Flavor Frenzy 2018. They battled. We voted. I campaigned. Team peanut butter got the victory. After a grueling bracket filled with succulent scoops of Ample Hills’ past, the return of Peanut Butter Munchies became a reality. The nut-ified twist on AH’s classic combines a peanut butter pretzel custard with caramelized clusters of Ritz crackers, potato chips, pretzels, and Reese’s Pieces.
Here’s a hot take for ya: I hate milkshakes. Okay, maybe “hate” is a strong word, but in most situations I find milkshakes totally pointless. I am of the mindset that we shouldn’t drink our calories, and much like soda is a silly way to take in 50 grams of sugar, I don’t want to slurp down 1,000 calories of dairy bliss.
Sure, a burger, shake, and fries is a classic pairing if you want to go into an immediate food coma, but I’d rather have my burger and fries with some water and go in on a double scoop for dessert. I also believe that well crafted ice cream is a thing of beauty and watering it down with more milk is simply sacrilege. That being said, I do like me a little maltiness from time to time, and Ben & Jerry’s are giving me the opportunity to indulge in the classic shake experience without breaking my no straw rule. Chocolate Shake It Truffles combines a chocolate malt milkshake ice cream with chocolate-cookie covered fudge truffles and marshmallow swirls.
I could go on and on about how much I love Salt & Straw’s Chocolate Caramel Potato Chip Cupcake. I’ve made it my mission this year to get everyone I possibly can to hear me out and try it. CCPCC is the fine craft of ice cream perfected to such a degree that I hope it comes back every March, or in my dreams, permanently. Another of this months voted back offerings, Meyer Lemon Meringue Pie, is no slouch either, but there’s a sneaky good flavor lingering beneath the glitz and glam that really deserves your attention too. Sweet Corn & Waffle Cones combines a sweet corn ice cream with chocolate covered waffle cones, freckles of salted brown butter, and ribbons of rich vanilla caramel.
Caffeine is the most widely abused drug in the world, and I’ve got to imagine alcohol isn’t too far behind it. Most people start their day with a steaming cup of coffee and end it with an ice cold brewski or glass of wine; and the two beverages allow us to get our days rollin’ and then wind them down, respectively. In my funny little world, I would rather start my day off with the coffee and end it with a nice creamy scoop of some high quality ice cream. Ben & Jerry’s Truffles line has a new solution to all of my problems with Chillin’ the Roast, which combines cold brew coffee ice cream with chocolate cookie-covered coffee liqueur truffles and a fudge swirl.
Vice Cream are a relatively new Boston-based premium ice cream company founded by cancer survivor Dan Schorr on the premise of “Life’s short, eat fuckin’ ice cream”. Their mission statement is in direct opposition to the current trend of low calorie desserts loaded with sugar alcohols and protein, and as a fan of all things rich and creamy I really respect that. Their distribution is getting stronger in 2018, and just in time for the peak of ice cream season their decadent offerings have made their way to the bay. Breakfast in Bed combines maple ice cream with sticky bun dough, pecan praline, maple syrup, and cinnamon cream cheese ripple.
In addition to dropping non-stop pun-tastic pints, Ben & Jerry’s love to work with themes. A couple years back it was the novelty-driven Cores, followed by the one-upped Cookie Cores, last year it was the “whoops we ordered way too many fudge flakes” line, and this year it’s all about truffles. All three of B&J’s new releases to kick off the coveted ice cream season revolve around the ganache-centric European staple, including Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake, which pairs a caramel cheesecake ice cream with graham cracker-covered cheesecake truffles and chocolate cookie swirls. Do you have a respirator handy, cause my breathing is HEAVY!
Until today I had no idea what “glamping” was, and there’s a decent chance you don’t either, so I’ll get ya up to speed. Glamping is short for “glamour camping” and is the hybrid of the lovely outdoor freshness of traditional camping and more posh resort-style hotel amenities of regular vacationing. It truly is the hypothetical best of both world’s, where you can go on a long mind-clearing hike and take a poop into something that flushes before roasting some marshmallows over an easy-to-ignite outdoor fire pit. Speaking of marshmallows, and similarly to my lack of knowledge about glamping, I had no clue Target was getting a new exclusive flavor from Ben & Jerry’s, and was stopped in my tracks when doing my daily perusing of the frozen aisle at my favorite red-clad establishment. Apparently inspired by faux-camping and uber decadent hiking snacks, Glampfire Trail Mix combines chocolate ice cream with crunchy pretzel swirls, marshmallow swirls, and fudge-covered almonds.
I tend to like variety in my sweets, and especially in ice cream. Different layers, textures, and flavors that work together to create one sumptuous symphony of taste sensation. But at times there’s something appealing about excess. Tons of chocolate, tons of peanut butter, tons of caramel, or less commonly, tons of white? Magnum’s new line of pint tubs has one unexpected, and potentially one-noted offering in White Chocolate Vanilla, which combines vanilla ice cream and white chocolate shards in a cracking white chocolate shell.
The marriage of Oreo and Baskin Robbins is a bonafide summertime tradition, and very much in line with our whacky-ass global warming patterns, this year’s team up is coming early. 2017 gave us the okay All About Oreo and surprisingly good Oreo Cheesecake, while past flavors like Oreo Malt Madness (2015) and Oreo Birthday Cake (2016) ran away with BR’s best limited scoops of the year. Whether this means we’ll be getting three or more Oreo collabs in 2018 or if Baskin Robbins has bigger plans for the hottest scooping months of the calendar year is unknown, but to kick off the Oreo-sanity the brand went back to the drawing board for a flavor that seems so obvious it’s hard to believe it’s brand new. Oreo ‘n Caramel features salty caramel ice cream with Oreo cookie pieces and a caramel swirl.
March is a wonderful time of the year. Temperatures start heating up, basketball is in full swing, the flowers begin blooming their little buds, and more importantly, Salt & Straw bring back their fan voted favorites. My very first formal Salt & Straw review was the astounding Chocolate Caramel Potato Chip Cupcake which was voted in last year and is back again this year for good reason – it’s incredible. The 2018 voting season also brought back the whimsical Pots of Gold and Rainbows, and a flavor that hasn’t seen the light of day since 2015 – Meyer Lemon Meringue Pie. This citrusy scoop combines a Nilla Wafer ice cream with housemade lemon curd and silky marshmallow fluff.
Sean's Skillet 