Recently I have become semi-addicted to Potbelly Chocolate Malts.  (Is it possible to become semi-addicted?  That’s beside the point…).  Potbelly chocolate malts are just the right thickness and have just the right amount of malt powder.  There’s something about the taste of malt powder where you can easily have too little or too much; and the Potbelly malt lands right in between.
The thickness of the malt is also excellent.  It takes some effort to suck it up through a straw, but not too much effort.  Again, they’ve achieved that critical balance.
Oh, and who can forget the cookies?  Two minature shortbread cookies on the straw, mmm tasty.
My only complaint is the size.  It’s a smaller size cup, but it’s still too much.  After finishing an entire malt I feel like I’ve eaten way too much.  I need about three-quarters of the current size.  That would be the right amount.  I realize I could throw it away after I’ve eaten 3/4; but wouldn’t that be a waste??

• Flavor: 5
• Texture: 4
• Originality: 2
• Overall: 4
• Cost: $2.86 at Potbelly

Last night I had a phenomenal topping on my vanilla ice cream—Bailey’s Irish Cream.   I wanted ice cream but wanted something more than just vanilla.  We had some Bailey’s in our fridge and I went for it.  It was amazing.  Just a few tablespoons full and you’ve got yourself an adult dessert.  I let the ice cream melt a little bit and mixed the two together; I suppose I could have blended it into a shake.  Maybe next time…

When it’s someone’s birthday you get them the kind of birthday cake they want. But, if they ever request an ice cream cake from Baskin-Robbins I recommend that you flat-out refuse. I don’t remember the last time I had such bad cake. The ice cream itself, which is rolled up into the cake was good, but the cake just made it not worth eating. We got a mini-roll cake with mint-chocolate-chip ice cream. The fudge covering the cake was the only thing worth salvaging.

• Flavor: 3
• Flavor Intensity: 3
• Texture: 1
• Originality: 4
• Overall: 2.5
• Cost: $7.95

Wow.  That’s about all there is to say about pumpkin spice ice cream at Maggie Moos.  Generally, I’m not a huge fan of Maggie Moos.  They’re hit or miss and very overpriced.  But, Pumpkin Spice was amazing.  It was intensely spiced and the pumpkin flavor was present but not overwhelming.  And Graham crackers mixed in proved to be a great combination.  This is a seasonal flavor so go out and get some before it’s gone.

• Flavor: 5
• Flavor Intensity: 5
• Texture: 4
• Originality: 4
• Overall: 5
• Cost: $5.05

I realized that I have never posted a review of McDonald’s Soft Serve Ice Cream before. Considering there is a McDonald’s right down the street from me (on 17th and R) it’s kind of surprising. So, today I’m reviewing McDonald’s Ice Cream.

McDonald’s seems to be pushing their ice cream more and more. Besides the relatively recent addition of McFlurrys, they also now have Oreo Sundaes, cookie sundaes and a few others. I went for the plain hot fudge sundae on their dollar menu. So, for $1.10, I got a hot fudge sundae and a small bag of peanuts. I found the bag of peanuts particularly interesting. I don’t remember ever getting this before.

The soft serve ice cream at McDonald’s is something I’ve always loved. It’s pretty smooth, it’s creamy, and it’s cheap. The hot fudge is also excellent. I was surprised as sometimes hot fudge really isn’t that good. Overall, it was well worth the trip down the block.

• Flavor: 4
• Flavor Intensity: 3
• Texture: 4
• Originality: 2.5
• Overall: 4
• Price: $1.10

Turkey Hill Vanilla Bean comes out of Lancaster County, PA. I discovered it at Shopper’s and bought it specifically because it didn’t have any gums or artificial ingredients. I’m glad I bought it. It is spectacular. It’s much lighter and fluffier than most vanilla ice cream (especially compared to Haagen Dazs) but that also means it’s lighter in calories. It’s extremely creamy and I’m their new biggest fan.

• Flavor: 4.5
• Flavor Intensity: 4
• Texture: 4.5
• Originality: 1
• Overall: 4.5

I never realized that Kemps was a Midwest brand until I moved away from MN.  It’s always been decent ice cream, never amazing, never terrible.  Today’s Toasted Almond Fudge was about what I expected: not spectacular, but not all that bad.  The ice cream was just plain chocolate ice cream with toasted slivers of almonds in it.  The texture reminds me of the chocolate malt cups you can buy at baseball games.  It’s not a flavor that I would buy again if I wanted really good ice cream, but for the price it’s decent.

• Flavor: 4
• Flavor Intensity: 3.5
• Texture: 3
• Originality: 2.5
• Overall: 3.5
• Cost: $2.50 at Byerly’s in MN

I flew into Minneapolis today and will be here through the end of the week.  I intend to go out exploring the Minneapolis ice cream shops, but with the flights today and a two hour layover I resigned myself to staying in and having a couple of Dove Miniature bars.  For only 60 calories these really are amazing.  I taste-tested both the original with dark chocolate coating French vanilla ice cream and the cherry cordial which has dark chocolate covering cherry ice cream.  Both were quite good, though I preferred the original.  The dark chocolate on both is more intensely chocolate and thus combines perfectly with the extra sweet ice cream.  One of these satisfies my craving for both high quality chocolate (well- high quality for a mass produced ice cream bar ) and creamy ice cream.

• Flavor: 4
• Flavor Intensity: 3.5
• Texture: 4
• Originality: 3.5
• Overall: 4

Talk about rich.  I can honestly say that I don’t think I have ever had a chocolate ice cream as rich and velvety as Godiva’s Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Praline.  But, I wouldn’t buy it again.  You know how you can’t eat an entire box of Godiva Truffles without feeling sick?  It’s the same way with their ice cream.  It is too intense in flavor and sweetness to have any more than a bite or two.  I had four bites and the flavor is burning my mouth.  Maybe this would be good if you’re on a diet; because one bite might satisfy a chocolate ice cream craving.  But really, that takes the fun out of pigging out on ice cream.  One or two bites, excellent; more than that is just too much Godiva chocolate ice cream for me.

• Flavor: 5
• Flavor Intensity: 5
• Texture: 5
• Originality: 3.5
• Overall: 4
• Cost: $3.00 on special at Safeway

Since Edy’s Sundae Crunch didn’t satisfy my craving for a Drumstick, I thought I should get the real thing.  So, on my drive up to Cape Cod I stopped at a 711 to pick one up.  They had a ton of ice cream options, including my Drumstick.  But, only came in King Size.  Do American’s really need a King Size Drumstick with 450 calories and 27 grams of fat???  I know I don’t, but I bought it any way.

My memory served me right:  I love these things.  They are rich and creamy and crunchy and chocolatey.  Downright delicious.  The ice cream tastes extremely artificially flavored (vanilla), but that’s ok with me.  It hard to believe how creamy they can make this ice cream.  It’s almost like soft serve.  After eating off the top chocolate and nuts and having a few bites of ice cream on top of the cone, I decided to forgo the plain ice cream calories and get right to the good stuff.  The greatest thing about the Drumstick is everything that’s in the cone.  Layers of chocolate and ice cream and a chocolate core.  Very yummy.  And the cone itself is amazing.  I don’t know why everyone can’t have cones that tastes as good and crunchy as the Drumstick cone.  Of course, the inner chocolate lining helps.  As usual, the bottom was the best part.  A little bit of ice cream, a solid base of chocolate (which serves the dual purpose of taste and preventing dripping), and the crunchy cone.  If I ever had an ice cream vending machine, I would stock it only with Drumsticks.

• Flavor: 5
• Flavor Intensity: 3
• Texture: 5
• Originality: 4
• Cone: 5
• Overall: 5
• Cost: $2.29

I’ve wanted to try this brand of ice cream since I found out it is locally produced in Baltimore. Today, I finally discovered Lee’s Ice Cream at Shopper’s Food Warehouse in Alexandria. For only $2.50 for a quart this ice cream is a steal. You can’t even get a scoop at a shop for that price. I was amazed at how intensely caramel flavored this ice cream is. I was surprised to find the caramel filled chocolate truffles even richer than the ice cream, as the ice cream is (by itself) is so rich. However, I was a little disappointed in the texture. It’s a little icy and grainy. But, the strong flavor makes up for what it lacks in texture. I’m looking forward to the chance to try Lee’s at one of their shops.

• Flavor: 4.5
• Flavor Intensity: 5
• Texture: 3
• Originality: 3.5
• Overall: 4.5
• Cost: $2.50 at Shoppers

I told you I’d be trying the other half of my Skinny Cow Variety Pack soon. Unfortunately, at some point the ice cream sandwiches got melted a little and thus, any smooth texture was ruined.  However, the flavor was still pretty decent.  I still wouldn’t choose this ice cream over regular ice cream, but if I was really trying to watch my weight, I might be able to fool my palate with a Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich.

• Flavor: 3
• Flavor Intensity: 2
• Texture: 1.5
• Originality: 1.5
• Overall: 3
• Cost: $2.99 for a box of 6

If you like your green tea “green” then you will like this ice cream. If you like to add lots of sugar to your tea (like me) then you may hate this ice cream. This ice cream tastes like green tea. It’s that simple. It doesn’t taste sugary and is incredibly strong in flavor. I had no more than 3 bites of this ice cream (and the last two were from me looking for the white chocolate). In my opinion the white chocolate chunks were the only good part of this gelato. But, as I said before, this Ciao Bella Green Tea gelato does have potential, if you like strong, pure, green tea.

• Flavor: 1
• Flavor Intensity: 5
• Texture: 4
• Originality: 4
• Overall: 2
• Cost: $3.99 at Whole Foods

Picturing a skinny cow makes me feel a little ill. Honestly, can cows get skinny without being starved and tortured? I’m not sure. But, the cute logo seems to have kept my image of a skinny cow from consumers’ minds as this brand has really taken off. After trying this ice cream I understand why. It’s not terrible. It’s not the greatest or even close to the greatest tasting ice cream in the world, but for a good sized ice cream treat with only 140 calories, it’s pretty decent. The flavor of the ice cream is probably the best thing about it. I had chocolate. The outside of the sandwich wasn’t anything special. The texture of both the outside cookies and the sandwiched ice cream were a little grainy. Not a consistent grainy, but an uneven graininess. I would eat one again (and I will since I got a variety pack with both chocolate and vanilla), but I’d have to be pretty desperate to give up eating fat cow ice cream for these.

• Flavor: 3
• Flavor Intensity: 2
• Texture: 3
• Originality: 2
• Overall: 3.5
• Cost: $2.99 for a box of 6

Sometimes there’s a lot to say about something mediocre; sometimes there’s very little to say. This time there is less than little. This store brand ice cream is about what one would expect from store brand ice cream. It’s creamy and rich, but the flavor isn’t great. The vanilla tasted very artificial. That about sums it up. You need good flavor to have a good ice cream.

• Flavor: 2
• Flavor Intensity: 4
• Texture: 3.5
• Originality: 1
• Overall: 2.5
• Cost: $2.99 at Safeway