I went to visit my friend Emily in Oakland last weekend and she took me to Tara's in Berkeley. There are a few more ice cream parlors in the Bay Area that I would really like to profile, including Mitchell's and MaggieMudd in San Francisco, and Ici in Berkeley. But since I'm moving in, oh, a WEEK (eek!), I don't think I'll be able to do it. But now you all know a few places to go for your ice cream fix in the Bay Area!
Now, on to Tara's:
Name: Tara's Organic Ice Cream Scoop Shop
Location: College Ave, Berkeley, CA
The Scoop: Tara's was started in Santa Fe, New Mexico and produces ice cream in small batches. Most of their business is done on a mail-order basis (you can purchase pints online). This is the only scoop shop they have as far as I can tell. All of the packaging for shipping, as well as the cups, utensils, napkins and all of that stuff in the shop are biodegradable.
The Flavors: We tried Kaffir Lime Leaf, Comote (sweet potato), Rosemary Pear, and Sweet Corn.
The Price: We each got a small cone with two scoops, for $7.20.
The Verdict: We got black sesame waffle cones, which were very sweet and crunchy, in the best way possible. The ice cream also had a kind of crumbly quality to it with large ice crystals, almost like ice cream that you've mistakenly melted then refroze and eaten anyway (or is that just me?). If ice cream can be light, this is light ice cream. And the flavors taste exactly like what they are supposed to be. Like sweet corn? If you took a can of corn, added milk and sugar, blended it and froze it, it would taste just like this ice cream. There were actually small peices of corn in it. We got to taste a whole bunch of other flavors too, like Basil, Lemongrass, Black Sesame, and Pink Peppercorn (I'm not sure why I feel the need to capitalize all the flavor names). All taste exactly like you would expect, surprisingly. All in all, an 8 out of 10!
Now, on to Tara's:
Name: Tara's Organic Ice Cream Scoop Shop
Location: College Ave, Berkeley, CA
The Scoop: Tara's was started in Santa Fe, New Mexico and produces ice cream in small batches. Most of their business is done on a mail-order basis (you can purchase pints online). This is the only scoop shop they have as far as I can tell. All of the packaging for shipping, as well as the cups, utensils, napkins and all of that stuff in the shop are biodegradable.
The Flavors: We tried Kaffir Lime Leaf, Comote (sweet potato), Rosemary Pear, and Sweet Corn.
The Price: We each got a small cone with two scoops, for $7.20.
The Verdict: We got black sesame waffle cones, which were very sweet and crunchy, in the best way possible. The ice cream also had a kind of crumbly quality to it with large ice crystals, almost like ice cream that you've mistakenly melted then refroze and eaten anyway (or is that just me?). If ice cream can be light, this is light ice cream. And the flavors taste exactly like what they are supposed to be. Like sweet corn? If you took a can of corn, added milk and sugar, blended it and froze it, it would taste just like this ice cream. There were actually small peices of corn in it. We got to taste a whole bunch of other flavors too, like Basil, Lemongrass, Black Sesame, and Pink Peppercorn (I'm not sure why I feel the need to capitalize all the flavor names). All taste exactly like you would expect, surprisingly. All in all, an 8 out of 10!
5 comments:
Turkish Coffee ice cream!!?? I die. Corn? Not so much.
:D
(I myself could conceivably review *at least* 14 ice cream purveyors in a week (only 2 a day!), but that's just me)
yum! did you change your blog banner? i love the all the lines in that photograph -- the curlies and sharp straight lines and globular veggies -- its a really interesting shot!
Carlene - You'd be surprised, the sweet corn was delicious!
Chelsea - I've had that banner for a few months now, it took a while to get it right. Thanks!
There are those of us in PHL who can't wait for your return!
PS - I don't know of any organic ice creameries here though.
I believe sweet corn sound yummy!!!
In some cultures corns are the key ingredient for deserts! droool!!
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