Tag: seattle

Molly Moon’s in Seattle, WA

July 4, 2020Destination Ice Cream, Ice Cream, travel, , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

My visit to Molly Moon’s in Seattle was on a very busy evening, with a big crowd outside. Despite the crowds, they were patient while I tried several flavors. It’s a cute spot (they have several locations) and they are “tip free” here, because the wage in Seattle is $15/hour. (Yay for a living wage!)

They suggested hot fudge in a waffle cone, which sounds amazing, but this gluten-free girl stuck to ice cream. Their prices are typical for a city and reflect the fancier ingredients and sourcing they do. They did let me get a single with two flavors (they charge $4.99 for that) so that’s the option I ultimately went with.

Here’s what I tried:

Melted Chocolate – This is more bitter than I expected. The texture is almost like a marshmallow! It’s very satisfying, and might make my top ten…it’s really unique among other chocolate flavors out there.

Yeti – This is granola, caramel and chocolate chunk, and it’s always fun to have a chunky texture, especially if you’re gluten-free like me. The base seemed to be vanilla or a similar creamy flavor, very smooth and satisfying. The caramel swirl is thin and drippy and sweet and delightfully satisfying. The granola and chocolate chunks are very tasty and give a nice texture contrast. It’s a nice sweeter flavor, and everything cuts through well.

Lemon and Blueberry Custard – This was a great flavor, but mine was a little bit icy.

Salted Caramel – I found this to be very bitter, but super creamy and with tasty caramel. It’s a solid caramel base, with no chunks. It’s unusual to have that bitterness – very fun.

They offer some really fun toppings here, but they’re very pricey, probably because they’re organic and such.

Molly Moon’s continued my pattern of finding excellent ice cream in Seattle. I wasn’t wowed by the prices particularly, and any time my ice cream is icy is a bummer, but I really enjoyed their flavors overall. In my experience here, I’d say it’s definitely a must-try if you like the more bitter side of ice cream flavors. If you like your ice cream sweet, you’ll have to shop around to find the flavors that suit you, but they’ll be very good.

This is my cousin’s favorite spot in Seattle, and since she knows her ice cream and is local, I definitely value her opinion! Thanks for the tasty treats, Molly Moon’s!

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Kurt Farm Shop, Seattle, WA

June 27, 2020Destination Ice Cream, Ice Cream, travel, , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

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

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Salt and Straw, Seattle, WA

June 20, 2020Destination Ice Cream, Ice Cream, travel, , , , , , , , Leave a comment

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

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Frankie and Jo’s, Seattle, WA

June 6, 2020Destination Ice Cream, Ice Cream, travel, , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

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.

Supporting My Blog

I am truly grateful for your support of my blog! You can help keep the content coming regularly 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.
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Macadons in Seattle, WA

May 30, 2020Destination Ice Cream, Ice Cream, travel, , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Macadon in Seattle, WA I In Search of a Scoop

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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Full Tilt in Seattle, WA

May 16, 2020Destination Ice Cream, Ice Cream, travel, , , , , , , , 1 Comment
Full Tilt, Seattle, WA I In Search of a Scoop

My cousin Michelle’s husband, Roscoe, recommended Full Tilt as his favorite local ice cream place during a visit to Seattle last August. I knew the ice cream couldn’t be as good as Michelle’s own brown butter ice cream, but I was happy to give it a shot.

Full Tilt, Seattle, WA I In Search of a Scoop

Full Tilt’s employees were willing to put two flavors into a single for me, and at $4.25 plus tax, the ice cream is very reasonable or even cheap for a big city.

The staff was nice and professional, though to be honest they weren’t thrilled to let me try more than a few flavors. (I don’t think they’re used to people pondering and savoring and debating flavors. Oops.) Luckily my family got a variety between us.

Full Tilt, Seattle, WA I In Search of a Scoop

The atmosphere is kind of like your favorite dingy college basement hangout, with informal signage and not a fancy setup. They have a few pinball and arcade machines to play too, and they gave us a sticker – always a bonus! – which my husband promptly put onto his guitar case. Their website also mentions they offer live music. There are several beers and ciders on tap to enjoy, and they’ve got a punch card. We also learned they’re a franchise, so the atmosphere may be 100% different in one of their other Seattle locations.

Here’s what I got:

Full Tilt, Seattle, WA I In Search of a Scoop

Ube – This sweet potato flavor was sweeter than anticipated. It’s very creamy and really nice, though perhaps a little one note? It would be delightful topped with marshmallow topping or pecans.

Rose Rhubarb – The rose is really prominent here, and the rhubarb brings a nice sweetness. It was unexpected and fun!

Salted Caramel – The salt is very forward here. Very tasty!

Raspberry Truffle – This is kind of a medium chocolate with a raspberry flavoring. It’s very smooth, like an ice cream version of a truffle.

Strawberry Limeade Sorbet – This is very fun, with both flavors prominent and combining really well. It’s both tart and sweet!

Watermelon Marshmallow – You’ll definitely get both flavors here! It’s a bit artificial, and the marshmallows are very fun…it’s a kind of unusual combination!

Full Tilt also offers many vegan flavors (coconut milk or sorbet), fun toppings like toasted marshmallow and cider sorbet floats!

It’s is a fun spin on ice cream, with lots of interesting flavors. They’ve got takeout available now if you need a fix. Have you tried it?

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Supporting My Blog

I am truly grateful for your support of my blog! You can help keep the content coming regularly 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.