What’s better than ice cream? Ice cream delivered to your door.

And what’s better than ice cream delivered to your door? A complete ice cream social delivered to your door.

Dandy Don’s sent me their newest creation: an ice cream social for 25 people shipped directly to you. The ice cream social in a box includes 25 individual scoops of ice cream in separate containers, 9 toppings (including hot fudge and caramel), spoons, napkins, tablecloths, and soda jerk hats. There isn’t anything else that you would need for an ice cream social — except for people to eat the ice cream and perhaps some whipped cream.

I particularly liked that they included two containers of m&m’s and crumbled Oreos since most people enjoy those toppings. One of my favorite touches was the crushed sugar cones as a topping. I normally don’t eat crushed sugar cones on my ice cream but now I might start.

Another pleasant surprise was the amount of ice cream in the containers — there was A LOT of it. (Plus enough space was left in the containers to add toppings.) If you’re serving this for kids you’d almost want to cut each scoop of ice cream in half because the scoops were so large.

Lastly, the ice cream itself was very good. My favorite flavor was the cappuccino crunch, followed by vanilla, and then chocolate.

If you’re looking for an easy to assemble party this is a good bet. The price is a little steep, but if you compare it to buying and assembling all of the ingredients and supplies individually or to hiring Ben and Jerry’s to cater your party, it’s not too bad of a deal.

You can buy the Ice Cream Social in a Box on Dandy Don’s website.

All the guidebooks touted Argentine ice cream as being the finest in the world. So, for the past few months while planning our trip to Argentina I’ve been anxiously awaiting the chance to try this deliciousness. Well, I’ve been in Buenos Aires for one week and sampled 5 different ice cream flavors at 2 ice cream shops and so far I’m a little disappointed.

I’ve had Argentine ice cream before, but in the U.S. Specifically, countless times at Dolcezza in Georgetown, Washington DC. At Dolcezza the ice cream was delicious. The flavors rich and fresh and the ice cream creamy. So, I expected it to be even better than this in Argentina itself.

Both the places I have tried ice cream in Argentina so far have been good, but not great. The helado consistency is bizarre. It’s creamy and icy at the same time. The taste is a little icy but the consistency on the spoon is creamy. Elastically is probably the best way to describe it. When I try to take a bite with the little gelato spoons the ice cream doesn’t break free but instead stretches out — much like cheese on a pizza. This in and of itself makes ice cream a little frustrating.

The flavors are good, but I haven’t had any that I would highly recommend. I’ll likely post some specific reviews in the near future.

One of the biggest disappointments is the price. Almost everything in Argentina is far cheaper than you would find in the States. You can get an amazing steak for $7-10 US dollars. An entire pizza (quite popular with the Italian influence here) is $4-7 US dollars. An empanadas — small cheese and meat filled pastries, 3-4 would equal an entire meal — are $1 each. So image my surprise when ice cream is the the same price, if not more than what you would pay in the US. One cone/cup is about $4 US dollars!

Now, I’m not exactly complaining. The ice cream could be terrible. Or worse yet could be non-existent. I guess I just had my hopes up.

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