As it happened I drove by Jeni’s this afternoon.
Dark Chocolate Peppermint.
DO IT
I really like that flavor. My favorites are the lemon and black current frozen yogurt. I picked up a pint of that amazing lemon flavor last time i was there:lemon: and had some yesterday.
Hi js76wisco,
I like the way you think. So far I’ve tried:
Salt & Straw - Venice
I agree with the detractors that pretty much all I could taste was sugar. My husband and I each got a double scoop, so I think I tried enough flavors to judge fairly.
Sweet Rose Creamery - Santa Monica
My husband and I go there pretty much once a week. I like that you can taste the flavors, not just sugar. I like that they make their own base. I like all the fruit flavors. I like that they try to buy the fruit from local farmers. The December sundae; peppermint patty ice cream, hot fudge sauce, whipped cream and pomegranates is wicked good. I’m thankful they don’t always have it or I’d indulge too often. By the way, adults are permitted to order a children’s size scoop which might make an ice cream crawl doable.
Scoops - Palms
We live within walking distance of the Palms branch of Scoops. We tried it once and weren’t impressed.
McConnells - Downtown Los Angeles
I have always gone to McConnells whenever I’m in Santa Barbara (right after La Super Rica). I was excited when I heard that they were opening in Grand Central Market. We went for Wexler’s Deli followed by McConnells. We were very happy with both. I like the texture and the flavors and McConnells.
I will probably lose all credibility with you folks with what I’m about to write, but here goes. I tried Bulgarini in Altaadena and I wasn’t impressed.I had the pistachio about which I read a lot of raves. I didn’t think it had enough flavor unlike the gelato in Italy where you could name the flavor if you ate it with your eyes closed.
Yea good. I don’t know about the best. I’d have to try them next to each other.
Carmela’s by us is really good.
Neveux is always my favorite though and does the more interesting flavors.
And Mashti Malones obviously.
Totally get what you are saying. My faves locally are Grom and McConnells. Often find Sweet rose, Carmela and scoop flavors lack intensity.
For those who are fans of Scoops (as in odd, eclectic off-the-wall flavor creations) give Quenelle a try.
Either the one in Burbank or San Marino.
I mean, seriously, if hazelnut foie gras or chicken and waffles ice cream (not with your ice cream but in your ice cream) gets your interest piqued, then this is the place for you.
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Quenelle is probably my favorite ice cream place in LA. The owner John is also an excellent pastry chef, he has worked at Providence, Water Grill, and Lukshon.
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Need to add Rory’s Artisinal Creamery in Santa Monica (Montana and 9th/10th).
We used to go to Sweet Rose 2x per week, now we only go to Rory’s, usually 3x per week. We think it’s creamier.
Hope that foie gras ice cream is ethically sourced… WINK
First I’ve ever heard of Rory’s but will try when I’m in the area. I think the soft serve at Sweet Rose is the best soft serve around. Their hand packed regular ice cream is good but I wouldn’t say its amazing.
Just has S&S Strawberry and Toasted White Chocolate the other night after Gjelina. It’s just a fantastic scoop of ice cream. The smell from the freshly baked waffle cones permeates the cool air on Abbott Kinney. It was around 50 degrees at 7:30pm and the place was jam packed on a Tuesday night. BYW - Gjelina is still amazing. Could eat a pizza and whatever seasonal vegetables are on the menu every night.
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This sounds delicious
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Rory’s doesn’t have soft-serve. If I missed the point of this thread, sorry!
They are from Santa Barbara
A bit off topic, but I finally got around to trying Sweet Rose Creamery’s soft serve.
The 2 flavors were vanilla and pink grapefruit. You can get it as a swirl (my cup is the lower one), which what I asked for. That was a tactical error. When I sampled each flavor or their own, It was MARVELOUS. Together and swirled, the vanilla gets totally overwhelmed by the grapefruit, and the grapefruit is sufficiently damped by the vanilla that the main flavor that comes through is citrus-y acidity. Still, really good stuff.
And, as a bonus, we ran into this on the way there (Expo extension testing!!!)…
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I went to Sweet Rose on Saturday and did the same. The two separately were each great. Together… eh.
Love Quenelle. Strawberry shortcake X blueberry pie topped with graham cracker streusel = best ice cream combination I’ve ever had.
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i totes agree. great flavour combo at quenelle.
i just tried bulgarini though, and yowsa.
Went to Bulgarini around 1:10 today and they were closed. Website says they open at 1pm and Yelp says they open at 11am. Was very disappointed since I was craving the pistachio but made my way down to Carmela to salvage my craving.
Had rocky road and mint chip. The ice cream was good but wouldn’t put them in the top tier. Very good creamy consistency except for 3 very icy bites. Not sure why that happened. The rocky road was ok. The marshmallows were definitely homemade but too soft and bouncy. It detracted from the creamy texture. Walnuts wee used instead of almonds. The chocolate flavor was a little muted for my taste.
Mint chip was definitely the better of the two flavors. Good consistency and well balanced between mint, chips and cream base ice cream flavor. The 3 icy bites came from the mint chip though.
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Hi @js76wisco,
Bummer. I should mention I found (from personal experience) that Bulgarini’s opening time is variable. There was one visit last year during a weekday when we did the same thing you did: Website said 1 p.m. and we called on the way there. No one picked up, but we drove out anyways. It was closed.
We stayed in the area, and gave them a call around 2:30 p.m. and they were open. I asked about the time difference and he apologized saying he was running a little late.
I hope you’re able to try their gelato another day.