The N.C. Double Scoop Round Of 32: Write-Ups, Flight 2
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Strawberry vs. pistachio. This is a hard one for me, actually, because I really like both flavors. Hell, I’ll even have them together in a Mitchell’s cup! The thing is, before we started the NCDS, I had no idea there was such antipathy for pistachio, so I’m thinking strawberry will take this one easily. It’s classic, it’s comforting, and it’s damn good.
Lime sherbet vs. Neapolitan. Aside from agreeing with Bunting that chocolate really needs to cut out the ice-cream-coup crap, I really do kinda like Neapolitan. When I was a kid, I always felt like I was getting three times as much ice cream. It also reminds me of the wafer cookies I liked as a kid that came in chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavors. You never tasted anything so fake, or so damn good. Sigh. I miss those cookies. Anyway, that being said, I think of all the sherbets, lime’s probably the best and will probably beat down the Neapolitan-malaise.
Rocky Road/heavenly hash v. peanut butter and chocolate. Okay, for me this is one of those match-ups that comes right down to brand. Rocky Road NEEDS to have full-on marshmallows, not friggin’ marshmallow swirl, HAAGEN-DAZS! In San Francisco, Mitchell’s Rocky Road is killer. The chocolate ice cream is rich enough to make it purposeful, and the marshmallows are all slippery and bitey and just good. (Oh, and my firm stance on marshmallow vs. swirl/cream means I go for RR, not HH.) However, with peanut butter and chocolate I’m likewise Mitchell’s-dependent. Somehow, their peanut butter is never too greasy, and again, they get the chocolate ice cream just right. Still, this one’s going to RR/HH because peanut butter-chocolate ice cream just doesn’t appeal to a wide range of tongues.
Dulce de leche v. chocolate chocolate chip. I could not be more “meh” over this one. I had dulce de leche once and I really wanted to like it, but I just didn’t. It was way too sweet for me. But then we have choc-choc-chip, which is — as we’ve noted in the comments — way too much chocolate for me. I like chocolate at times. I even crave it occasionally, but when I hanker for stomach satisfaction, I head for the Brie and cheddar. Cheese is my chocolate. I think there are enough people who love La Leche to oust the overly aggressive choc-choc-chip.
Vanilla vs. Irish cream. This is the thing: I love vanilla ice cream. I mean, I REALLY love it. It’s rich and scented and goes perfectly with almost every dessert. Irish cream is lovely, but Irish cream is just frozen Bailey’s, and while there’s nothing wrong with that, when the chips are down, I’m going for vanilla. The thing is, too many people out there think it’s boring, so I think Irish cream will win this.
Chubby Hubby vs. raspberry sherbet. Despite the kitchen sinkiness of the Chub, I do think it’s pretty genius to put pretzels in ice cream. I could do without the chocolate coating on said pretzels, but I know it actually protects them from sogging out. Putting a peanut-butter-and-pretzel-packed ice cream up against many flavors is already a ballgame, but against sherbet? Raspberry sherbet? No contest. The Hubby gets the win.
Praline v. peanut butter cup. ARGH! Another match-up pitting two of my best-liked flavors against each other! However, going on sheer ecstasy value, it’s peanut butter cup all the way. Praline is fine and I do like it — again, when scooped in with another flavor — but Ben & Jerry’s PB cup got me through all my exams at college. I don’t believe praline is a fave with many people (I believe Bunting called it another “granny” flavor), so I think PB cup will take this easily.
Grasshopper pie/Thin Mint v. coffee. Aside from peppermint, I’m not a mint ice cream person. Not alone, that is, because my favorite way to have GP/TM is IN a bowl of COFFEE ice cream. Not quite Sophie’s Choice, though, because if I need one to eat the other, but will gladly eat the other alone, then, well, it’s Sanka time and coffee’s going to take this trick.
Tags: Ben and/or Jerry food
Strawberry and vanilla are just so perfect by themselves. And if you add chocolate, it becomes the awesome Neapolitan. All three should advance to the next round.
My personal favorite of the exotic flavor is Dulce de Leche. In the wintertime when it was below freezing in NYC, I would buy Haagen Daaz Dulce de Leche in tiny cup. People looked at me as if I was crazy eating ice cream in the cold weather but I couldn’t care less. I was eating heaven with that tiny wooden stick/spoon/paddle and it did not matter. It was that good.
And now I find out that HD has a cinnamon dulce de leche and my supermarket carries it. I cannot wait to buy it.
If you’ve ever had Umqua’s (Oregon dairy) PB and Chocolate, it’s absolutely no question. That stuff is perfection.
Bassett’s, a great Philadelphia brand, makes a vanilla peanut butter ice cream that’s out of this world. The peanut butter is such a perfect texture — firm sheets of it ribboned throughout, almost waferlike, and such a great flavor — like the inside of Reese’s Pieces… and I just think vanilla ice cream is a better canvas for the PB than chocolate is. That Bassett’s peanut butter and vanilla is fantastic with thick, dark homemade hot fudge. YUM.
This is going to be the hardest flight yet because every match is either two flavors I love or two flavors I don’t really care about. Was it ever stated whether strawberry ice cream is the pink stuff or the vanilla with the pieces of strawberry?
Tillamook’s Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream is my favorite. I cannot get it now in middle-country. If you can get it where you are, you should. Mmmmmmm.
My husband would eat Dulce de Leche until they take his foot if I let him.
I cannot believe raspberry sherbet is ahead of Chubby Hubby! Oh, I am going to have to vote early and often for this one. I’ll use my co-workers’ computers – whatever it takes.
It’s killing me – I just read all 150+ comments about losing weight, got all motivated to eat better (I’m not overweight, per se, but could be a lot healthier), and now all I want in life is ICE CREAM! Sars, you’re not making this easy on us!!! (PS: Go raspberry sherbet!!!)
@ Sarah: that sounds incredible!
Yes, perhaps the next bracket should be the best raw vegetable snacks?
Blue Bell’s Homemade Vanilla is the most perfect ice cream in the universe. There is really almost no need to ever eat any other flavor, ever. Plus, you can top it with Bailey’s, or fresh strawberries, or caramel syrup, or anything, because it is not only perfect on its own, but it also brings out the best from all toppings/mixings. I can think of nothing less boring than BBHV (and now, I can think of nothing at all but BBHV.)
These brackets are making me fat.
I just voted, and I’m surpised at how close many of these are, lol. I voted for Cubby Hubby, though it was with a tinge of regret – I adore raspberry sherbet – and was expecting to be in the majority. It was an even split!
Also, I think I might be the only person on earth who doesn’t like Thin Mint cookies. I don’t object to mint and chocolate, but I can’t stand those cookies. And yes, I was a Girl Scout. I still hate ’em. Samoas, man. That’s where it’s at.
Yeah, this is not helping my ‘will lose weight before family reunion in December’ resolution. Certainly not now that I’ve tried salted caramel and Sticky Toffee.
I love the delicious irony of a weight-loss Vine letter in the middle of the ice cream insanity. I am keeping myself under control with the ice cream, but juuuuuust barely.
Oh, and the Edy’s Slow-Churned less fat Splenda whatever? It’s good, but… there’s something missing there. (Yes. The fat. I know.) It’s like… have you ever gone to pick up something thinking it’s heavy but it’s not so you kind of fling it up in the air? It’s like that.
Go Raspberry Sherb!! Chubby Hubby is just too busy for me. Mmmm raspberry sherbet… mmmm…..
Yes, I am now addicted to Fleur de Sel Caramel. (punches Glark)
The hubby and i are hosting Pint-A-Palooza this week, starring Sticky Toffee Pudding, Fleur de Sel Caramel and Oatmeal Cookie crunch. Invited? Me. Him. Two spoons.
Next week, I suspect we’ll be hosting Carrot-Stick-A-Palooza to make up for it.
“GP/TM”, is that anything like “HM/WB”?
I just drove over to a brand, spankin-new gigantic grocery store in town that opened a few days ago. Supposedly the biggest of its kind in Northern CA. One objective – get my hands on that Fleur de Sel Caramel ice cream.
They were sold out of one. flavor. Guess which one?
So now I will drown my sorrows in peanut butter & chocolate for the evening. The quest continues!
Oh, how I love these brackets! They really get my sweet tooth going, although a pregnant lady needs very little motivation in the sweet treats department!
I saw this weekend that Cold Stone Creamery has blueberry muffin mix ice cream, but they were out when my husband and I stopped in. We saw a poster for blueberry ice cream at a hospital once (actually, during our first set of childbirth classes–again with the craving), but we have NEVER seen it out in stores, and my hubby would sell his soul for anything blueberry. I recently found a blueberry pomegranate flavor in a Wal-Mart brand, of all things. It’s tasty, but not the blueberry deliciousness we’ve been searching for for the past year and a half.
@JeniMull: Sounds like you aren’t the only Tomato Nationite/Grub Reporter in your area. :D
I have the same three pints of ice cream in my freezer that I’ve had from the beginning of this (All HD: [Fancy] Honey Sweet Cream / Amazon Chocolate / Waffle Cone), and I’m somewhat disappointed in myself that my favorite is starting to form, and it is…the chocolate. I am so predictable.
The other two are delicious, don’t get me wrong – but if I were to go whole hog and finish one off in a single sitting, it would be the chocolate. To be fair, though, this special reserve flavor thingy type is much less sweet than traditional chocolate.
I wish we could have a real taste-off for these brackets, though! Wee! Except for the bacon. Still, no. Couldn’t do it.
@JenK: THANK YOU for mentioning the Blueberry Muffin Mix flavor at Cold Stone. I’ve always been a Cake Batter fan, and instantly knew I had to try this flavor when I read your comment. I finally had some tonight, and it was a taste of heaven.