The N.C. Double Scoop Round Of 64, Flight 2: Write-Ups
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1 Cookies and cream vs. 16 spumoni. Okay, I admit it. I didn’t know what spumoni was until Bunting put it out there for the commenters. And then I threw up in my mouth a little. Candied fruit doesn’t belong in ice cream, it doesn’t belong in fruitcake (which just doesn’t belong period), and when it comes right down to it, I don’t know where it belongs except NOT in MY mouth! Cookies and cream easily.
8 Phish Food vs. 9 fudge ripple. Man, talk about being caught between an ick and a gross place. Well, that’s a bit strong. I’ve just never seen the appeal of Phish Food. I mean, I do like the marshmallow component, but really don’t like the fudge fish. In fact, I just don’t like fudge in ice cream because it’s too much of an okay thing. …And that brings us to fudge ripple. Meh. Phish Food will win, because it’s just that popular.
5 Black walnut vs. 12 sticky toffee pudding. Sticky toffee pudding is possibly the best dessert in the world, and we have the Brits to thank for it. However, we have Haagen-Dazs to thank for making it into an ice cream. Black walnut is another one of my flava-faves, but sticky toffee is killer and it has to win.
4 Heath Bar Crunch vs. 13 peach. I don’t care if the famous flavor Peachy Paterno stalks the grounds of Penn State like a giant stalking thing, I do not like peach ice cream. (Or Penn State, but that’s more of a football problem.) However, big love for Heath Bar Crunch or any ice cream with toffee pieces in it, so that’s where I’m headed.
6 Toasted almond vs. 11 Key lime pie. Key lime pie, with the tasty bits of graham cracker crust sowed throughout the ice cream, is a pretty nice flavor, but toasted almond will roast it.
3 Mint chocolate chip vs. 14 avocado. Hm, green on green and one is considered a vegetable — tho’ it’s a fruit — and the other has chocolate in it. Avocado ice cream is interesting and doesn’t taste like an actual avocado, but mint choc. chip will smear it into guacamole.
7 Chocolate chip vs. 10 cinnamon. As much as I really enjoy vanilla-based ice creams, I find chocolate chip beyond boring and will always, always champion celebratory cinnamon over it. Especially if you throw in a piece of apple pie.
2 Rainbow sherbet vs. 15 roasted banana. Okay, what is sherbet really? Is it cream? Is it water? No, don’t answer that; I looked it up and I know it’s just our American-y way of saying “sorbet” — according to the FDA, it’s a synonym — but it also might have milk products in it, which sorbet doesn’t. I just sort of wish sherbet would pick a side because it really does seems to straddle the line. Much as I love granitas and sorbets in their place, they just don’t seem to measure up to the buttery heft of ice cream. ICE CREAM, not sherbet. However, as I said earlier, I gag over banana, so I’m giving it to the childhood memories that probably abound in rainbow sherbet. Have fun with it.
Tags: food Penn State Phish
You, sir, need a nice sit-down with this tub of Cedar Crest After-Dinner Mint.
Jenny, where did you hear that? Oatmeal Cookie Chunk is still listed as an active flavor on Ben and Jerry’s website, and it’s still at my local grocery store. Good thing, too, as it’s my absolute favorite flavor. (B&J’s Mint Chocolate Cookie is a close second, though!)
There is nothing better in this world to me than a scoop of cinnamon ice cream on top of a warm slice of apple pie.
Oh no, all this dissing of Spumoni! Granted, I’ve never encountered spumoni with candied fruit (which WOULD be awful!), but provided you like pistachio, it can be wonderfully yummy. (It kicks the ass of a Neapolitan ANY day of the week to me!) I grew up going to L&B Spumoni Gardens in Gravesend in Brooklyn all the time with my dad, and just thinking about this is making me want to hop on the N train!
Also, avocado ice cream isn’t necessarily as nasty as it sounds. Chinatown Ice Cream Factory makes one sometimes, and it’s got a really lovely creamy, smooth, silky flavor.
And man, NOTHING beats a good fresh peach ice cream. Also, the Ben & Jerry’s peach cobbler flavor is actually pretty good, and does contain delicious bits of crust. I never thought I’d agree with Willie Nelson on anything, but I like his taste in ice cream!
Avocado vs. mint chip is a no-brainer for me. Avocado ice cream is delicious – folks, it’s not a vegetable, it is a tasty creamy FRUIT – and mint chocolate chip is the barf of Satan. The only acceptable mint chip is the one I make at home from scratch, with fresh mint (not peppermint oil, ick) and high-quality chocolate chopped fine so there aren’t hunks of chocolate that freeze and lose their flavor. I know my favorite here is the underdog, but honestly, if people just rethought their perception of the avocado they would most likely really enjoy the ice cream.
But then, I guess I’m a total freak, because I don’t like chocolate ice cream at all. It’s like it’s never…SOMETHING enough. Not dense enough, not enough chocolate flavor, the wrong color, I don’t know.
Well, I can’t eat Phish Food because of the name – can’t stand Phish, I have zero patience for “jam bands” and men who wear frocks. I don’t mind busy ice cream (curse you, Ben and Jerry’s, for dropping “Dastardly Mash”, but it’s just too much.
Wait, I was just remembering… wasn’t there an ice cream challenge on Top Chef where there was a Bacon Avocado ice cream? I think it was season 2. I’m not an avid watcher, but I remember that