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Okanagan Must-Try Ice Cream Shop: Tickleberry’s

January 2, 2017 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

If you’re visiting the Okanagan Valley, there is a roadside stop worth making between Osoyoos and Penticton. Located on Highway 97 just south of Okanagan Falls, Tickleberry’s has been around for nearly 30 years and is an ice cream lover’s dream come true. They serve more than fifty flavours of ice cream and make their own chocolates, fudge, and even kettle korn. When my family and I were on a roadtrip around the Okanagan this past fall, we stopped by Tickleberry’s twice to indulge in their ice cream.

Tickleberry’s Menu

Walking into the shop, there was a sense of nostalgia of what it felt like as a child to enter an ice cream parlour. The number of flavours on the menu is mind-boggling and can be a nightmare for the indecisive. There are some retro childhood ice cream flavours like Worms in Dirt, Peanut Butter Binge, and Bubble Gum. Tickleberry’s is the kind of place where it’s almost impossible to go with just one flavour and they have a wide range of sizes to allow you mix-and-match.

It was also refreshing to me to be in an ice cream shop where they use actual nuts in their ice cream like Pistachio n’ Almond, Peanut Butter Binge, Butter Pecan, Pralines ‘n’ Cream and Cherry Chocolate Pistachio. I had been used to places in Vancouver that served nut-free ice cream. As someone who doesn’t have a nut allergy, I gladly welcomed some nutty ice creams for once.

Tickleberry’s size options are not what I would consider normal. Customers can enjoy a child’s ($4.50) cone that comes with two scoops already. A single ($5.00) has three scoops and a double ($6.00) scoops. But for those that are true ice cream lovers, you might want to just the large size which has a whopping 7 scoops (more on that later). The price per scoop is so good; I obviously I have been paying a premium in Vancouver.

What We Tried

On our first visit to Tickleberry’s, I went with a humble double scoop ($6.25) in a waffle cone ($1.25) which had three scoops: Fifty Shades of Earl Grey, Black Cherry, and Pistachio n’ Almond.

The Fifty Shades of Earl Grey had a good tea flavour and I very much enjoyed the incorporation of frozen cherries into the Black Cherry flavour. I loved the Pistachio ‘n’ Almond which was light but still nutty. The textures were on point: smooth, silky and creamy.

Our second visit, I decided to go with large. Go big or go home, right? This monstrous ice cream beauty had 7 scoops of ice cream ($11) and two waffle cones ($1.25): Peanut Butter Binge, Bubble Gum, Butter Pecan, Tiger Tiger, Cherry Chocolate, Chocolate, and Pistachio ‘n’ Almond. They didn’t charge me for the extra waffle cone which was nice. The key to this creation is to go with ice creams that have a more solid texture so that they stack up well. If you get softer ice creams, it will likely all fall down.

I quite enjoyed the Peanut Butter Binge which really had an very tasty peanut butter flavour. Second to that would the Tiger Tiger which was an orange-flavoured ice cream with chocolate.

Gift Shop

And while you’re at Tickleberry’s, look around their gift shop. They sell a range of local crafts, windchimes, jewellry, hand bags, and souvenirs (like magnets, postcards, t-shirts).

They also have a variety of chocolate flavours for sale like chocolate covered ginger candy, dark chocolate cherries and more.

Overall Impression

Tickleberry’s is a fun stop in the Okanagan Valley with their abundance of amazing ice cream flavours. It was one of my favourite parts of my trip – I mean, where else can you get 7 scoops on an ice cream cone? I recommend paying them a visit on your next Okanagan adventure. Rating: 5/5

Website: www.tickleberrys.com

Momofuku Milk Bar in Toronto

December 1, 2015 by foodgressing 1 Comment

When I was in Toronto last month, I researched interesting places for desserts and came across several Instagram posts of the soft-serve from Momofuku Milk Bar. Fortunately, Momofuku was located right next to the hotel we were staying at, The Shangri-La. The Momofuku Milk Bar has several locations in New York City and Washington, DC but this Toronto location is their first outside the USA. I was looking forward to getting their soft-serve to go and enjoying it in the hotel room with the family.

Grab a Basket

The Momofuku Milk Bar is on the second floor of the Noodle Bar and is simply a 12.5-foot by 6 -foot regrigerated room. You get directed there by staff in the Noodle Bar and you will find the room at the top of the stairs. You definitely can’t miss it due to highly noticieable neon sign that says “Milk Bar.”

There are no bakers, servers or staff members around; it is self-serve like a grocery store. You go in, grab a basket and pick out your items and then pay downstairs at the Noodle bar. All the food for sale are pre-packaged and ready to-go. Available for purchase are a tasty array of goodies to satisfy the sweet tooth including cookies, cakes, birthday truffles and pies. Momofuku is most famous for their “Crack Pie” which is described as “toasted oat crust, gooey butter cake meets chess pie.”

All these baked goods are made in New York and shipped same day to Toronto apparently. The items seemed generally more expensive likely to the branding and being imported from the New York daily.

What I Tried

I browsed around the room but only wanted to try their soft-serve. You order at the Noodle Bar and the staff person goes to the kitchen in the back, prepares the soft-serve and then brings it to you. I found it a bit awkward to be honest…..ordering at the Noodle Bar because it felt separate from the Milk Bar. I ordered two soft-serves costing around $14 with tax: the cereal milk soft serve and a cranberry limeade.

The soft-serves had a nice creamy texture, were subtlety sweet and refreshing, though nothing to write home about. The cereal milk soft serve was definitely reminiscent of the milk at the bottom of a bowl of cornflakes as intended. The cereal flakes were quite crunchy while the cranberry limeade was tart and tangy. Their soft-serve was good though not the best I’ve had. In terms of creativity, Soft Peaks in Vancouver and Sweet Jesus in Toronto have one-ups on Momofuku.

Overall Impression of Momofuku Milk Bar

The soft-serve from Momofuku Milk Bar was good but lacked the “wow” factor. I thought that the cereal milk soft serve did taste as intended – that is, milk at the bottom of a bowl of cereal. The soft serve a little pricey for what you get. I’d personally recommend going to Sweet Jesus in Toronto for soft-serve with a lot more creativity. Rating: 3/5

Website: http://milkbarstore.com/
Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Cute Ice Cream Bars at Sweet Olenka’s

November 6, 2015 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

When I was researching fun things to eat in Toronto, I came across a few Instagram posts of some novelty ice cream bars. The dessert place selling these bars is Sweet Olenka’s with four locations in the Greater Toronto Area. They sell many homemade goodies including macarons, brownies, chocolates, cakesters, ice cream, and hot cocoa to name a few. We popped into Sweet Olenka’s on Queen Street West one afternoon for an ice cream treat.

Homemade Goodies

When I entered the store, I was drawn to their first display case which had macarons ($2.50), brownies ($3) and cakesters ($4). It seemed a bit odd to me, however, that the macarons would be stacked on top of each other given how delicate they are. Furthermore, $2.50 seemed a bit expensive in my opinion. Around Vancouver, macarons at fancier places like Theirry and Soirette are still a bit less than $2.50.

Sweet Olenka’s also has a selection of homemade brownies including the Turtle brownie and Death by Chocolate brownie. A woman brought in a batch of fresh brownies while I was in the store.

For chocoalte lovers, there is quite a large selection of chocolates.

Ice Cream Treats

Customers can also treat themselves to a regular scoop ($4), double scoop ($6), or triple scoop ($7) of ice cream.

As for myself, I was most interested in trying their ice cream bars which came in gluten-free varieties. Each bar is $5 and comes in different flavours like salted caramel, orange chocolate, red velvet and blood orange.

What We Tried

I got the prettiest one in my opinion: the red velvet which had little lip prints on it. In terms of taste, it had a nicely crunchy white chocolate shell and red velvet cake pieces in the ice cream were pretty good.

Overall Impression of Sweet Olenka’s

The red velvet ice cream bar was delicious, but a bit expensive for $5. I guess that is the price you need to pay for a fancier-looking ice cream bar. I would recommend trying it once for the novelty factor, but I would have it again in the future. Rating: 3/5

Website: www.sweetolenkas.ca/
Facebook: Sweet-Olenkas
Twitter: @SweetOlenkas
Instagram: @sweetolenkas

Seriously Good Earnest Ice Cream

October 2, 2015 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

It is no secret that Vancouverites love their ice cream. This past year has seen a slew of new soft serve shops opening around town including Soft Peaks, UYU, and Rooster’s. But when it comes to the creamiest of them all, I would have to go with Earnest Ice Cream. They simply have *seriously good* ice cream. Like seriously.

Quebec Street Store

Where can you get their seriously good ice cream? Well, there are two locations in Vancouver: one on Fraser Street and the newer store on Quebec Street.

I would describe Earnest Ice Cream’s store in Mount Pleasant as very hipster chic. The bright open space with red brick walls and wood pallets makes it very inviting. There are even wooden pallets outside the store for you to sit on and enjoy your treat outdoors. This place emanates a cozy vibe which makes it a great place to relax and enjoy ice cream.

One scoop or two?

At Earnest Ice Cream, you can treat yourself to single scoop ($5), a double scoop ($7), or even a hot fudge sundae ($7). They serve coffee as well for a lovely pairing with your soft serve.

You can bring home the love with a pint for $11. I usually buy a few pints myself to enjoy at home. There is even an express line for buying pints.

The Big Question: Which Flavour?

What I love about Earnest Ice Cream is that they focus on making the best flavoured possible for their soft serve. There are no additional toppings or syrups so the flavour of the ice cream really needs to stand out. Their hard work has paid off because their flavours are just *amazing.*

So the big question is which flavours are the tastiest? I’m a usual fan of their Salted Caramel and Matcha Green Tea. Their Salted Caramel has a lovely sweet and salty taste.

This week I took to Instagram to ask others which Earnest Ice Cream flavours they liked best. London Fog and Whiskey Hazlenut were most definitely popular choices.

I popped into Earnest Ice Cream yesterday and treated myself to a double scoop of Whiskey Hazlenut and their new fall special Pumpkin Pie. Made of organic pumpkin and pumpkin spices, their Pumpkin Pie is absolutely delicious. The Whiskey Hazlenut is just off-the-wall good. It is made of a whiskey ice cream with roasted hazlenuts folded in. The result is a slightly salty, but smooth and creamy soft serve with a nuts mixed in.

Overall Impression of Earnest Ice Cream

I personally think that Earnest Ice Cream has the tastiest ice cream in Vancouver. Whether you enjoy their treats at their store or at home, you’ll sure be satisfied by their delicious flavours and rich and creamy texture. Rating: 5/5

Website: http://earnesticecream.com/

Facebook: @EarnestIceCream

Twitter: @earnesticecream

Instagram: @earnesticecream

Now Open: Rooster’s Ice Cream Bar

August 16, 2015 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

There is no stopping to Vancouver’s soft-serve craze. Rooster’s Ice Cream Bar opened its doors just over a month ago in East Vancouver. Founded by three friends who shared a love for ice cream, Rooster’s features homemade ice cream using fresh local ingredients and crafted in a small batch, artisan process. I heard about this new ice cream parlour and their colourful soft-serves through Vancity Buzz. A few days ago, I ventured to Rooster’s Ice Cream with my husband and son to beat the heat on a warm summer evening.

Rooster’s Ice Cream Menu

Rooster’s makes ice cream right inside their shop with tempting flavours like So-good Caramel & Sea Salt, Rockstar Whisky & Hazelnut, Prince’s London Fog, Lime & Organic Lavender and Blueberry & Balsamic. They also offer a few vegan flavours including Coconut Fudge and Lime Vodka, Raspberry & Avocado.

The soft-serves come in a cup or cone and are available in a single scoop ($5), double scoop ($6) or kid’s cone ($3.25). They even have chocolate or strawberry sundaes for $6. Rooster’s currently has a promotional offer of $1 off a single scoop. They currently do not have any toppings available.

What We Tried

The staff at Rooster’s were very friendly and not shy about getting us to sample the flavours. We sampled five different soft-serves: Blueberry & Balsamic, Blackberry, Cherry & Balsamic Swirl, Triple Strawberry, Fresh Lemon & Poppy Seed, and Lime Vodka, Raspberry and Avocado (vegan). I found the texture of their soft-serve to be a bit on the harder side.

We settled on a double scoop of Blueberry & Balsamic and Fresh Lemon & Poppy Seed in a cone. The Blueberry & Balsamic flavour was my favourite: it was a nice fusion between sweetness of the blueberries and the acidity of balsamic vinegar. The Fresh Lemon & Poppy Seed soft serve had a wonderful lemon flavour while the poppy seeds added a fun texture.

We also had a single scoop of Blackberry, Cherry & Balsamic Swirl. It was dreamy. I loved how the balsamic vinegar brought out the fruity flavours.

Soft-Serve with a Side of Snacks

Rooster’s is located at 1039 East Broadway, just half a block from Vancouver Community College. Their interior is quite bare with just a few simple dining tables and chairs. One interesting thing is that they also sell some random snacks like Kind bars and Kettle chips.

Overall Impression

My favourites from Rooster’s Ice Cream Bar were the Blueberry & Balsamic and Blackberry, Cherry & Balsamic Swirl. In terms of texture, Rooster’s soft-serve is not as creamy as other places that I tried but still good. The staff seemed humble and friendly and were eager to provide us with samples. The shop’s interior is simplistic so I got the impression that their focus was on delivering quality soft-serve. Rating: 3.5/5

Address: 1039 East Broadway, Vancouver, BC

Website: www.roostersicecreambar.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/roosterseastvan

Twitter: www.twitter.com/roosterseastvan

Instagram: www.instagram.com/roosterseastvan/

Marble Slab Creamery – West End

July 11, 2015 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

Last week, I saw on social media that Marble Slab Creamery had a BYOB (bring your own banana) and get a banana split for $5 promotion. The promotion was only from Friday to Sunday so I headed to the Marble Slab Creamery in the West End to try it out. It has been a few years since I had ice cream from Marble Slab Creamery, so I was eager to try their ice cream again.

Down By The Bay

The Marble Slab Creamery in the West End is conveniently located by English Bay on Davie and Denman. They are known to have long line-ups from beachgoers, locals and tourists all seeking to cool off with some delicious ice cream.

Marble Slab Creamery Menu

Marble Slab Creamery has quite a selection of treats including cones, cakes, low-fat yogurt, smoothies, floats, and sundaes. A small ice cream cone is $5.29, regular is $6.29, and a large is $6.99. A banana split is $7.49 regular price, so I save $2.49 by bringing in my own banana for the promotion.

BYOB + Lactose-Free

There were no issues with the staff in terms of getting the promotion. The banana split comes with three scoops of ice cream, three toppings, whipped cream, a sauce plus a cherry on top. I am somewhat lactose intolerant and I have tried their lactose-free vanilla ice cream in the past. It tasted pretty good and I was hoping to try their other lactose-free flavours: chocolate swiss and strawberry banana. However, they did not have those flavours when I went there which was disappointing. We ended up with green tea, cheesecake and lactose-free vanilla for the three scoops and chocolate fudge syrup.

Not So Much Toppings?

For the toppings, we went with Skors, sprinkles and shredded coconut. The server had just filled up a spoon of coconut flakes when her manager said something to her in a different language. She immediately poured out about half of the coconut flakes that she was going to give us. My husband gave me a look afterwards and we believe the manager told her to not give so much of the topping. The store probably does not make as much money from the banana split with the promotion, but it seems really off-putting that they would skimp out on ingredients right in front of the customer. The banana split tasted fine – nothing to complain or rave about – but I was annoyed by the manager’s behaviour.

The Way The Cones Are Stored

I noticed that their waffle cones were stored on white racks located along the back wall. However, the racks appear dirty and worn out and look like they should be washed or tossed out all together. It just seems a like a bit of a food safety issue in my opinion. I personally would not want to eat a cone that has been placed on those racks.

Overall Impression

My experience at this Marble Slab Creamery location can be described as disappointing. In my opinion, it was rude for the manager to tell the server to give less topping while we were right there. The way the waffle cones are stored on their racks concerns me. I am not interested in revisiting this location in the future.

Website: https://www.marbleslab.ca/

Twisted Ice Cream – Gastown

June 1, 2015 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

I saw an article today on Vancity Buzz about a new ice cream place, Twisted Ice Cream, that just opened up in Gastown. In fact, it opened just six days ago! I was curious about their offerings and decided to pop by for dessert after my late lunch at Meat & Bread with my husband.

Hole in the Wall

It is easy to miss Twisted Ice Cream because it is literally a hole in the wall kind-of-place. The space measures one metre by one metre and has a roller door. It can best be found by looking for the overhead sign (that’s how I found it). Twisted Ice Cream is located by Water Street and Abbott across the Lamplighter Pub. After talking to the girl working there, I found out that this hole-in-the-wall was once a cigarette vendor. Furthermore, she noted that the owner of Twisted Ice Cream also owns a shop across the street.

Twisted Ice Cream

At Twisted Ice Cream, you can get twisted vanilla ice cream and drizzle in either a cone ($3.75) or cup ($3.50). Tax is included and cash only. There are 8 flavours for the drizzle: raspberry, mango, blue Hawaii coconut, strawberry, caramel, pineapple, cheesecake, and chocolate.

Toppings are $0.50 and include cookie crumbles, M & M’s, Oreo crumbles, coconut flakes and a tri-mix of sprinkles.

What We Tried

We had the ice cream with cheesecake drizzle and Oreo crumbles in a cup. Delicious and refreshing, it is hard to go wrong with Oreo crumbles toppings on ice cream.

The other one we had was the ice cream with the blue Hawaii coconut drizzle and cookie crumbles. I love how the cookie crumble texture contrasts the softness of the ice cream.

Simply Soft-Serve

My last Gastown soft-serve experience was none other than at Soft Peaks, which was very hyped up on social media. At Twisted Ice Cream, there is no mention that they use organic, locally-sourced ingredients or anything too *fancy* if you will. Hence, their price point is lower than a place like Soft Peaks which uses higher-quality ingredients.

Overall Impression

Twisted Ice Cream is a no-frills kind of ice cream place. I noticed that people passing by eagerly looked on at the line of customers waiting for ice cream. One great thing is that there is a canopy above Twisted Ice Cream, so you enjoy your soft-serve even if is raining. I wouldn’t recommend driving all the way across town for their ice cream as you can get similar at a fast-food restaurant. With the summer season approaching, however, Twisted Ice Cream seems to be a nice and simple food addition to Gastown. It’s the kind of place where you can get cheaper ice cream to cool off when you’re around the Gastown area. Rating: 3.5/5

Instagram: https://instagram.com/twistedgastown/

Website: http://twistedicecream.ca/

Okanagan Must-Try Ice Cream Shop: Tickleberry’s

Tickleberry’s Menu

What We Tried

Gift Shop

Overall Impression

Momofuku Milk Bar in Toronto

Grab a Basket

What I Tried

Overall Impression of Momofuku Milk Bar

Cute Ice Cream Bars at Sweet Olenka’s

Homemade Goodies

Ice Cream Treats

What We Tried

Overall Impression of Sweet Olenka’s

Seriously Good Earnest Ice Cream

Quebec Street Store

One scoop or two?

The Big Question: Which Flavour?

Overall Impression of Earnest Ice Cream

Now Open: Rooster’s Ice Cream Bar

Rooster’s Ice Cream Menu

What We Tried

Soft-Serve with a Side of Snacks

Overall Impression

Marble Slab Creamery – West End

Down By The Bay

Marble Slab Creamery Menu

BYOB + Lactose-Free

Not So Much Toppings?

The Way The Cones Are Stored

Overall Impression

Twisted Ice Cream – Gastown

Hole in the Wall

Twisted Ice Cream

What We Tried

Simply Soft-Serve

Overall Impression

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