There’s nothing quite like ice cream to soothe a sore throat and tonsillitis. Who needs chicken noodle soup when you have Breyers Natural Vanilla? Continuing with the saga of super cheap Breyers ice cream on sale at Safeway, today I went for the “pure” stuff: just milk, sugar, cream, and vanilla bean. It is this simplicity that lends the “natural” to Breyers Natural Vanilla. (Breyer’s Natural Vanilla now contains additives.  See discussion below). The vanilla flavor isn’t extremely strong, it’s more of a plain flavor (like when you buy plain instead of vanilla yogurt). It was still quite good, but there is something about the texture that makes it different from other vanilla ice cream. I think it’s maybe that they use skim milk. Like the Breyers Cookies and Cream, it’s just tastes a little watery. But overall, it’s a light tasting, not too vanillay, vanilla ice cream that I really enjoy.

• Flavor: 4.5
• Flavor Intensity: 3.5
• Texture: 3.5
• Originality: 1
• Overall: 4
• Cost: $1.79 on sale at Safeway

In the past two days I have learned far more about myself than I expected when trying vanilla ice cream. First, I really like vanilla ice cream. I usually just eat it with chocolate cake or hot fudge sundaes; but maybe I need to start eating it plain to truly appreciate the flavor. The second, more unexpected revelation is that apparently my personality can tell me which ice cream I will like the most.
After a series of questions Vanilliology spits out this answer:

“Nothing slips by you because you’re on your game at all times. You know what’s right and what needs to be done and you take charge to make sure it happens. When it comes to vanilla ice cream, the perfectionist in you demands that it taste exactly like vanilla ought to taste. If it doesn’t have the obvious presence of real vanilla, it won’t pass your test.
Your vanilla is Edy’s Vanilla Bean. You’re most likely to swap spoons with other Vanilla Bean lovers or entertaining Vanilla enthusiasts.

And:

Flavor Profile: Cool and Spicy with Real Vanilla Specks
The Personality: A Real Go-Getter

Detail oriented, perfectionist, the Vanilla Bean lover is conscientious almost to a fault. While their devotion makes them the perfect employee, their love life may suffer if they’re not mindful of the balance in the life. They are the “take charge” sort of people who hold strong opinions as to how things should be done. Ethical, moral and of the highest integrity, Vanilla Bean lovers have a clear sense of right and wrong. Vanilla Bean lovers are most romantically compatible with those who refer either Vanilla or Vanilla Bean ice cream.

Now, I know you are thinking that this must be some kind of joke. But, real live researchers worked on this quiz: Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation. Interesting.

Now, the flavor I tried today was not Edy’s Vanilla Bean, but Edy’s Double Vanilla, which is “sweet and intense.” Now, according to the quiz I would like this vanilla if I was

“Agreeable, easy-going, well-adjusted. Patient, understanding and empathetic, the Double Vanilla lover is the perfect spouse, parent and friend. They truly care about the feelings of others above their own. As an occupation, they would make an ideal teacher, psychiatrist, coworker or an sort of supervior. In any capacity they are a pleasure to be around. Those who prefer Double Vanilla are the universal romantic, compatible with everyone.

While Double Vanilla is not “my vanilla” according to Edy’s and the researchers at Smell and Taste, I still enjoyed it immensely. It was both sweet and intense. Very vanilla-y, but not in the vanilla bean sort of way. More like a vanilla extract sort of way. It was pretty smooth and generally very good. But, I still enjoyed yesterday’s Haagen Dazs Vanilla Bean more. So, I guess I will have to give Edy’s Vanilla Bean a try and see if “Vanillaology” has me pinned.

• Flavor: 4
• Flavor intensity: 5
• Texture: 4
• Originality: 3 (Vinillaology, Double Vanilla; maybe it’s desperate marketing, but at least they try to say it’s not your plain old vanilla)
• Overall: 4.5
• Cost: $3.00 on special at Safeway

The best dessert to soothe a mouth stung by spicy red curry? Haagen Dazs Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. Hands down the best vanilla bean ice cream I’ve ever had. (Besides the homemade vanilla bean my mom makes me every year for my birthday.) Haagen Dazs Vanilla Bean Ice Cream exudes vanilla bean flavor. It is smooth and creamy and extremely rich. I’m usually not a big fan of plain vanilla ice cream, but this may have converted me. There is not much more to say about it. Absolutely amazing.

• Flavor: 5
• Flavor intensity: 5
• Texture: 4.5
• Overall: 5
• Originality: 1
• Cost- $3.00 on sale at Safeway

Since my hotel has internet access, I decided to use Google Maps to plot my hotel’s address and search for “ice cream” in nearby businesses. Located less than ¼ mile from the hotel, Terrace Ice Cream Parlour at 101 East Franklin Street seemed to be the best choice Google gave me.

After the previous night’s presentation given by a Richmond police Major about the exceptionally high (though dropping) homicide rate of the city, my imagination implored me to walk quickly in the growing darkness toward my destination avoiding eye contact with all potential murders. I arrived at 101 Franklin to discover a stunning hotel the midst of abandoned businesses and dilapidated buildings. Clearly the most upscale and haughty of the hotels in Richmond, the Jefferson Hotel was incredibly imposing and most certainly was home to “Terrace Parlour”. Two different bell men rushed to open what seemed to be an automatic door. Inside this classy establishment I felt severely underdressed in my Khaki pants, navy blue t-shirt, Birkenstocks and messenger bag. Nevertheless, I did my best to act as though I belonged and wandered among the bouquets of flowers, portraits of Confederates, Mahogany furniture and Old Money. (And a swarm of private schooled prom kids).

I couldn’t seem to locate any ice cream parlour, though there were at least two restaurants with mains starting at $34. I decided to approach the concierge and in my best southern drawl asked if there was an ice cream shop within walking distance. (Actually, there was no southern drawl, but that would have been fun). The concierge told me that the only place he knew of was over two miles away.

Walking back to the hotel, cursing Google Maps for the lack of Terrace Parlour (and myself for not calling first), I realized that I still had not eaten dinner. I stumbled upon “3^rd Street Diner” on the corner of 3^rd and Main. It was a fun little diner with great old signage and a jukebox (and an awesome waitress with a mohawk). I ordered apple pancakes and asked for vanilla ice cream on top instead of whipped cream. The waitress looked at me like I was a little strange, told me she would have to charge me extra, and brought back my food less than 10 minutes later. As you can see this was quite a feast. The pancakes were amazing. I think they had cinnamon in them and I’m not sure what else. The apples were perfectly cooked, a little sweet, a little sour; a little crunchy, but still mushy. The ice cream was the perfect addition. Since this website is supposed to be about the ice cream, I will write about that. It was your standard vanilla ice cream. It was fairly smooth, but not the creamiest. It was extra vanilla-y and had a pretty intense New York Vanilla type flavor. Overall, I was very satisfied. Honestly, if the ice cream was too good, I think I would have felt bad contaminating it with the pancakes. (Though, it would have been hard to imagine those amazing pancakes “contaminating” anything…). All in all, it was exactly what I had hoped for and I’m glad that Google Maps Business finder failed me.

• Flavor: 3.5
• Flavor Intensity: 4
• Texture: 3
• Originality (on my part): 4
• Overall: 4.5
• Cost (of just the ice cream) : $1.25

Ireland really is gorgeous. Today we took a ferry out to and then biked around the Aran Islands. Truly a quaint and stunning place. There are few shops on the Island and no ice cream shops, but they do sell ice cream at the small grocery store. I got a Classic Magnum Mar. I’ve had these before when I’ve traveled and they are good. The chocolate on the outside is richer than any chocolate coating in the US- maybe the closest comparison is a Dove ice cream bar. The inside ice cream is rich vanilla with vanilla bean specks. Honestly, this might be one of the best ice cream bars out there, but it still doesn’t compare to “real” ice cream.

• Flavor: 4
• Flavor Intensity: 3.5
• Texture: 4
• Originality: 3
• Overall: 4
• Cost: €1.40

It’s a chilly gray day in Kilkenny, Ireland.  It’s almost raining, but it’s not.  After arriving late into Dublin (we won’t even being to discuss my anger towards American Airlines right now) we rented a car and drove to Kilkenny to spend the night and see the Kilkenny Castle.  While we waited for the tour of the castle to start, we wandered around the grounds of this magnificent place, built in the 1990’s and occupied by the Butler family until 1935.  On the street against to the garden there was an ice cream truck with a fairly long line considering the weather.  The ice cream truck was labeled “Tiger,” had a picture of the children’s cartoon character (Tigger) with Pooh and Eeyore in the background.  I stood in line and ordered a plain ice cream cone.  The ice cream came with a chocolate stick thing in it.  (I later learned that this is a Cadbury’s 99 flake, a popular candy item).  The ice cream itself was very whipped, almost like a thick whipped cream.  It tasted a little like caramel.  The ice cream was different than any soft serve I’ve had because of the light texture.  My only complaint: the cone.  It was stale and reminded me of cardboard.

• Flavor: 4
• Flavor Intensity: 3.5
• Texture: 4.5
• Originality: 2.5
• Cone: 1
• Overall: 4
• Cost: €1.50