

[SOH11]

Churro was probably my favorite from my Coolhaus order.

[AdamWW]

Churro was probably my favorite from my Coolhaus order.

I liked it, but I really felt they could have done more is all.

The base (with or without the chocolate flecks... NOT a 'swirl') was good, and the dough pieces were really good... but I think they missed an opportunity to make an amazing flavor.

I feel like swapping the chocolate flecks for something more directly complimenting the churro dough (because again, when I think 'churro' I don't think about chocolate) like perhaps a marshmallow swirl, frosting pieces of some kind, or even little chunks/pieces of walnuts/roasted peanuts/etc etc would have done a much, much better job elevating the flavor to another level.

I mean imagine if it were 'brown butter ice cream speckled with pieces of candied walnuts, chunks of cinnamon sugar churro dough, and tossed with a toasted marshmallow cream swirl' instead... tell me THAT doesn't sound better ;o)

I probably would have inched it closer to an 8.5 or so had they been more selective in their flavor profile there. That's all.

[Tyler2106]

Ample Hills - Corn to Run


This is a damn fine pint. My original shipment arrived melted and without hesitation, AH resent the shipment. I assume many people had melted pints which is why they resent with more Corn to Run. It's a corn flavored base with cornmeal crumble and blueberry swirl. The base was dense, creamy, and had a nice corn flavor to it. Nothing fancy, just a well made corn flavored base. While the cornmeal crumble wasn't necessarily my most ideal flavor profile, this was very well done. Dry and crumbly pieces both big and small to add nice flavor and lots of texture, which I love in an ice cream. Lastly, the blueberry swirl was the perfect flavor to bring everything together. The swirl wasn't icy, it was a little thin for my liking, but had a true blueberry flavor. They mentioned adding honey to it which I thought could make it really sweet, but it wasn't.

Overall, this was a great pint and one of my favorites from Ample Hills. Like mentioned above, cornmeal isn't really my favorite flavor profile, but putting that aside, they nailed this flavor on every level.

I did eat my PB Munchies but that flavor isn't good and not worth the time to review.

[AdamWW]

Ample Hills - Corn to Run
[img]https://i.imgur.com/y9ibDHK.jpg[img]

This is a damn fine pint. My original shipment arrived melted and without hesitation, AH resent the shipment. I assume many people had melted pints which is why they resent with more Corn to Run. It's a corn flavored base with cornmeal crumble and blueberry swirl. The base was dense, creamy, and had a nice corn flavor to it. Nothing fancy, just a well made corn flavored base. While the cornmeal crumble wasn't necessarily my most ideal flavor profile, this was very well done. Dry and crumbly pieces both big and small to add nice flavor and lots of texture, which I love in an ice cream. Lastly, the blueberry swirl was the perfect flavor to bring everything together. The swirl wasn't icy, it was a little thin for my liking, but had a true blueberry flavor. They mentioned adding honey to it which I thought could make it really sweet, but it wasn't.

Overall, this was a great pint and one of my favorites from Ample Hills. Like mentioned above, cornmeal isn't really my favorite flavor profile, but putting that aside, they nailed this flavor on every level.

I did eat my PB Munchies but that flavor isn't good and not worth the time to review.

man that looks tasty... has me super-eager for my honey/cornbread flavor from Sweet Lo's later this month

Love me some cornbread

[AdamWW]

A good friend is in the Northwest on vacation. He stopped by S&S for the first of likely multiple trips while he’s there. So far of the three he tried he ranked them:

Duck Fat
Rose Petal
PB&J

He’s like most of us here so he’s ordered S&S, Ample Hills, etc. before.

Interesting! Sounds like I'll need to try out the Rose Petal soon.

I mean this month I think it's going to be very subjective in terms of people's impressions. It's not like reviewing a chocolate PB Cup ice cream... so unique and 'fancy'

[ugasar]

A good friend is in the Northwest on vacation. He stopped by S&S for the first of likely multiple trips while he’s there. So far of the three he tried he ranked them:

Duck Fat
Rose Petal
PB&J

He’s like most of us here so he’s ordered S&S, Ample Hills, etc. before.

This is great news! I took a leap on Rose Petal and am glad I did after hearing numerous good reviews. But also not so happy about hearing just as many underwhelming reviews of PB&J

Churro flavor looked real good

Churro was probably my favorite from my Coolhaus order.

Strawberry Cheesecake is their best.. Give it a scoop! Thanks me later

[AdamWW]

So Delicious CashewMilk - Salted Caramel Cluster



One of the truly great ice creams I discovered while vegan.

Its been a while since I've had this... but I had a craving today.












Whether you think you like non-dairy ice cream or not, I can almost guarantee you'll enjoy this.

It's sweet, salty, rich, crunchy, in no way icy... it's great.

This flavor has a great smell to it as soon as you pop the lid... smells like a salted caramel macchiato or something like that, and throughout the pint you get these great hits of dark chocolate to pair with the salty elements.

Mix-in wise, here and there you'll actually get entire chunks of chocolate covered cashews, and my god it's tasty with the salted caramel ribbons they stir in. Furthermore, mix-in spread/density is awesome. I don't think i've ever had a bad pint of this mix-in wise.

To be honest, I completely forgot how LIGHT this ice cream is... 180 calories per serving... it honestly eats like a 250-300calorie non-vegan pint. IMO it's really that good.

This may be my all-time go-to store brand non-dairy pint.. you can find it almost anywhere. Not as unique, rich, or demanding of top $$$ as a S&S pint but, for what you pay and the availability, I just have a hard time topping it. It's up there with B&J's Coconut 7 Layer for me.

If you're like me and you love salty/sweet, I cannot recommend highly enough this flavor if you're just looking for a switch up from the dairy options. For me this is So Delicious' BEST flavor by far.

Enjoying this blast from my past

Overall Score 9/10

[ADD61]

B&J's Glampfire Trail Mix:


Drove by a Target. Wanted to see what these boys were up to nowadays.

I'll give them props for trying. Tbh, there were even moments of excitement.

Problem is they were based on visuals: those peeks of crumbly pretzel, the squish of that marshmallow swirl, the dark chocolate covered almonds.

But it never made it over the hump. Sure this chocolate base is better. Enjoyable even.

And the crunch trifecta of almonds, chocolate covering, and pretzel "swirl" is borderline laudable.

However...

That marshmallow swirl needs twice the volume, those almonds some extra toasting for flavor intensity, and the pretzel swirl just straight needs more character (bit extra salt & quantity in line with the cookie swirl in milk & cookies would do trick).

Ok, to try. Never buy again.

As is the usual trend this was my same experience. That said, I've got a small affinity for this one and will revisit it eventually.

[QualityLoss]

How much ice cream or gelato do you guys tend to eat in a week?

[AdamWW]

How much ice cream or gelato do you guys tend to eat in a week?

I'm having ice cream roughly every other or every third day.

In a sitting/day when I 'try them' I usually have 1/2 of the pint/container, but sometimes the full pint if it's something I can't put down, or in some cases I'm simply not enjoying it enough to keep going and I figure it'll just get boring.

At a scoop shop I usually grab a single scoop for whatever individual flavor(s) I have to avoid wasting something I don't like very much.

Just depends.

I actually rarely go through an entire pint of truly rich ice cream like S&S or Ample Hills, etc, in a single sitting because I start enjoying it less after about 1/2 the pint... the higher fat content just gets to me plus in many cases I wanna savor the flavor as much as I can.

This is especially true for me and chocolate flavors: it takes very little chocolate (especially dark chocolate) to satisfy any kind of craving for it I might have.

So I guess, on average, I'm having about 2 servings every other day? But there's also several day stretches or even a week where I don't really want ice cream... depends on time of year, weather (hot/cold), whathaveyou. In my area we only have so many months where weather is hot and ice cream sounds better anyway, so in the fall/winter I barely eat any....

[AdamWW]

This is great news! I took a leap on Rose Petal and am glad I did after hearing numerous good reviews. But also not so happy about hearing just as many underwhelming reviews of PB&J

Strawberry Cheesecake is their best.. Give it a scoop! Thanks me later

The PBJ is NOT bad at all... it's very good. The take-away I had was simply that you can only stretch PBJ so far without essentially making it a totally different flavor altogether.... it's a 2-3 flavor pint: Peanut Butter, Jelly, and a Base option... that's pretty much it.

Add in banana, caramel, or anything else, and it's kind of something new. Obviously not a bad thing per se, but PBJ is a pretty distinct combo and adding anything else to it other than maybe marshmallow, caramel, or some other tweak and you start getting too much of a good thing (too complex).

That definitely wasn't the case here... I mean it is definitely one of the better (and likely the most interesting by far) PBJ manifestations I have had, but it IS - at the end of the day - a PBJ pint.

It's delicious and complex, like a designer PBJ, but PBJ nonetheless.


I'm definitely glad I have yet to try the rose petal flavor because people seem to like it alot. It was actually the flavor I was least interested in but you know S&S -- they're full of surprises.

[Tyler2106]

Got my Salt & Straw order this morning. Looking forward to this order very much

[ADD61]

Got my Salt & Straw order this morning. Looking forward to this order very much

What was your order

[AdamWW]

Got my Salt & Straw order this morning. Looking forward to this order very much

sweeet!!!

[Tyler2106]

Ample Hills offering FREE nationwide shipping! Holy smokes, $55 for 4 pints.

[ADD61]

Ample Hills offering FREE nationwide shipping! Holy smokes, $55 for 4 pints.

New flavor also:

20/20 The Scoop: a marshmallow ice cream with chunks of blue velvet cake.

[ChknFrydMFer]

Quick brahs bout to order Ample Hills


last pint Peppermint Pattie or Oatmeal Lace??

[ADD61]

Quick brahs bout to order Ample Hills


last pint Peppermint Pattie or Oatmeal Lace??

Nonna

[ChknFrydMFer]

Chocolate milk and cookie
Ooey Gooey Butter Cake
20/20
Nonna Oatmeal



Look guud?

[crpav]

Wow to the above news about Ample Hills free shipping. I got the email about the new flavor so went to site but wow at the loss of several old flavors. Last order I gor the snap mallow pop and really enjoyed it and would order again. The Munchies is on top of my lists of favorites and that's gone too. So conflicted and "sad" about those being gone at the moment.

I sure am itching to place too many orders from a few places but wife would not be pleased. Graeters has my interest with several of their flavors. Never had many bad pints from them and have ordered several 12 pint orders. Salt and Straw of course with the new monthly flavors but only a few have my interest but would try a few of their always offered flavors that I have not had like pear and blue cheese and the black pepper one. THen this Ample Hills news still seems like an order should happen.

[ADD61]

Chocolate milk and cookie
Ooey Gooey Butter Cake
20/20
Nonna Oatmeal



Look guud?

I don't see goof here

[AdamWW]

Ample Hills offering FREE nationwide shipping! Holy smokes, $55 for 4 pints.

!!!!! is it some kind of limited time thing?

Either way, just placed an order. No way was I passing that up

[ADD61]

!!!!! is it some kind of limited time thing?

Seems permanent but no Munchies as an option currently

[ChknFrydMFer]

Seems permanent but no Munchies as an option currently

bummed about this...what's ample hills holiday lineup? or do they have one?