Early this year I visited the Atlanta area to surprise a friend, and our last night together we discovered Rock Salt Milk Bar. What a special place! It’s gorgeous, light and beautiful, and the owners couldn’t have been more friendly.
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I’ll begin by saying that when I visited this shop in August, the owner was already looking for a buyer, and I’m happy for them but sad for the rest of us to report that Kurt Farm Shop sold its tiny and adorable location to Sweet Alchemy and instead is focusing on their cheese and farm.
I’m thrilled that we got to visit while we were in Seattle. It was such a quirky location, a tiny storefront you really had to work to find, and they were known for their interesting flavors, in particularly their Flora’s Cheese.
Here’s what I tried:
Flora’s Cheese – This is a very fun base – I think it’s a kind of a milky or sweet cream base, and it has chunks of cheese in it. It’s a milder flavor, and very fun. This is the one everyone raved about and it’s definitely unique! It was my husband’s favorite – I enjoyed it a lot too.
Lemon Verbana – Wow! This was super bright and had a complex pop to it. It reminded me of an antiques store! So fun, very creamy, and honestly reminded me a little bit of Fruit Loops milk!
Chocolate – Their dark chocolate is amazing! They also have a milk chocolate. The dark chocolate is rich and dark like a brownie batter. It makes my top five…it wasn’t as creamy as the ones I usually gravitate towards, but it was amazing, textured like a brownie and I think it’s even better than the chocolate I’m so fond of at Epcot. (Probably a top 3 or 4!)
Strawberry – This tart strawberry is sweet, but not too sweet, very creamy and good. (Dedicated readers will know I’m not a big fan of strawberry ice cream, but I enjoyed this a lot.)
This was the best ice cream that our group found during our visit to Seattle. For me personally, I preferred Frankie and Jo’s because I’m gluten-free and kind of wacky, but for traditional ice cream, this beat everything else we had time to try.
We are very sad to hear of Kurt’s closing…it’s probably for the best since COVID would likely have closed them anyway. Wishing them and the new folks all the best. So glad we got to enjoy while we were in town.
Be well, and happy eating!
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My first experience with Salt and Straw was in LA, and I’ve also enjoyed their soft serve in Portland. Other than their soft serve, which I found pretty fantastic, I’ve found that their flavors are very hit or miss. I’d fallen hard for their Freckles woodblock chocolate, enjoyed their almond brittle with salted ganache, and their honey lavendar was sweet and strong. And of course there was the black olive brittle and goat cheese, which left me declaring that if I could eat that flavor every single day, I could give up other ice cream forever!
Yup. I said that. Me.
But then they’ve got other flavors that I wasn’t so fond of, and the pricing is on the higher side, and in general, they prefer their ice cream significantly less sweet than I enjoy.
So with a lot of caveats, I told my cousin Michelle we should give it a shot – but I would completely understand if she and her husband didn’t enjoy it at all or want to get anything. Better to undersell these things, right? Especially with someone with a stated preference for New England ice cream.
When we arrived at 8 p.m. on a Monday, there was an amazingly long line outside. They’re great about letting you try flavors, but it was very crowded and you’ll need to advocate for whatever you want over the din. But the service is great when you finally get there.
Here’s what I tried:
Carrot Cake Batter w/ Candied Pralines – The major spice on the pralines was an aftertaste, almost too much, but really nice. This was really fun, probably my favorite of the night, and I really appreciated that they made it gluten-free. (Yay for gluten-free cake batter!)
Green Fennel and Maple – This was surprisingly sweet and creamy, a very forward flavor. I really like the levels of both the fennel and maple here. Unfortunately it had a lot of ice crystals.
Beecher’s Cheese – The cheese was fine, but the peppercorn toffee inside was super peppery and sticks around for a while…it kind of made me cough. It was too much for me.
Cloudforest Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies and Cream – This isn’t creamy – the Nutella was actually kind of chunky. I had high hopes, but this one was just so-so.
Rachel’s Raspberry Ginger Beer – This is a sorbet, and I found it pretty refreshing and fun as someone who loves ginger beer. I did find a few ice crystals in this flavor.
So, in sum, Salt & Straw again provides some gourmet flavors, but there shouldn’t be ice crystals in them, so that was a real bummer. Overall I had two very good flavors (sans ice crystals), two duds and one very pleasant summer experience (sans ice crystals). Definitely worth a try, but the experience confirmed for me that there’s still a lot of room for improvement here. I’m not sure if they just serve too many people or what, and I wish the flavors were consistently great.
Have you visited Salt & Straw? Or ordered their ice cream online? I’d love to hear your feedback!
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Frankie & Jo’s holds the rare distinction of being a place that I had on my bucket list for several years before I got to Seattle! Because a friend of mine (thank you, Dan!) has been raving about it for years, I knew it was an absolute must visit when I made it to the city.
I’m happy to say that it didn’t disappoint. I visited both locations (one right on the water!), and it was a major highlight of my trip to Seattle. Before I review it, you should know that the entire menu is both plant-based (vegan) and gluten-free. Ice creams use a base of cashew milk and/or coconut milk, and they keep the ingredients simple, avoiding preservatives and using a wide variety of innovative ingredients and flavors.
Here’s what I got:
Captain Whidbey Caramel Cookie Crunch- This was super fun. I loved the balance of the alcohol’s punch with the rest of the flavors. They described it as “A rich and decadent caramel ice cream base with chewy, salty, chocolatey, crunchy potato chip cookie bites and a gooey caramel swirl.” Seems pretty accurate to me!
Berries and Fermented Cream – “Berries & Fermented Cream: A one part vegan creme fraiche ice cream made from our own fermented cashew milk plus one part triple organic Washington berry coconut milk ice cream swirled with our house-made berry jam & almond flour lemon cake pieces.” This is really enjoyable! I’m definitely a fan. Any time someone makes gluten-free cake and throws it into an ice cream, I’m going to be on board with it.
Chocolate Tahini Supercookie – Oh my goodness! The base is an amazing chocolate, one of the best that I’ve had, so rich, creamy and indulgent. It might make my top three, and definitely top four, for a best chocolate ice cream!
Gingered Golden Milk – While my husband found the coconut to be a bit too much, for it added the perfectly balanced flavor against the ginger and the major turmeric kick at the end.
Mint Cookie – This is delicious chocolate chewy cookies in a minty base. It’s so yummy, and everything I’d hoped for!
California Cabin – These cookies are amazing and have a big kick when combined with the smoked vanilla and pine flavors. It’s a thick base. It’s super fun and comforting like Christmas or cookie doughh.
After trying just about everything (!) I had my choices in a maple vanilla gluten-free cone that tasted like a cookie, so tasty and with great spices, and perfectly cooked.
On my second visit, here’s what I tried:
Brown Sugar Vanilla – The coconut flavor of the base goes well here, but it’s very prominent, so don’t get it unless you love coconut.
Chocolate Date – This is a really strong chocolate flavor, and the date is almost more of an aftertaste, on the second beat. Its super creamy and yummy.
Tomato Melon Mint – I enjoyed the first bite, but after that it was just too much for me. Honestly, the idea of cold tomato almost made me ill. Just not my thing, but others in my party liked it.
This time, I got a waffle cone with chocolate tahini super cookie and mint cookie – so delightful!
The prices here are reasonable for a city. I did three flavors in a waffle cone and then two flavors in a waffle cone and thought the portions were good.
Frankie & Jo’s is a must-do if a) you’re vegan, b) you’re gluten-free or c) you love interesting flavors of ice cream. If you like plain vanilla and chocolate from cow’s milk, this probably isn’t your shop. But for me it was an absolute winner.
And the best news? Even though COVID-19 means you’ll have to watch their website for local availability, you can also pay for shipping to have it sent across the country! I just might have to do that. 🙂
Thank you SO much, Frankie and Jo’s! I will absolutely be back and I’m so, so thankful that you do what you do.
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Departing from my visit to Full Tilt, my cousin and I were immediately distracted by signs for both macarons and ice cream at Macadons. Despite the fact that I’d already eaten, I knew I’d need to carve out a little bit of extra space for an ice cream-filled macaron sandwich.
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This past summer, I had plans to travel across the state of Washington and back, so finding homemade ice cream to break up the trip was essential. Winegar’s Coffee & Creamery is an unassuming cafe – a pleasant, intimate joint catering to college students in Ellensburg, Washington. It’s cute, serves a great cup of coffee and borders a little specialty grocery store with some fun products. They’ve been serving super premium ice cream since 1956!
They have two locations in town, and I visited one. They make it easy to have allergies here – the top allergens are clearly labeled by each flavor.
Here’s what we tried over two visits:
Rocky Rodeo – This is a light chocolate, with almost a soft serve consistency, marshmallows and a marshmallows swirl and little almond pieces. It’s super tasty and satisfying, with a not too sweet base so the mixins pop! Great if you like marshmallows!
Kevinlicious – This is an amaretto base with cherry and chocolate chip chunks. Bright and fun!
Riegel Royal – This is a very light and smooth chocolate base with a peanut butter swirl. The latter is what steals the show. Tasty, but I’d prefer more of a chocolate flavor here.
Taneum Meadows Blueberry Cheesecake – Thank goodness this flavor doesn’t add gluten! It’s quite creamy and the cheesiest of the cheesecake ice creams I have had. So satisfying!!! I believe I had some in Roswell that was even creamier, but this is an absolute must try, especially if you’re gluten-free.
Ryland’s Pina Colada – Start with a smooth, rich and creamy pineapple base and add pineapple and coconut. Yum! It’s fruity and perfect for summer.
Gary Dough – Wait for it – this is a maple base with cookie dough chunks. It’s so creamy that it’s like a cream cheese texture. It’s really tasty, and less sweet than I would have anticipated. Really pleasant and almost savory! But with those sweet chunks of cookie dough. Wow.
This ice cream place is amazing! They keep the bases super creamy like cream cheese and not really smart. The chunks add the sweetness. It’s awesome! They’re super friendly and let me try it all, for real.
Portions are great, with $5.49 for two large scoops and $2.99 for a scoop. They’ve also got tempting sundae treats, shakes and coffee drinks.
I don’t think I can recommend then more highly! It’s a perfect example of bases done well, or the strength in avoiding over-sweetening your ice cream, it satisfies cheesecake cravings and the staff couldn’t be nicer. It’s definitely in my top ten of spots across the U.S. If it doesn’t make top five, it’s at least a contender!
It’s an easy jaunt off the highway in your travels. Don’t miss Winegar’s next time you’re nearby – heck, I’d even travel just for a visit. (And yes, they’re open right now!)
Take care, and happy eating!
P.S. If you haven’t grabbed your essential work from home bundle yet, it isn’t too late! Your support is greatly appreciated. Use my code to save big.
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When I visited Ruby Jewel, the main purpose of my visit was to connect with a friend. Because I didn’t want her to think me the oddest of people, I didn’t take my usual 10-15 minutes to sample flavors and debate options.
Nevertheless, I got a nice glimpse of her favorite Portland-area ice cream spot. They have several locations to try, and their atmosphere is lovely, upscale but comfy and casual.
Here’s what I tried:
Nineteen27 Toasted Marshmallow – This was very tasty, but in the bit I tried, it was a little bit icy. A local company makes the marshmallows, and then they’re toasted and added to sweet cream ice cream. Definitely a fun concept!
Caramel with Salted Chocolate – I had this on two gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. Honestly, how could it be bad? It was super satisfying.
So, I really liked Ruby Jewel! I’ll have to go back to give them a more fair review. I did notice their gluten-free flavors were limited, but they still had some really nice options. I look forward to a future trip!
Hope you’re staying well and have some ice cream in your future, friends. (Visit Ruby Jewel’s website for tips on getting your fix while their stores are closed.) If any of you are struggling with working from home/staying put, I’m featured in a new course bundle. Mine is called “Navigating Relationships When You’re Both Working From Home”. The link above will give you a huge discount on the course. Stay well, and take care!
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Tillamook Creamery, unlike most of the ice cream places I visit, makes premium, not super premium, ice cream. So I was a little bit skeptical of how great their ice cream was – but when we were in Fort Collins, Colorado for a summer, we enjoyed their ice cream when it was on sale occasionally, and I can attest to their cheese and yogurt being excellent as well. Long story short? Their factory is definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area. They say their secret is more cream and less air. Could be!
When you visit, be sure to check out the other area businesses too (like Blue Heron – their brie is incredible!), and of course a visit to the beach is highly recommended. That gorgeous Oregon coast….you should anticipate big crowds here. I recommend taking a tour (the exhibits are very well done, and you can sample cheese at the end), and they also have some mouthwatering meal options if you’d like a grilled cheese or lots of other deliciousness before your dessert. Depending on the time of day, they sometimes have an outdoor area just for ordering ice cream; at other times, you’ll order your ice cream in the food court and can sit inside or take it outdoors to enjoy.
Prices are very reasonable with big portions at $3.50 for one scoop, $5 for two scoops or $6.50 for three. They’ll let you try whatever you like first. And if you’d like one of their pre-selected flights, those will run you three flavors for $5.75.
Here’s what I tried:
Pendleton Whiskey and Maple Custard – My bite was icy, but this was very tasty and the alcohol is very strong – they charge an extra dollar for this flavor!
Oregon Hazelnut Salted Caramel – This is a hazelnut base with chunks in it, and a salted caramel ripple. The hazelnut runs the show here, but the gentle salted caramel complements it well.
Mountain Huckleberry – This is a smooth and creamy base swirled with ample sweet and tart huckleberry. Very satisfying!
Chocolate Cherry Fudge – This was kind of a medicinal cherry, unfortunately. Not my thing.
Tillamook Mudslide – This is chocolate with chocolate chunks and a chocolate swirl. Yum!
The ice cream here is super creamy, as mentioned, and though it won’t make my top five across the U.S., it’s a very satisfying option. Best of all is that when you’re in the Pacific Northwest, it’s very easy to find in the grocery stores. If we’re talking “grocery store” ice cream, this one is a top contender!
As of this writing, Tillamook Creamery is closed, so grab some at your local grocery store for now and plan a visit for the future. Stay well, and happy eating!
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Hurry Back Ice Cream focuses on handmade, small batch, eggless ice cream with simple ingredients. They offer classic and limited edition flavors as well as several non-dairy flavors made with coconut milk and coconut cream. (Note: photos by Hurry Back Ice Cream)
Their hours are limited (not a late night joint) and they’re basically a food truck that hangs out with other food trucks, with a few tables nearby as well. They were happy to let me taste flavors, offered gluten-free cones and my combo of two flavors in one scoop was $4.50, so pretty reasonable for a city. Expect pretty traditional flavors and lots of vegan options if you come here.
Here’s what I tried:
Ghirardelli Chocolate – This is a very tasty chocolate ice cream. Classic taste and I enjoyed it…it’s got a classic amount of smoothness, without being super creamy, and it’s very consistent.
Grasshopper – This is a very natural and light mint flavor. It’s fun! It’s a very nice and natural version of the classic.
Combining these two flavors is definitely fun. There’s a strong mint aftertaste that still shines through when paired with chocolate. Definitely recommend.
Follow them on Instagram for the latest updates on when they’ll be back scooping.
Thanks for the deliciousness. We’ll be sure to hurry back when we’re back in town!
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Let’s take a journey to Portland, circa July 2019, shall we?
After learning that I could get gluten-free cookies and cream ice cream in Portland, a visit to Wiz Bang Bar was a must. The setup is kind of a fancy, high-end food court, with a variety of vendors so you can get dinner at one place, send your partner to another and meet up at another location or two for dessert. If you’re familiar with Salt & Straw, this is their whimsical soft serve experiment, and in my opinion, it’s better than the hard stuff.
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In Search of a Scoop 