I’m in Richmond, VA for a conference and the only thing I had time to get today was a Good Humor Chocolate Éclair Bar from the market in the VCU Commons.  When I was in middle school we had an ice cream vending machine in the cafeteria and I would occasionally get the Chocolate Éclair Bars.  Today’s wasn’t quite how I remembered them from middle school.  I have a feeling that a good portion of the blame lies with the market at VCU for not storing their ice cream well.  This bar was icy lacked flavor.  It actually tasted like food that sits in the freezer too long and gets bland.  Maybe my memory is failing me, but the Good Humor Bars I had in middle school were way better than this.

• Flavor: 3
• Flavor Intensity: 2
• Texture: 2
• Originality: 3.5
• Overall: 2.5
• Cost: $0.99

I spent some time on the internet trying to find a good ice cream shop in Dublin. I even asked the people at the hostel. The only thing I found online was a place started by two American girls—recent graduates from Brown who moved to Dublin to open an ice cream shop. We went over to the location and it no longer existed. So, we wandered around some more and came across a Haagen Dazs. I was getting a little sick of searching for ice cream, but I didn’t come to Ireland to eat ice cream I can get in the States. We finally found Botticelli Gelateria Artigianale. I ordered Gianduia which is chocolate and hazelnut. The flavor was really good and the texture was excellent. I’m sad we never found the Brown University girls’ place since it would have been interesting to talk to them, but Botticelli was outstanding.

• Flavor: 4.5
• Flavor Intensity: 4
• Texture: 5
• Originality: 4
• Cone: 4.5
• Overall: 4.5
• Cost: €2.00

Arriving in Dublin 2 hours later than expected after sitting in an hour of traffic to travel 1/2 km and running on fumes (determined to return the prepaid gas rental car on empty), then sitting in more traffic on the steaming hot bus ride into the city center; the last thing I wanted to do was find an ice cream shop. As we walked around the city, Mars Bars Girls (for lack of a better word) appeared like angels from Heaven. On this particularly warm and sunny Dublin afternoon, girls clad in skimpy skirts, tiny tank tops, huge sunglass and tan Ugg boots were standing on a corner in Temple bar giving away free Mars Bars ice cream. Despite the ironic fact that these stick thin girls probably didn’t ever eat ice cream, I was happy to take their recommendation and try the free ice cream. I mean, who turns down free ice cream—especially when that’s exactly what I was exhaustedly and unenthusiastically seeking out. Anyway, the ice cream was free and exceptionally well timed. The Mars Bar packaging was nice; though I was surprised to find that there was nothing on it to indicate that it was ice cream instead of a regular Mars Bar. The ice cream was smooth and the chocolate outside was better than the average candy bar. But, the caramel was what made this ice cream bar stand out. It was a thick caramel. Not quite as thick as caramel apple caramel, but much thicker and much better tasting than regular candy bar caramel. As a whole it was good, not great, but for a mass-produced ice cream candy bar, it was very good. When compared to hard ice cream, it wasn’t anything special.

• Flavor: 3.5
• Flavor Intensity: 3.5
• Texture: 4.5
• Originality: 3.5
• Overall: 3.5
• Cost: free

I could blame it on a lack of other options, but the real reason I went back to Murphy’s was because I just couldn’t resist the place. Did I mention how much I like the color of their walls? It is a magnificent blue.

Today I tried the Chocolate with Irish Whisky. The ice cream has an extremely intense rich chocolate flavor, with a hint of whisky. I actually expected the whisky flavor to be stronger, and I wouldn’t have minded if it was. Overall, this ice cream was excellent, but not quite as good as the Brown Bread I had yesterday.

• Flavor: 4.5
• Flavor Intensity: 5
• Texture: 4.5
• Originality: 5
• Cone: 3
• Overall: 4.5