NCDS Sweet Sixteen: Write-Ups
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Cookie dough v. butter pecan. I’ll be a broken record this round, but, for the first of several times: I do love and order both! Well, that’s not exactly true. I don’t order cookie dough at Mitchell’s but I do buy it by the pint. When cookie dough came along, it was all new and different and sort of racy. Who puts cookie dough in ice cream?! They’re two totally separate desserts! This is crazy talk! Ooh, but it’s inventive. It’s intriguing! It’s like how that cookie store (not Mrs. Fields) in Calhoun Square started selling chilled raw cookie dough along with their cooked cookies in 1986. Yet…I love my butter pecan. I order butter pecan at Mitchell’s and I also pint it from the store. I want it to win, but I think cookie dough and newfangled ideas will take this one. Hey, give salted caramel and bacon another twenty years, and they’ll champion out as well.
Salted caramel v. chocolate. At the risk of belaboring the “how much chocolate is too much chocolate?” we had in the comments, I am just not a chocolate ice cream fan. If I wanted chocolate, I would eat chocolate. And I do. Occasionally. If I’m going to have chocolate ice cream, I want something in it, like marshmallows and nuts or cayenne and cinnamon. It just doesn’t make it as a flavor on its own. And salted caramel? Believe me when I say that this flavor is head, shoulders, knees and toes (knees and toes) over moldy old chocolate.Sad thing is, because so many haven’t tried it and seem to be voting only on what they have tried, I think we’re going to see the end of the flavor I once hoped would go all the way.
Cookies and cream v. Heath Bar Crunch. These are my two favorite Blizzard flavors. They used to be my little sister’s two favorites as well. Right after I got my driver’s license, we’d look for any reason to dash off to the Dairy Queen in Edina and get Blizzards. (I was 16, she was 8.) We’d get one of each and split them, but somewhere along the way, cookies and cream became her best last chance for lactose and she stopped sharing. I really still have a great nostalgic love for both and put them on equal footing. It’s like how I feel about Picard and Sisko: they’re both amazing captains/commanders, they’re just different. (And don’t try to catch me out on some racism charge by guessing which is which, ‘kay?) I’m stalling, I know. So, well, let’s just slap cookies and cream for the win. Win it for Vanessa.
Mint chocolate chip v. chocolate chip. At the risk of making Glark punch, like, his fifth baby of this bracket, I’m bored by the pairing. So, chocolate chip is vanilla ice cream with flat waxy chocolate shards in it, right? And the vanilla is never really very good, is it? While I do think the chocolate in the mint choc chip is also waxy, I know for a fact that I’ve never ordered chocolate chip. I’ve only eaten it when friends had it and, even worse, it was ice milk. Remember that crap? All watery and nasty and supposedly better for you? Whether you remember it or not, that ice milk prejudiced my palate against chocolate chip. Mint chocolate chip will pass through this round.
Strawberry vs. Neapolitan. I like strawberry; I also like vanilla and chocolate.I don’t buy any of them on their own, but Neapolitan, I buy by the gallon.They don’t use very good ice cream in it, and every package inevitably has way too much of one of the flavors (usually chocolate, which is always the poorest quality comparatively), but in the right proportions, it’s heaven.That said, does this match-up seem…kind of Oedipal to anyone else?Or like that Jeff Fahey movie where he gets an arm transplant and then the arm tries to kill him?I’m overthinking this.Neapolitan, narrowly.
Peanut butter and chocolate vs. dulce de leche. Good peanut butter and chocolate — i.e. the peanut-butter chunks aren’t the size of a Volkswagen and/or oily — is actually somewhat hard to pull off, but I still used to eat peanut Beetle and chocolate from Baskin Robbins by the ton as a kid.Dulce de leche is also good, but very rich, and may not have the market penetration it needs to win.
Vanilla vs. Chubby Hubby. Ooo, tough one.Vanilla is a classic and has a strong cross-platform appeal.I do like a little salty in with my sweet, though, from time to time.The issue is that the Hub is over-accessorized; it needs to look in the mirror before it goes out, and take off one thing.I’m guessing vanilla here.
Peanut butter cup vs. coffee. Even tougher!I seriously have no idea.I could make an equally strong argument for either to prevail; it’s impossible.I will probably vote coffee, because it was the default flavor in my childhood freezer no matter what the frozen medium (up to and including those gackalicious Tuscan yogurt bars…God, I despised those things), but I can’t call the winner and neither would surprise me.
Tags: Baskin Robbins Dairy Queen food friends Glark punches another baby Jeff Fahey Mitchell's Oedipus Rex Picard Sisko
Chocolate, just chocolate, is my absolute favorite. I know it won’t win, but I’m glad it has made it this far. Hands down, I will order that over anything else like 90% of the time. I find that chunks of stuff in my chocolate ice cream are a distraction.
Good chocolate ice cream is truly one of my favorite things.
Though, I think I would REALLY enjoy the SC if I ever get to try it.
Props on the Jeff Fahey reference.
Also, I almost entirely agree with your flavor assessments, but I will say that a good Chocolate Chip is, while hard to come by, pretty tasty.
Hey Sars, I’m having issues with some of the voting — when I bring up the Sweet 16 poll page, it won’t let me vote for the first two (it only seems to be for the caramel and butter pecan matchups), it only shows results. Any way to fix this? Thanks!
I steer clear of ice cream associated with peanut butter, because peanut butter is greasy, and cold grease = grocery-yodeling. Mint is the devil, so that’s out. Salted caramel sounds…odd, but I’d go for that. Chocolate ice cream can be meh, or it can be orgasmic; depends on the brand and the richness.
Ice milk was what my grandparents used to serve, and for that (and many other reasons) I’m glad they’re dead now.
@sarah: Try clearing your cache.
Oh man, this whole contest has had me craving the Chubby Hubby like nobody’s business. I got go Chubby Hubby all the way!
My overall faves are cookie dough and cookies n cream. I’m not overly crazy for cookies, but cookies + ice cream = heaven.
I’d be happy with a Chubby Hubby win (it’s the only thing that will do when I’m PSM-ing), or mint chocolate chip win (it’s my childhood fave, which I will run across the street to Baskin Robbins for during a rough work day when I need some cheering up). However, I’m specifically voting for GREEN mint chocolate chip ice cream. It’s just not the same if it’s not green.
Yesterday I tried Corn and Cheddar Cheese ice cream. Oddly tasty!
How has chocolate chip survived to this round? Blah!
Anyone with bad memories of chocolate chip ice cream (milk) needs to eat some Graeter’s Ice Cream from Cincinnati, OH. Any of the chip flavors will have you converted. The chips are absolute melt-in-your-mouth (reminds me of Dove dark chocolate), and the ice cream is made with a triple cream “french pot” process (small batches).
For what it’s worth, Oprah has this stuff shipped to her regularly. It’s also now available in Denver, but they’ll ship anywhere!
Where in the Pacific Northwest does one get salted caramel? I’ve never seen it or really, heard much about it until now. I voted for chocolate simply by virtue of having actually eaten it.
And I will always vote for any Ben and Jerry’s concoction above whatever it competes against. I will now go to the gym and proceed to ruin my workout by purchasing a pint of Chubby Hubby on the way home.
I love salted caramel SO much! I am with you all the way, Sars, on the chocolate ice cream thing. By the time it has enough chocolate in it for me, it’s practically all chocolate and…why not skip the cold issue and just eat chocolate?
even better then regular Neapolitan? Astronaut Ice Cream Neapolitan….
“Sad thing is, because so many haven’t tried it and seem to be voting only on what they have tried”
Why would someone vote on something they haven’t tried? That seems pretty ridiculous.
If you put something I haven’t tried against rum raisin, I’m voting for the haven’t-tried-it thing. Just saying.
I hear you on the ‘something I dislike’ vs ‘something I’ve never tried’ with never tried winning, Sars, but ‘something I’ve never tried that sounds gross’ vs ‘something I like, though maybe not as much as some others’ – well, chocolate ftw in my book.
Also, Haagen Dazs chocolate and peanut butter is FREAKING INCREDIBLE!! I tend to go with the best example of each of these that I’ve had rather than the cheapest, cruddiest kind that I can get a half-gallon of for $3. I pit the best against the best and see who comes out on top.
@ Hoolia: did you have that flavor at the MN State Fair? Sounds crazy!
Keckler: No, I bought it at the Asian mega-grocery in Seattle. The company that makes it is apparently in California. The company’s other flavors suggested to me that they may cater to a Latino crowd, but now I can’t remember what those flavors were. Avocado was one.
Jo, I live in the Pacific Northwest and even my little neighborhood Albertsons’ which has like no selection whatsoever has salted caramel, except it is called “Fleur de Sel Caramel.” I think it’s Dreyer’s brand. I’ve also seen it in one of the little local brands but now I can’t remember which one.
Jo: I’m in Portland and they carry the Haagen Dazs Fleur de Sel Caramel (salted caramel) at my Fred Meyer. Dunno where else one might get it, though.
Since Heath bar crunch kicked out my new BFF ice cream, Sticky Toffee Pudding, I am going with cookies & cream. Best kind is home made vanilla with real Oreos, crushed as much as you like (or not, as big chunks of cookies are always welcome) ….
What brands carry salted caramel? I’ll admit I did the something-I’ve-tried-that’s-okay vote, because I’ve never had salted caramel. Anyone know where I can find it in Philly?
What I want to know is, if you get your arm torn off and another one grafted on in its place, and you use that arm for ‘self-manipulation’, does that count as cheating on your wife with another dude?
Oh, and I’ve been saying since the get-go that this is going to end up being PB&C versus cookies-and-cream.
“Why would someone vote on something they haven’t tried? That seems pretty ridiculous.”
I’ve voted for stuff I haven’t tried when paired against something with nuts in it, because nuts will kill me. So even if I might not like it, it has the fact that it’s not life-threatening going for it.
The Haagen-Dazs sale is still going on at my supermarket, so I bought the salted caramel. For some reason I had it in my head that it was a chocolate ice cream base when it’s that the salted caramels are COATED in chocolate. It’s pretty similar to Dulce de Leche, which I love, and the salt is very subtle and complementary. Good stuff. I think I like it better than Sticky Toffee Pudding, which I also really liked – I can already tell that it’s going to be harder to stretch the pint out to last a week.
@autiger23: I have a pint of Haagen Dazs pb&chocolate ice cream in my freezer RIGHT NOW. When I discovered it, it made my life.
Jo – if you’re in the greater Seattle area, there is an ice cream store on 45th St in the Wallingford neighborhood that sells homemade Salted Caramel that is to. die. for. I’ve forgotten the name of the shop, Molly Moon’s, perhaps? Hope that helps!
It looks like the “stuff in my ice cream” crowd has a bigger voice than the “just one flavor is fine, thanks” folks. I’ll take plain ol’ coffee myself, but I guess B&J stays in business for a reason!
Thanks for the advice re: Pacific Northwest ice cream. I’m in Eastern Washington, but can easily get to Seattle and will be there in a few weeks. I shall find this ice cream store with the salted caramel. And maybe before that, I’ll try some Haagen-Dazs for good measure.
I pretty much went with the simpler flavor throughout, because for me it is the cream and the sugar and the main flavoring and not all the bells and whistles. This went except for Strawberry, which I never liked because it never actually tastes like strawberries, does it?
Hillary’s (in Philadelphia area–and no longer with us) had a flavor, “Sweet Cream,” that was just cream and sugar and nothing else, not even vanilla. And it was the most wonderfully rich and lovely flavor and was the perfect thing to serve with fresh fruit (peaches or strawberries were my usual choices).
Weird…I’m in Eugene…and I have never seen salted caramel ice cream. It sounds great, but yet another reason to possibly envy Portland.
Wildest tag cluster EVER…
I love chocolate; but it has to be really good chocolate ice cream for me to bother. I’ll usually pick something else. I am intrigued by PB&C and peanut butter cup ice cream, though.
@Cindy: Haagen Dazs has a salted caramel flavor, which is sold in supermarkets in and around Philly (they may even have it at their ice cream shops). Those little pints of salted caramel have been calling my name ever since this ice cream tourney got started.
If you want something a little more daring, get yourself down to Capogiro and do a combo of their Sea Salt gelato with something caramel-y.
http://www.capogirogelato.com/flavors.php
(Sars, they have an Heirloom Tomato flavor!)
I chose the salted caramel because when I was growing up, chocolate seemed to be the ONLY FLAVOR my mom would buy, and I think I got tired of it. Oh, and the Fleur de Sel ice cream really is, indeed, delicious anyway. I want to try the Cinnamon Dulce de Leche next. Mmmmm.
I’m still broken up about Black Raspberry being eliminated. BOOO!!!!
My husband and I do a homemade chocolate/peanut butter/banana ice cream which sounds ridiculous but is in fact delicious. I’m dying to try to make a salted caramel ice cream but I’m intimidated by the caramelling process.
Jenn: I lived in Eugene for 8 years before moving to my current city and I’d never seen it either. I did find the Haagen-Dazs version at an Albertson’s, after being told about it in these comments and it was delicious. I bet one of the stores there would order it for you. Market of Choice, perhaps?
@ K: “I can already tell that it’s going to be harder to stretch the pint out to last a week.” I had to laugh at that statement because my husband is always impressed when a pint sees the next calendar day. He’d have to call Guiness if it lasted a whole week….
I like chocolate, but I flove Mexican Chocolate. (in short: chocolate with cinnamon in it) So freakin awesome.
I, too, voted for some flavors that I’ve never actually eaten myself, usually because a) the flavor I had tried was kinda meh, and b) the flavor I hadn’t tried sounded so intriguing and delicious.
It’s ridiculous how many of these flavours I’ve never heard of before this bracket. Either I am thoroughly unadventurous or the Canadian ice cream market sucks worse than I thought. I suspect the latter. Harrumph.
I agree with Karen on the “one flavour is fine thanks” but also with Sandman that if you’re going with plain chocolate it’s vital for it to be really high quality. Like, a Ben & Jerry’s chocolate base is kind of the ground floor and you go up from there.
Still, I will eat plain, cheap chocolate ice cream over anything fruity that’s not sorbet or gelato, anything with raisins in it (gack) and any type of variation on the “cookie” theme. I won’t go into detail, but suffice it to say, I was young, I was watching a gross sci/fi show, I was eating Oreo cookie ice cream, I will never eat cookie ice cream again.
@Robin: Thanks for the info! I did look at Whole Foods yesterday and they only had the dulce de leche Haagen-Dazs. I’ll keep looking, but it will be a hard sell to my caramel-hating husband.
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Alas for my waistline, Capogiro is down the street from my son’s guitar lesson, so I go almost once a week…but I am usually swayed by one of their fresh fruit (or vegetable!) flavors, or the bacio (chocolate hazelnut)…strangely enough, at Capogiro, sea salt is the opposite of daring, in my opinion at least! But I do buy the actual salted caramel candy they sell there.
Deirdre – the latter for sure. There are Haagen-Dazs “Select” Flavors that never reach Canada. Also, both HD and B&J retail for about half the price that we pay for those little tubs. What with getting gouged on both books and ice cream, I am ready to get the heck out of this winter wonderland.
On the corn and cheddar ice cream – Filipino ice cream comes in lots of strange and amazing flavoursk mais queso being one of them. Purple yam is another and probably my favourite. (Of course, I’m one of the few who voted for red bean ice cream.) I think one of the best brands is called Magnolia.
http://www.ramarfoods.com/magnolia/flavor_mais_queso.php
@ monstrosity: thanks for the link on those ice creams. Purple yam is one of my husband’s favorite flavors at Mitchell’s.
Jo, when you visit Seattle, check out Husky Deli in West Seattle. Amazing ice cream made on premise.
My favorites appear never to have made it in, which is simultaneously pleasing and disappointing: B&J Rainforest Crunch and Tillamook Mountain Huckleberry. I’ll put the TMH against any fruit-adjunct ice cream on 5 planets.
@Tom – totally on the TMH! I very reluctantly tried it, not being a fan of fruit in my ice cream, and WOW. So good!