Serendipity - Frrrozen Hot Chocolate

Frrrozen Hot Chocolate - Hot Chocolate Flavored Ice Cream with a Whipped Cream Swirl and Chocolate Shavings

I am still in New York City exploring the ice creams of the area during my holiday visit.  One new thing I noticed on this trip was that the famous Serendipity 3 restaurant on 60th St on the East Side now has a line of ice cream flavors available at many grocery stores.  This restaurant has been famous for decades but is known most outside NYC by its appearance in the John Cusack/Kate Beckinsale Romantic comedy which was itself named after the restaurant.  The most famous dessert on the restaurant menu is called Frrrozen Hot Chocolate (lots of pictures online) so a pre-packaged pint based on their signature dessert seemed like the obvious one for me to try.  It's got chocolate, whipped cream and chocolate shavings.  Let's check it out!

Removing the lid, I see the expected brown color of the chocolate base with many of the chocolate shavings visible right away as well as a couple of the swirls of whipped cream.  Digging in, the chocolate base does taste like hot chocolate.  A lot of good chocolate bases have this flavor palate (for example, Häagen-Dazs).  The chocolate shavings are softer than I imagined they would be.  Rather than being crunchy, they had the same texture of the curled shavings that are put on top of a french silk pie.  They are a little more chocolatey than the chocolate base.  The whipped cream swirl intrigued me.  I thought frozen whipped cream was ice cream (sweet cream), but this is lighter and gooey-er than ice cream itself.  The gooey texture reminded me a bit of a marshmallow swirl yet it did taste like whipped cream.  I checked the ingredients to see how they got the texture to come out right and it does look like they used a mixture of Cool Whip-like ingredients (corn syrup, cornstarch, various gums) to keep it gooey when frozen.  Perhaps a little disappointing for purists, but I did not mind.  It felt and tasted like whipped cream when I ate it.

This is a fun pint.  I was not expecting to have Frrrozen Hot Chocolate in a pre-packaged pint when I was visiting New York.  This brand is not a super-premium line of flavors -- it is more of a mid-range  in quality and price. It is certainly not a substitute for a visit to the restaurant, but I did enjoy for what it was.  A fun chocolate & whipped cream flavor.

Adirondack - Syrian Date & Walnut

Syrian Date & Walnut - Date Ice Cream with Walnuts

The next pint on my trip to New York is from the Adirondack Creamery and is called Syrian Date & Walnut.  I have reviewed a pint from Adirondack before on a previous trip to New York called Kulfi Pistachio Cardamom.  You'll notice that this is the second middle-eastern themed flavor that I have tried from Adirondack.  I checked their list of available flavors and they have a lot of more standard flavors (mint chip, banana chip, chocolate peanut butter, etc), so the bias towards more exotic flavors is on my end.  Since I eat so many different kinds of ice cream, I tend to gravitate towards flavors that are not as common.  This is especially true when I am out of town.  I don't encounter date-centric flavors that often -- that's why I picked this flavor.  The flavor link above mentions that this pint is specifically based on the Ma'amoul shortbread dessert common in the Arab world.  Adirondack is giving portions of the proceeds of the profits of this flavor to a charity which supports Syrian refugees.

On to the ice cream!  Removing the lid, the date-based ice cream is a very light tan color.  Digging in, the date ice cream is fairly sweet and tasty.  Date is a surprisingly easy-to-like flavor.  I was not exposed to dates much growing up, so I expect it to be more exotic or something I might have to acquire a taste for.  It's delicious.  This is ice cream made from a date paste -- there are not dates or date pieces in the mix.  The walnut pieces are spread through the pint fairly evenly and provide the occasional crunch.

This is a delicious implementation of a date-flavored ice cream.  If you are curious about dates in ice cream, give this one a shot.  Because there are no pieces of dates in the mix, I did not like it as much as Lappert's Date Casablanca, but both flavors are not nationwide flavors (Adirondack is New York, while Lappert's is California & Hawaii).  More brands should try a date-themed flavor!

Ben & Jerry - Cold Brew Caramel Latte (7-11 Exclusive)

Cold Brew Caramel Latte - Cold Brew & Sweet Cream Ice Creams with Salted Caramel Swirls 

Editors Note:  This flavor has since been renamed Go-To Cold Brew.  It is still a 7-11 exclusive flavor.
 

I have traveled to New York City to visit my sister for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Part of my trip will involve eating a bunch of ice cream I can't find back home in Minnesota.  The first pint is notably from Ben & Jerry's.  Last year, they released a flavor called Cold Brew Caramel Latte and made it available only at 7-11 convenience stores.  They had a 7-11 partnership before with their Nutty Caramel Swirl flavor.  Well, I don't live near 7-11 stores anymore, so I had to wait until I traveled somewhere where there was a 7-11 in order to get it.  They do have 7-11's in Manhattan and I found this pint on the Upper East Side on the corner of 84th and York.  The flavor itself looks interesting.  It is a cold brew coffee with a caramel swirl.  Coffee with caramel is not a super common flavor combination but I have seen it a couple of times before -- once from Häagen-Dazs (Sweet Cream Coffee Caramel) and once from Ben & Jerry's (Coffee Caramel Buzz).  Both flavors are slightly different than this flavor and both flavors are no longer in each brand's rotation.  It will be fun to see what today's re-imagining of a coffee-and-caramel flavor looks like.

Removing the lid, I see a marbling of the cold brew coffee and sweet cream bases.  I can see some mild speckling of the coffee beans in the coffee sections.  In the first spoonful, the coffee flavoring has the distinct 'cold-brew'-like flavor.  It is a bit less better, a bit less 'roasted'.  It tastes good.  The marbling with sweet cream dilutes the flavor a bit and keeps it from getting to be too strong.  As I dig down into the pint, I start to pick up the caramel swirl.  It tastes quite good.  As I keep eating there is more and more caramel.  Perhaps this means there is a slight mixing issue, but to be honest, the caramel was so good that I didn't mind.  Plus, it wasn't like the caramel was all on the bottom -- it was just that probably two-thirds of it was in the bottom half.

This is a pretty good implementation of a coffee-caramel ice cream.  The use of a cold-brew and sweet cream base made it feel fresh because cold-brew ice creams are getting more popular these days.  I really enjoyed the caramel swirl.  As far as coffee-caramel blends go, I think I still prefer the Häagen-Dazs (Sweet Cream Coffee Caramel) but as I mentioned before that flavor is no longer available.  If you like coffee and caramel together and you live near a 7-11 convenience store, check this flavor out.

Sebastian Joe's - Toasted Almond Joy

Toasted Almond Joy - Chocolate Ice Cream with Toasted Coconut and Almonds

The final pint from my recent trek to the Sebastian Joe's scoop shop in the Lowry Hill neighborhood in Minneapolis is called Toasted Almond Joy.   It has the same ingredients as the candy bar -- chocolate, coconut and almonds.  Those make a winning combination of ice cream flavors that I had to get it.  I have had ice creams which include these ingredients several times, from Talenti, Graeter's, McConnell's and the local Pumphouse Creamery.  It'll be fun to see how this Sebastian Joe's pint compares. 

Removing the lid, I see a chocolate base!  These flavors are usually done with a coconut base with chocolate mix-ins but this pint is done with a chocolate base and coconut mix-ins.  I have seen this before with Graeter's (see link above).  As is common with Sebastian Joe's bases, the base ice cream is so thick and chunky that it doesn't smooth out when packed into the container.  It looks like a big hunk of cookie dough.  Digging in, the chocolate ice cream is quite delicious and there is a high density of mix-ins.  About half the mix-ins are crunchy almond pieces while the other half are strands of toasted coconut.  This is quite delicious.

This is a successful implementation of a coconut-chocolate-and-almond flavor from Sebastian Joe's.  Like Graeter's, this is a more chocolate-centric implementation than usual.  For a more coconut-centric implentation, I would check out Pumphouse (for ice cream) or Talenti (for gelato).  The Talenti is actually extra coconut-y.  McConnell's also has a pint with these flavors, but the coconut is so toasted as to create a different type of flavor (it is excellent for those who love toasted coconut, though).  You almost cannot go wrong with these ingredients.  If you like your coconut extra chocolatey, check out this Toasted Almond Joy flavor from Sebastian Joe's.

Izzy's - Pumpkin

Pumpkin - Pumpkin Ice Cream with Cinnamon-like Spices

I am back with another pint from Izzy's Ice Cream in Saint Paul already.  I do not usually do two consecutive reviews from the same brand if I can help it, but they had a pint sale and I was in the mood for something seasonal.  Somehow, I had not already reviewed Izzy's Pumpkin flavor so I thought I would give it a shot.

The ice cream is the appropriate dark orange (brown?) color.  It might be slightly darker than I expected but not much.  Pumpkin bread is one of our family's older recipes and I know that some pumpkin puree is darker than others and the mixture gets considerably darker once you add the spices.  Digging in, the ice cream is very thick and creamy.  It is also a bit spicier than I expected.  That would definitely explain the darker color.  This actually tastes a bit like the batter of our family pumpkin bread recipe.  I know that I said the very same thing about a recent Sebastian Joe's pint, but that was the first thing that popped into my head once again.  Makes me want to make that recipe.  It is quite delicious.  I really like the extra spiciness.  The website description in the link above lists 'cinnamon-like' spices but I'm going to go ahead and add nutmeg and cloves tags to the review as well as I recognize those flavors in the mix as well. 

This is an excellent, homogeneous pumpkin flavor from Izzy's.  I was in the mood for something seasonal and this really hits the spot.  This is indeed the second pumpkin flavor this month, the other being from Sebastian Joe's.  I really enjoyed both, but they are slightly different flavors so it is worth pointing out the differences.  The Sebastian Joe's is not straight pumpkin, but Pumpkin Salty Caramel.  So it was noticeably sweeter with a touch of caramel flavor blended into the mix.  Izzy's was more of a straight pumpkin implementation but was definitely spicier.  Not hot, but the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves were quite flavorful.  For a straight pumpkin implementation, you can't beat this pint.  Enjoy.

Izzy's - Butter Queen Coffee

Butter Queen Coffee - Brown Butter and Coffee Ice Cream with Chocolate Covered Espresso Flakes

Today, we return to the Saint Paul-based Izzy's Ice Cream for a flavor that they release for the 2015 State Fair called Butter Queen Coffee.  Some contemporaneous links about the introduction of this flavor are available here and here.  It is encouraging to see that the flavor is still in the scoop shop location a few years later. 

The name of the flavor is due to the back that the base ice cream contains both coffee and brown butter and also because there is a long standing tradition of making butter sculptures of the pageant-like queen of the State Fair.  Yes, you read that correctly.  It is one of the quirkier things that happens at the Minnesota State Fair.  The Midwest Dairy Queen will crown a Princess Kay of the Milky Way to act as a goodwill ambassador for the year.  One of her duties is to sit in a refrigerated glass room while a sculptor carves her likeness in a giant hunk of butter.  Because it is a glass room, fair-goers can can gather around and witness this happening.  There are lots of photos of this on google image search.  It is one of the things that out-of-towners love to see when they visit because where else can you see crowned festival queen sitting in an ice box wearing their tiara with their winter coat?

Anyhow, now that you know about the origin of the flavor name, how does it taste?  Let's find out!  Removing the lid, I see the coffee base is perhaps a little bit darker than normal with quite a few chocolate pieces visible right on top.  The first spoonful tastes like coffee, but it is a bit caramel-like as well, so I can taste the brown butter in there as well.  The chocolate chips are delicious.  Some of the chips are more than just chocolate.  I can taste the crunchy espresso flakes in the center of some of the chips.  Also, some of the chips are almost toffee-like.  It seems fitting with the brown butter in the base that there might be some toffee mixed in with the mix-ins as well.

This is a very delicious pint of ice cream.  At its core, this is a coffee-chocolate-chip-like flavor but with some twists to make it unique -- namely the caramel-like brown butter in the base and the espresso flakes and toffee in the mix-ins.  I think the combination works quite well.  It is not as exotic as this year's Dessa's Night Drive which includes cardamom but this is still quite good.  If you are a coffee-and-chocolate fan interested in a twist on that classic combination check this out from Izzy's.

Milkjam Creamery - Ooey Gooey

Ooey Gooey - Malted Milk Ice Cream with Salted Gooey Butter Cake

I stopped by Milkjam Creamery in Minneapolis and found a flavor available in pints which I had not yet tried, so I picked it up.  This flavor is called Ooey Gooey.  It is based on Gooey Butter Cake, a dessert popularized in Saint Louis, Missouri.  I have had flavors based on this type of cake, from both Jeni's and Ample Hills.  It will be interesting to see how Milkjam compared to these.

Opening the lid, I see a cream-colored base with one of the cake pieces visible on top.  Digging in, the base ice cream is quite soft.  Then I encouter the cake pieces and they are quite soft.  "Ooey Gooey" is definitely a good description for this entire pint.  The flavor description says that the base is malted milk.  I may taste a little bit of malt, but it is not too malty.  The cake pieces and the base ice cream have similar flavors.  It is mainly the texture which allows me to recognize them in my head as I eat each spoonful.  The whole pint is rather sweet.  Ooey gooey and stick sweet.

This is an interesting implementation of a gooey butter cake flavor from Milkjam.  The soft texture reminds me more of Jeni's than of Ample Hills, but it is most certainly softer than each of them.  I found it a bit on the sweet side which is interesting because often malt is used to mute sweetness.  Perhaps the balance of malt vs sweetness is something that varies from batch to batch.  At any rate, Milkjam is local and those Jeni's & Ample Hills flavors are not, so if you have a sweet tooth and are curious about gooey butter cake, you could give this flavor a try.