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

[Tyler2106]

Might order Jeni's: Cream puff, Salted Honey Pie, Ricotta Toast with Jam, Gooey Butter Cake, and Roxbury Road. $73 shipped.

Placed my order. It'll be here Friday

[ADD61]

ugasar says he like Jeni's gooey butter cake than Ample Hills.

I think the base for Jeni's puts it over AH.

Thanks for reminding me to stop there soon

[skier!]

First time posting, long time lurker.....

Big fan of Tilamook.

Just finished this it was fantastic:


Just bought this today been wanting to try it for a while and it is hard to find:

[ugasar]

ugasar says he like Jeni's gooey butter cake than Ample Hills.

Can confirm this is true!

Placed my order. It'll be here Friday

Wise decision! You have a pretty sturdy order there. I think you will enjoy them a lot!

I think the base for Jeni's puts it over AH.
Thanks for reminding me to stop there soon

Yes yes yes! I am heading to a scoop shop soon myself to get Salted Honey Pie and Ricotta Toast & Jam.

First time posting, long time lurker.....
Big fan of Tilamook.
Just finished this it was fantastic:
Just bought this today been wanting to try it for a while and it is hard to find:

I'm jealous! I enjoyed my first pint of Tillamook and have a few more in the freezer. I wish we had more flavors available though.

[Tyler2106]

I gotta give props to Coolhaus. Had Campfire Smores last night and it's much better than I thought it was going to be. It's nothing amazing, but they seem to be making a pretty good premium ice cream. 90g per 1/2 serving is pretty dense for a sub 200 calorie per serving ice cream. The graham marshmallow cookie butter swirl was tasty and the overall flavor did remind me of a smores. I would have liked to see a milk chocolate chip rather than dark chocolate, but I won't complain. They're still pretty pricey in comparison to other options in the grocery aisle, so they wouldn't be my first choice, but definitely better than I remembered them being.

[AdamWW]

I gotta give props to Coolhaus. Had Campfire Smores last night and it's much better than I thought it was going to be. It's nothing amazing, but they seem to be making a pretty good premium ice cream. 90g per 1/2 serving is pretty dense for a sub 200 calorie per serving ice cream. The graham marshmallow cookie butter swirl was tasty and the overall flavor did remind me of a smores. I would have liked to see a milk chocolate chip rather than dark chocolate, but I won't complain. They're still pretty pricey in comparison to other options in the grocery aisle, so they wouldn't be my first choice, but definitely better than I remembered them being.

90g for a 1/2 serving?? Is that like a 1/4 cup?? If so... damn.

[Tyler2106]

90g for a 1/2 serving?? Is that like a 1/4 cup?? If so... damn.

1/2 cup is the general serving size for ice cream. 90g per serving is pretty dense for a premium brand with less than 200 calories per serving.

[AdamWW]

1/2 cup is the general serving size for ice cream. 90g per serving is pretty dense for a premium brand with less than 200 calories per serving.

Oh ok... when I read what you wrote it sounded like a 1/2 serving not a 1/2 cup... cuz like you said a serving is usually a 1/2 cup, so 1/2 of a 1/2 would have been 1/4 ;o)

[jubjubrsx]

the tillamook monster cookie was meh....blue bunny was better imo

[Tyler2106]

Pints weighed in at:
Roxbury Road = 414g
Salted Honey Pie = 367g
Cream Puff = 396g
Ricotta Toast = 423g
Gooey Butter Cake = 384g

Observation from the order. I don't understand why Jeni's went with the color combination for Gooey Butter Cake. I legit can barely read the label. That yellow is painful to look at...otherwise the labels are really nice looking!

[ugasar]

Coolhaus Farmer's Markert Strawberry Cheesecake


Just when I had written Coolhaus off after their new flavors with such interesting and unique descriptions hadn't lived up to the hype, they draw me right back in with a great pint. The bottom line is that they flat out know how to make a mascarpone base.



This base is different from the other pints because it includes so much cheese. Therefore, it is thicker and denser. It takes much longer to temper because of this as well. It still isn't quite as creamy as I would like, but overall, that's a minor complaint with this pint.



With that said, the base isn't overly sweet due to the cheese. However, it isn't overly cheesy or tart either (more on this later). Imagine the richness of a sweetened cream cheese mixed with the acidity or lemon juice within the mascarpone. It isn't too sweet or too tart, but perfectly balanced.



Next comes the fresh strawberry swirl that was abundant, buy mainly at the top and very bottom of the pint. It had a jelly like consistency, but also had chunks of globs within in it as well. It was sticky, but not too thick; just like spreading jelly on a PB&J sandwich.



The flavor was, once again, very well balanced. On first bite, it's pretty sweet, but that still balances perfectly with the mascarpone cream cheese base. However, some other bites were loaded with acidity. The acidic and sweetness combination was a nice touch for the swirl.



Coolhaus added graham cheesecake bites to bring this ice cream full circle. There weren't as many as I would have liked, but they had a perfect consistency to them. They were soft, moist and very chewy. Imagine chopping up bites of fresh strawberry cheesecake, and this is exactly what the mixins were like.



I wasn't expecting much from the flavor of the cheesecake bites due to the rich base and sweet, acidic strawberry swirl. However, I was completely wrong. Each chunk was way more tart than the base allowing it to stand out in the ice cream. The graham wasn't as noticeable, but the tanginess reminded you exactly of a piece of fresh cheesecake.



If you were to take one of the best pieces of strawberry cheesecake you've ver eaten and put into a pint of ice cream, this would be it. The cheesiness of the base and the tartness of the graham cheesecake bites mixed with the sweet, but slightly acidic, strawberry swirl provides an epic combination of flavors. Balsamic Fig & Mascarpone is a classic flavor and arguably my favorite from the Coolhaus lineup. This pint is even better, and it's a must scoop! B+

[Tyler2106]

Jeni's Roxbury Road marshmallows are not enjoyable. Are those store bought ones or homemade? Rubbery, chewy, nastiness. yuck!

[Fiction2Fitness]

Another hot day in LA. Stopped at the Salt & Straw location yesterday to get two more different pints to have options. Plus side is my sister isn't a big fan of ice cream so it's a treat that I can have around that she won't eat when I'm not around. Got an interesting flavor this time.




And it is what it says. A less sweet base with the goat cheese ice cream. The mix in is bits of brittle, some of which are larger chunks than others. Can't taste the olive most of the time but when you get a bigger piece of brittle, there is no mistake that there is black olives in it. If you like sweet ice creams this might not be a good choice. But if you like a little oddity and savory elements, this is an interesting one to try.



Won't be eating the whole pint in one go, or even three, but it's going to be one I'll enjoy over time. Not sure how I'll feel on the floral choices that will be out next month. I'm allergic to some plants so have to be cautious in what I try there. I have 3 pints in the freezer already, so should focus on those first. And have an ice cream sandwich place to try as well that is nearby.

[Tyler2106]

^^^Whew, black olive brittle and goat cheese is up there with one of the most unique soundings flavors lol I don't like black olives so I don't think I'd like that one, but Salt & Straws seems to do well with making odd flavors work well together.

[AdamWW]

^^^Whew, black olive brittle and goat cheese is up there with one of the most unique soundings flavors lol I don't like black olives so I don't think I'd like that one, but Salt & Straws seems to do well with making odd flavors work well together.

Im going to hit up Salt and Straw locally this week because we're going to have amazing warm weather for a few days...

Some of our local options sound awesome, in particular:

Rachel’s Raspberry Ginger Beer (v)
Ellenos Yogurt & Matcha
Beecher’s Cheese with Peppercorn Toffee
Elm Coffee & Westland Whiskey
Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons
Almond Brittle with Salted Ganache


Ellenos is this local greek yogurt shop and their products are f*cking delicious... they basically make smaller-batch gourmet greek yogurt parfaits that are full-fat... it's basically like ice cream in our fridge:

[Tyler2106]

Jeni's Gooey Butter Cake. The coloring of the new pint is strange. I legit can barely see the writing and I could barely read the ingredients / small print.

As far as the ice cream itself, this was an enjoyable pint. The caramel / butterscotch sauce was not really a swirl / sauce, but more mixed in throughout the pint, so I got a sweet caramel flavoring in each bit. That doesn't sound bad, but it "masked" the cream cheese base just enough that I wanted more cream cheese flavor and less caramel. The cake pieces were smaller, but chewy and flavorful. I will say that Clementine's gooey butter cake puts these to shame. I don't remember Ample Hills Gooey Butter Cake enough to compare, but I would put this Jeni's pint behind Clementine's Gooey Butter Cake.

[AdamWW]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/6PFRhEg.jpg[img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/Df0RHJ2.jpg[img]

Jeni's Gooey Butter Cake. The coloring of the new pint is strange. I legit can barely see the writing and I could barely read the ingredients / small print.

As far as the ice cream itself, this was an enjoyable pint. The caramel / butterscotch sauce was not really a swirl / sauce, but more mixed in throughout the pint, so I got a sweet caramel flavoring in each bit. That doesn't sound bad, but it "masked" the cream cheese base just enough that I wanted more cream cheese flavor and less caramel. The cake pieces were smaller, but chewy and flavorful. I will say that Clementine's gooey butter cake puts these to shame. I don't remember Ample Hills Gooey Butter Cake enough to compare, but I would put this Jeni's pint behind Clementine's Gooey Butter Cake.

Would you say Clementine's is the best GBC you've had? I've been dying to try one since now I'm eating dairy again.

[Tyler2106]

Would you say Clementine's is the best GBC you've had? I've been dying to try one since now I'm eating dairy again.

Well, I've had 3 GBC, but only remember two of them. Clementine's was my favorite out of those two. I remember texting Tamara that I wanted to order just the gooey butter cake because I enjoyed it so much. However, with shipping costs, Clementine's isn't one I would recommend without having a killer line up to order. Ample Hills and Jeni's seem to battle head to head for best GBC, so maybe someone will chime in about AH's version. I'm still going to make my own and it will glorious

[Tyler2106]

Salt & Straw posted sneak peaks of next months flavors. Couldn't tell you what they were, but was excited about them.

[AdamWW]

Salt & Straw posted sneak peaks of next months flavors. Couldn't tell you what they were, but was excited about them.

where you seeing that?

[Tyler2106]

IG:

[AdamWW]

IG:
[img]https://i.imgur.com/9L3ioV6.jpg[img]

I'm quite curious about the one to the top/left of the purple scoop (overlapping the flower).

That big chunk of orange/caramel-colored whatever-it-is is epic.

[ugasar]

Jeni's Gooey Butter Cake. The coloring of the new pint is strange. I legit can barely see the writing and I could barely read the ingredients / small print.

As far as the ice cream itself, this was an enjoyable pint. The caramel / butterscotch sauce was not really a swirl / sauce, but more mixed in throughout the pint, so I got a sweet caramel flavoring in each bit. That doesn't sound bad, but it "masked" the cream cheese base just enough that I wanted more cream cheese flavor and less caramel. The cake pieces were smaller, but chewy and flavorful. I will say that Clementine's gooey butter cake puts these to shame. I don't remember Ample Hills Gooey Butter Cake enough to compare, but I would put this Jeni's pint behind Clementine's Gooey Butter Cake.

I personally like this one over Ample Hills. However, I scooped it back in 2015 and should give it another rescoop and a fair matchup. Your review is spot on for the Jeni's pint though!

Salt & Straw posted sneak peaks of next months flavors. Couldn't tell you what they were, but was excited about them.

I agree! Normally May is not a good lineup for them at all. However, these look very intriguing!

[ugasar]

Clementine's Italian Butter Cookie


I can't brag about Clementine's base enough. They are extremely dense and pretty much act as a custard. They take quite a while to temper because it is so thick and creamy. As I've said before, the consistency of this base can easily run with the big time ice cream companies.



Imagine a molasses cookie that has been crumbled up and steeped into a sweet cream base. This is exactly what the base tastes like. It isn't as heavy on the spices as I was expecting though, which is a good thing in my opinion.



The most notable flavors are the sweet cream, molasses and brown sugar. There are hints of cinnamon, but that's really the only notable spice. In fact, there is just enough to compliment the sweetness of the base.



Of course Clementine's adds in Italian butter cookies as mixins. They are top heavy, as usual, but are still frequented as you scoop your way down the pint. The texture isn't gooey, but still extremely soft and crumby. In fact, so soft, that the cookies break away as your spoon hits them.



As you might expect, the flavor of the cookies is very similar to the base since the base consisted of cream and the same ground up cookies. Therefore, the molasses and brown sugar cinnamon flavors build upon the sweetness of the base even more.



This flavor is essentially a molasses cookie in ice cream from. In my opinion, it isn't quite as spicy enough to be considered a true cookie butter or gingerbread flavor. However, if you enjoy molasses cookies and brown sugar cinnamon flavors like I do, then this is definitely worth a scoop. Just know that it is very monotonous, but also extremely tasty. B+

[Tyler2106]

I enjoyed that one as well ^^^ but thought it lacked something to make it even better.

[lazymuchacho]

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.

[ugasar]

I enjoyed that one as well ^^^ but thought it lacked something to make it even better.

I definitely agree with this, but I don't know what it would be without pulling from the flavor quite a bit. Cookie Butter/Molasses is just a hard flavor to work with when getting fancy.









Salt & Straw Smoked Sea Salt with Chocolate Feuilletine


I expect all the haters to come at me full force, but I have been in the Salt & Straw game for 2 years now so I will go ahead and say it. This pint was slept on by many who order from Salt & Straw in March.



This pint is described as a smoked sea salt-based ice cream with chocolate-covered feuilletine folded into the mix. I won't comment on the texture of the base much since we all know this company is what all ice cream should be based on with its creamy, rich and super dense consistency.



The flavor of the base is just as described. When you first eat a spoonful, the sea salt flavor comes through first and it is very bold. It has that smoky finish to it as well. After that settles on your taste buds for a few seconds, then the creamy, milky sweet cream flavor pushes through as an aftertaste to each bite.



What's a Salt & Straw pint if it doesn't have more than enough mixins? Feuilletine is a French delicacy that is basically little shards of chocolate-covered sugar cone.



Each chunk is a good size and are in almost every scoop from top to bottom of the pint. They aren't hard, but not soft either. They provide the perfect crunch that leads into a chewy bite where the chocolate essentially melts away in your mouth. They are slightly crispy, that is best described as eating chocolate covered sugar cone pieces.



Surprisingly, the feuilletine pieces aren't that sweet. The shell has a rich dark cocoa flavor that is very bold and has the perfect amount of bitterness to it. There are tiny hints of sweetness from the sugar cone, but it definitely takes a backseat to the chocolate.



As I stated above, many missed out on a great pint from Salt & Straw. It may not be anything fancy, but the savory aspect of the pint was perfected. The sweet cream base is full of smoked sea salt flavor and the dark chocolate feuilletine pieces provided a bitterness that builds upon the saltiness of the base even more. No, it isn't a heavy hitter from their lineup of greats, but this savory scoop was perfectly executed. A-

[lazymuchacho]

Ample Hills Peanut Butter Munchies:



What a strange little pint. You wait years to revive the flavor, hype it up by tugging on fans' hearts with all the right trigger words, and then execute it in a Jeni-esque manner.



You see. This base. Is so f*kn weird. It's not immediately displeasing, but the rustle builds on.

First thing you notice is the distinct gumminess. And you say, ok I guess this is a product of stabilizers that are made to prolong shelf life and thus lower the per pint cost.

But then it turns into a slime-ish texture as it thaws further.



It's the base's flavor thought that really seals the wtf nature of it all.

Artificial: somewhere between the overly sweetened peanut butter notes of Reese's Pieces and the imitation flavoring of these atrocious "peanut butter" protein powders/bars.



Unfortunately little redemption was found via mix-ins. Sparse. Lacking much salty punch.

Mostly a textural contribution: prominent crunch of the potato chip/ritz/pretzel rocks along with a slight crisp from the Reese's Pieces shells.

Should have stayed in the flavor graveyard.

[ugasar]

Ample Hills The Resistance


Spoiler alert: there is a lot going on in this pint and it's almost too much. It consists of a brown sugar vanilla bean ice cream with red velvet ooey gooey butter cake, toffee pieces and marshmallows.



The base is definitely way more brown sugar and molasses than vanilla bean. Of course it's sweet and I don't mind the flavor of it one bit, but there is absolutely no vanilla bean flavor to it at all, which isn't a good thing coming from a guy who really enjoys vanilla bean. This pint also melts really quickly too, and that's most likely because of the heavy amount mixins.



Let's start with the toffee pieces that are actually more like a toffee swirl with chocolate shards mixed in. This swirl was the most abundant mixin of the pint. However, there are some actual whole pieces that were very crunchy and much like your typical toffee candy.



Due to it being so present, the toffee flavor is very noticeable and the strongest of the pint. The swirl and pieces are full of butter and brown sugar flavors that at times are almost too rich, especially since the base is full of brown sugar flavor as well.



Possibly my last favorite mixin of all time are these mini marshmallows. First off, they don't add any flavor at all to the pint, especially with the strong toffee flavor form the swirl. Secondly, their texture is very off-putting. They are slimy and are basically like chewing a wet, mushy marshmallow. With that said, their impact is minimal in this pint so they didn't break the pint by any means.



The red velvet ooey gooey butter cake is just that. Much like Ample Hills' regular ooey gooey butter cake flavor, the edges are slightly crispy, but incredibly soft, moist and chewy throughout.



I thought the red velvet flavor was replicated pretty well also. Much different than their Oscar Night pint, this one had more of a cocoa flavor that is truly reminiscent of red velvet. However, it didn't have as much cream cheese flavor as I would have liked.



Like I said in the introduction, there is just too much going on in this pint. Other pints may be more balanced, but the richness of the toffee mixed with the molasses was just too much. The mini marshmallows don't do anything for the pint, but don't hurt it either. The red velvet gooey butter cake pieces had an awesome texture and helped this pint out quite a bit. Nonetheless, it's a mediocre pint from Ample Hills, but still the best out of the Star Wars collection. B

[Tyler2106]

Ample Hills Peanut Butter Munchies:

Should have stayed in the flavor graveyard.

This is a reason I didn't order the 4 pack. Too many people were saying it's decent at best. Glad I passed.