Van Leeuwen - Mint Chip

Mint Chip - Peppermint Ice Cream with Chocolate Chips

Today I review another flavor from the Brooklyn-based Van Leeuwen Ice Cream:  Mint Chip.  I bought it at Kowalski's on Grand in Saint Paul.  Long-time readers know that Mint Chip is my favorite ice cream flavor going back to when I was a kid.  These days, the only time I get to have it is when I find a brand whose implementation I have not yet tried.  Well, today is that day for Van Leeuwen.  Let's see how they compare!

Opening the pint, the peppermint base has an off-white color.  They've gone with natural peppermint here -- no green coloring.  Lots of chips are visible right away as well.  Digging in, the peppermint flavor is cool and refreshing and not too intense.  The texture is thick but easy to scoop.  As mentioned in previous reviews, Van Leeuwen makes "French-style" ice cream -- meaning they more egg yolks than most -- so it has an almost frozen custard-like texture to it.  The chocolate chips are dispersed throughout the pint.  The chips have a high variability to their size and density which I really like.  That brings the element of surprise into each spoonful because you never know when you'll run into a large chip or a cluster of chips.  I remember saying the same thing about McConnell's which I also really liked.

This is a very good implementation of Mint Chip ice cream from Van Leeuwen.  I don't think it has quite cracked into my inner circle of favorites (McConnell's, Graeter's), but it is still quite good.  If you have access to Van Leeuwen and are in the mood for Mint Chip then this will surely satisfy.