IcePan

Well, I went on an intrepid adventure to ice cream joint #2 today: Icepan. Sadly, Emily did not accompany me, as she was bringin' in the big bucks - but I was joined by the lovely and talented Savannah and Julia, who inaugurated me into the coolness of Icepan (and their ice cream).

The method is certainly a unique one, and to be praised - they literally make the ice cream in front of you, by combining flavored milk (soy, non-fat, low fat, or whole) with your topping(s) of choice. It seems pretty simple - they pour the milk onto the cooled surface - pan, if you will - and then use metal spatulas to fold it over and over until it's solidified into ice cream. Kind of awesome as far as creativity; the mix-in candy option is obviously a Herrell's invention, so I'm not sure it gets credit as far as that goes - but literally watching the server make your ice cream is pretty cool. So it scores 2 thumbs up for that.

As far as the ice cream itself - it stayed surprisingly solid for a long time. Minimal soupage at the bottom of the dish. The texture was good, if a little too icy - as was the flavor, which was also slightly off, somehow (I got the non-fat coffee, but there was a bit of an aftertaste). I'm not sure if the ice cream flavor issues come from using the same pan to make multiple flavors throughout the day, or if their mixes aren't that pure; the chocolate chips I had mixed in were pretty good, but flavor-wise I think I'd give it a sideways thumb.

While we were eating our ice cream, an older woman came up to ask what we thought of Icepan - she planned to try coffee as well. Apparently the opinion of this critic is already in high demand!

Next up: Zanzabelle. Look for a review this weekend!

S(a)EX & ICE CREAM 2

Miranda has pretty much summed up our SCOOPS experience quite well and hence I have copied and pasted the facebook note she wrote about it below- S(a)EX & ICE CREAM (Take that sex and the city!!! suckas!!!)

I actually went back today with my friend Joanna. We both got the maple coffee ice cream with some chocolate jimmies. We also had a taste of the chocolate & Guinness. Immediately upon entering my mouth it tasted like chocolate but seconds later the Guinness flavor became quite strong, just like having a gulp o' Guinness, what an after taste! If I kept eating I would've had an ice cream hangover for sure.

Unfortunately they only had one case full of ice cream instead of two, probably because it was late afternoon on a Sunday and they were looking to clean and close up shop but people were still coming in and out until closing. Also odd was that one of the hula hoops from the art on the wall was missing, at least this time around Miranda won't end up knocking it over so much (this will make more sense once you read Miranda's review). Overall, the experience at Scoops is a good one and it definitely gets a thumbs up! Be a grown up and have some ice cream for dinner!

Miranda sez:
The title of this note pretty much says it all, but just in case someone missed it: today ruled. Got up, did some chore-type things, and then went out for some Scoops of deliciousness with Emily.

The mathematics of Scoops are a bit confusing for the first-timer; "one" scoop is actually two...but at an ice cream place who would complain about that kind of math?

We started by tasting the Brown Bread flavor, which was less overpoweringly sweet than we'd feared - and also less delicious than we'd hoped. So we moved on to other flavors - mint chocolate, banana oreo (vegan), capucino (I'm spelling it the way they did, sigh), and walnut honey. The latter was my least fave, chosen by the quiet and intensely staring counter boy, but the others were decent.

The ambience was a plus - local art on the wall, which I managed to knock down at least 5 times during the course of our ice cream fest (they were hula hoops. On a nail. So no breakage). And there was a bucket with an acorn sticker somewhere near the ceiling. Also, I appreciated the "recommend a flavor" whiteboard - we tried for dark chocolate + pomegranate, and hopefully our suggestion will come to, er, fruition.

We also managed to take in some local color - the green-haired woman and her morose boyfriend came with their son, and met up with some friends and their child - carrying a penguin stuffed animal. You just can't go wrong with penguins. There was also a boy with an enormous Obama poster adhered to his backpack. But politics aside, the ice cream was good - not too sweet, not too heavy, but not too icy, either; on rereading that sentence, I feel like Goldilocks! Haha.

It's not a Herrell's contender, but it'll definitely pass as good ice cream - 4 scoops for $3.75; and at only a mile away - which I walked - I'll take it. Yes, please!