Tag: California

Little Calf Creamery and Cafe, Thousand Oaks, CA

Little Calf Creamery and Cafe, Thousand Oaks, CA | In Search of a ScoopAt Little Cafe Creamery and Cafe, ice cream isn’t the only thing on the menu, but it’s definitely a sweet destination! It’s in the back of a cute, higher end strip mall in Thousand Oaks, California. Little Calf Creamery and Cafe, Thousand Oaks, CA | In Search of a Scoop

As is true at a lot of counter service places, I felt rushed to try flavors (I didn’t want to keep a family from their dinner), but I noticed a large variety, including a coconut milk base, an almond milk base, a couple of sorbets and of course lots of ice cream flavors.

A double will get you two flavors if you like. It’s a nice space, with both an indoor and an outdoor option. $4 for a rather large single or $6 for a double felt like a great deal in this area, and perhaps best of all, they bring the ice cream to your table. I also loved that they use real dishes if you’re eating in.Little Calf Creamery and Cafe, Thousand Oaks, CA | In Search of a Scoop

Here’s what I tried:

Little Calf Creamery and Cafe, Thousand Oaks, CA | In Search of a Scoop

Mint Chocolate Chip – The chips here are incredible and really melt in your mouth. The minty base wasn’t my favorite of all time, but it was still quite good.

Dublin Cream – If you like Bailey’s, this is amazing! It’s an excellent flavor I’d love to return to. I found it on St Patrick’s Day…it’s almost an eggnog texture. This one will stick with me for a long time. Highly recommend.

Classic Chocolate- This is a pleasant medium to light chocolate. It’s not particularly rich…pleasant, but it won’t win any awards.Little Calf Creamery and Cafe, Thousand Oaks, CA | In Search of a Scoop

Peanut Butter Fudge- This is a peanut butter base with chocolate fudge, with real swirls of peanut butter in it. It’s great if you’re in the mood for peanut butter!

Overall, I found the ice cream had an excellent texture. It’s pretty creamy and consistent. Really high quality and worth a visit!

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Salt and Straw, Los Angeles, CA

Salt and Straw, originally from Portland, is legendary for high-quality ice cream and unusual flavors. They’ve been on my radar for some time, including with the opening of a location at Disneyland, but until recently I’d never gotten to experience the magic for myself. Salt and Straw, Los Angeles, CA | In Search of a Scoop

On a recent visit to Los Angeles, I was happy to be able to see (and taste) what everyone had been talking about.

I came here with a friend, which meant I could try her flavor in addition to my own. I tried several flavors and then settled on a tasting flight for $11.75, four kid-sized flavors served in a cute dish. That price felt reasonable to me for the ability to comfortably taste for flavors and because we were in a big city…plus, it’s clear at a place like this that you’re enjoying high-quality ingredients. Here’s what I had:Salt and Straw, Los Angeles, CA | In Search of a Scoop

Avocado and Oaxaca Chocolate Fudge – This isn’t a super sweet flavor, but the chunks of fudge are sweet and also a little salty. It’s nice, kind of like a grownup version of some of the ice cream I had as a kid with fudge throughout it. The avocado is more subtle (as I would expect) but it also had some avocado chunks in there, and it was a nice pairing with the chocolate.

Freckles Woodblock Chocolate – Wow! This is almost like a salty sweet hot chocolate. It’s very fun! Salt and Straw, Los Angeles, CA | In Search of a Scoop

Almond Brittle with Salted Ganache – This Brittle is delicious, and it’s a very creamy base that’s satisfying with the mix-ins. But be forewarned – this chocolate ganache is definitely not sweet.

Honey Lavender – This is a sweet and strong lavendar. I found it really satisfying even if the honey isn’t as prominent as it could be.

Salt and Straw, Los Angeles, CA | In Search of a ScoopBlack Olive Brittle and Goat Cheese – Wow!!!! We have a winner! The goat cheese is super strong, and the olive is tasty and crunchy. It’s unusual and super fun if you like these salty foods. I left feeling it was one of my favorite combinations I’ve ever had. Since then I’ve decided that I’d be willing to give up other ice cream if I could eat this every day…no joke! So maybe the best flavor/ice cream I’ve ever had!

The ice cream bases here are definitely creamy and milky and yet have almost no sweetness to them. So you taste flavors, but the bases aren’t as prominent as I’d like. Overall, I found the experience fun but besides the last flavor, there wasn’t anything I’d crave or need to come back for.

Thanks, Salt and Straw! I’m sure I will be back someday for that olive and goat cheese amazingness! And thank you all for reading. Happy eating!

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Mashti Malone’s in Los Angeles, CA

Mashti Malone’s, Los Angeles, CA | In Search of a ScoopDuring a recent visit to Los Angeles, I made a point, as always, to find some homemade ice cream. One of the places near me with the best reviews was Mashti Malone’s.

This is a place offering an incredible variety of flavors. They offer traditional flavors that any ice cream lover will recognize, but they also offer a variety of flavors I’ve never seen anywhere, including sorbets and some flavors with rice noodles!

The staff was super friendly, calm and very helpful. It’s an unassuming place in an unassuming plaza but I will absolutely be back someday. The music playing was old school swing and jazz – fantastic!

They also offered some other desserts – perhaps Turkish? Pardon my ignorance – they looked great.

Here are the flavors I tried:Mashti Malone’s, Los Angeles, CA | In Search of a Scoop

Sour Cherry Rose Water Sorbet with Rice Noodles – The sour cherry is super prominent here. It’s a really fun flavor.

Herbal Snow Sorbet – Wow! This is rose, lemon, basil seeds and herbs. It made me think of my great-grandmother, oddly…like beautiful smells in my mouth! There are so many delicious flavors combining here. It’s not creamy – definitely a Sorbet – but this is an incredible experience.

Saffron Pistachio with Rosewater – This has a creamy and lovely base. The saffron flavor is fabulous. It’s so great in ice cream. My only potential complaint is perhaps the pistachio is a bit of an afterthought here. I love the color combination though. And the rosewater is a bit hidden, but you can still taste it.

Ginger Rosewater – This is very nice, but not as nuanced a flavor as the others.

Overall the flavors here are very smooth and creamy, and the sorbet was on the creamier side considering it didn’t have the dairy or egg base.

If you’d like multiple flavors, you’ll need to order a double (do it!) and when you sample, they use a double spoon and give you two flavors at a time – very environmentally friendly and smart!

I found the double to be a good size – $7 makes perfect sense in a city and with these unusual flavors and ingredients. Even outside a city for the ingredients it would have made sense to me.

Next time I will try the date and cucumber flavors…but I will absolutely get that herbal snow sorbet again. At the end of the day…at the end of my life…this stuff is seriously that good. Wow.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy eating!

__________________________

Supporting My Blog

I am truly grateful for your support of my blog! You can help by doing any or all of the following:

  • Become a patron of my work!
  • Make purchases via my Amazon website links. There is no additional cost to you, and a portion of the proceeds can support our travels. Begin your Amazon search here.
  • Make other purchases using my affiliate links. Signing up with Dosh or Capital One 360 is a great way for everyone with a smartphone to support me, and I also have options for aspiring virtual assistants as well as occasional and full-time RVers to save money. This link will take you to my other travel page with my husband – we’ll have one here soon!
  • Listen to, subscribe and review my theater comedy podcast, Finishing The Season!
  • Subscribe to this as well as my other travel blog, RossAndJamieAdventure, and recommend our work to your friends and family.
  • Take music or theater lessons (group or private) from me and my husband, either in person or via Skype at TinyVillageMusic.com.