Scoops

Full disclosure: I love Baskin Robbins. I grew up eating it and have many fond childhood memories. Uncannily consistent, you can go into any BR on the planet and find staples like Gold Medal Ribbon and Mint Chip that never disappoint. They are always creamy, sweet, and delicious.

But the advent of designer ice cream has taken the frozen sweet in a totally different direction. After a friend's show at the Fake Gallery we hit up Scoops, the Hollywood hipster version of Baskin Robbins. Scoops is known for exciting flavors like Lavender, Goat Cheese, Brown Bread, and Oolong Tea. They are all amazing and made with fresh ingredients that really bring out the intricacies of the taste. The ice cream is made that morning and the flavors are served until they run out. The past few times we have been there they have run out of a few items (Banana Oreo, which is right in my wheelhouse, is frequently gone).

Ariel and I decided to split one cup (which is two scoops) for $2.75. The price is right. We ordered Blueberry Black Tea and Black Sesame. The BBT tasted like, well, tea infused with blueberries. It had the perfect balance of sweet cut with the bitterness of black tea. The Black Sesame was amazing. The ice cream was basically sesame seeds and ground sesame with a creamy base. It is hard to describe the flavor but imagine if sesame seeds tasted so good you didn't want to stop eating them - that is basically how this ice cream tasted. I don't think I would pair these two flavors again, I would pass on the BBT, but the Black Sesame was delicious.
Other Scoops thoughts - The Honey Lavender is the best flavor I have had there. It may be the best flavor of ice cream I have ever eaten (sorry BR). The flavor is complex, delicate, sweet...it is like eating heaven and potpurri all at once.
The Berkeley version of Scoops is Ici. Simply put, Scoops DESTROYS Ici. The consistency of the ice cream, the variety of flavors, and the complexity of the tastes at Scoops surpass the four flavors we tried at Ici.