Rolled ice cream. It has even reached Boston now. Amusingly, it has basically left Sydney, the first city I saw rolled ice cream in. They have moved on.
Anyway, my first encounter with rolled ice cream was at Icicles in SF, and I was impressed by the texture of the ice cream, very different from what I imagined. So when in Boston, and I saw rolled ice cream, I decided to check it out.
The setup was similar to Icicles in San Francisco except ... well, they got many things wrong. The in-store experience was not pleasant. I blame this franchise though, not the brand.
To go through a few of the ... issues:
The location in Boston is on Newbury Street, like many of the ice cream shops, it occupies a lower floor space. It had a cute courtyard with seating outside. Newbury Street really does have some charm.
Inside is more tables, round tables, or counter seating.
The store was staffed with only two people. One was making the ice creams, one at a time. He clearly had a big backlog. Each one takes about 3+ minutes. He worked steadily, but, there were many to make.
The other person was stocking some items, and then disappeared for 20 minutes, and then came back to take orders, and then left again ... this was a rare moment with them both in the room, but, it was short lived, as he scraped the other mixing surface clean, and then took over being the one making ice cream on that plate, while the original ice cream maker wandered off.
The kids did love watching it, but the shop filled with a bunch of cranky kids pretty quickly.
Anyway.
Behind the action station is the menu of their recommended creations, full of fun things like the "Mango Sticky RI-CE", with toppings not available on the create your own menu, as in, literally topped with coconut sticky rice and coconut sauce. Nearly everyone in line around me ordered pre-made ones, which surprised me a bit.
"If you prefer to use your creativity, you can mix and match our flavor, mix-in, topping and sauce. We will make the ice cream base of your choice with your favorite ingredients right in front of you within minutes. With this customization, every cup will be unique and perfectly matched with your liking.
Next, toppings. Only 3. No you cannot add more for a fee. All of the mix-ins are available, plus:
It is a lot of decisions. No matter most people go for pre-made ones. But not me!
"The process starts by pouring our premium ice cream base with your choice of mix-in ingredients on our custom designed metal plate that can get as cold as -15 degrees Fahrenheit. We then use metal paddles to quickly chop and smash the ingredients together and spread it into a thin layer."
As with all shops like this, the process starts with dumping the ice cream base and the mix-in onto the cold plate, and chopping it all up.
"In just two minutes, the ice cream firms up and it’s scraped into chubby rolls, ready to serve."
After a bit of chopping and mixing, it is smoothed out, and then, scraped up into rolls.
Once the rolls are formed, they are plucked up one by one and moved into your dish.
Finally, the server adds your toppings, and hands over your creation.
Yes, it is a bit fun to watch ... the first time.
I of course made a custom creation.
Anyway, my first encounter with rolled ice cream was at Icicles in SF, and I was impressed by the texture of the ice cream, very different from what I imagined. So when in Boston, and I saw rolled ice cream, I decided to check it out.
"Our ice cream has a uniquely smooth and fun texture. Because of our distinctive freezing technique, we are able to create ice cream that is creamy and smooth by balancing the size of ice crystals and air in the ice cream. Customizing your order with mix-in ingredients, such as fresh fruits or your favorite candy bar, enhances your experience, giving you a texture you’ll keep coming back for."I went to I-CE NY, a chain that started outside the US, but when they expanded to the US adopted the "NY" part of the name, even though they now have 20 locations in the US (and 250 in Asia).
The setup was similar to Icicles in San Francisco except ... well, they got many things wrong. The in-store experience was not pleasant. I blame this franchise though, not the brand.
To go through a few of the ... issues:
- Credit card reader broken.
- Bathroom door had no lock.
- Bathroom had no paper towels (and no hand dryer).
- Napkin dispenser empty.
- Floor of entire place *very* sticky.
- Staff wearing plastic food service gloves, touching food and doing prep, and then using same gloves to touch computer screen, handle money.
- Out of several items.
And ... the biggest offender ... it took me 45 minutes to get my ice cream, even though there was only 1, yes 1, person in line in front of me to order when I arrived.
 |
| Cute Location. |
 |
| Interior Seating. |
The space is fairly large, and although full, didn't feel crowded. Maybe because we were all just standing or sitting around ... waiting ...
Step number one in waiting? Ordering.
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| Action Station. |
I walked in and there was 1 person in line in front of me. Her order was not taken for nearly 20 minutes. No one even acknowledged us. Eventually, we were able to order at the register in front (but not pay with credit card, since the machine was broken).
It was then time to wait again.
I got my ice cream ... 45 minutes after entering. I would have NEVER waited if I knew it was going to be that long. It was ... extremely frustrating.
The store was staffed with only two people. One was making the ice creams, one at a time. He clearly had a big backlog. Each one takes about 3+ minutes. He worked steadily, but, there were many to make.
The other person was stocking some items, and then disappeared for 20 minutes, and then came back to take orders, and then left again ... this was a rare moment with them both in the room, but, it was short lived, as he scraped the other mixing surface clean, and then took over being the one making ice cream on that plate, while the original ice cream maker wandered off.
The kids did love watching it, but the shop filled with a bunch of cranky kids pretty quickly.
Anyway.
Behind the action station is the menu of their recommended creations, full of fun things like the "Mango Sticky RI-CE", with toppings not available on the create your own menu, as in, literally topped with coconut sticky rice and coconut sauce. Nearly everyone in line around me ordered pre-made ones, which surprised me a bit.
 |
| Create Your Own Menu. |
7 ice cream base flavors + 20 mix-in ingredients + more than 32 toppings = endless opportunities to challenge your creativity. "
First, pick your base. Out of 9 options (not the 7 quoted in their marketing ...)
Ice Cream Base:
- Sweet Cream (Vanilla)
- Chocolate
- Coconut Milk
- Green Tea
- Taro
- Thai Tea
- Mango
- Milk Tea
- Vietnamese Coffee
Then, only one mix-in. No you cannot add more for another fee. The mix-in lineup includes fewer options than the toppings, but all mix-ins are available as toppings as well. Clearly, they have identified these as the ones that actually work to chop up and mix-in.
- Fruits: Banana, Blueberry, Lychee, Mango, Raspberry, Strawberry
- Cookies: Biscoff Cookie, Graham Cracker, Mint Chocolate Cookie, Nilla Water, Oreo
- Cereals: Cookie Crisp, Corn Flakes, Fruity Pebbles
- Other: Coconut Flakes, Cheesecake, Coconut Jelly, Red Bean, Sprinkles
- Chocolate candy: Hershey's Bar, Kit Kat, M&M's
- Soft candy: Gummy Bears, Mochi
- Garnish: Cookie straws, marshmallows
- Caramel
- Chocolate
- Condensed Milk
- Strawberry
It is a lot of decisions. No matter most people go for pre-made ones. But not me!
 |
| Smashing in the Mix-In. |
As with all shops like this, the process starts with dumping the ice cream base and the mix-in onto the cold plate, and chopping it all up.
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| Ready to Roll. |
After a bit of chopping and mixing, it is smoothed out, and then, scraped up into rolls.
 |
| Into the Dish. |
Finally, the server adds your toppings, and hands over your creation.
Yes, it is a bit fun to watch ... the first time.
 |
| Taro base with lychee mix-in, topped with red bean, mochi, coconut jelly, with condensed milk drizzle, and whipped cream. $7. |
The choice of base was a no brainer. Obviously, I wanted taro. I love taro.
My mix-in and toppings took a bit of thinking. I had a slew of options, but finally decided the 4 things I wanted most as mix-ins/toppings: mochi, red bean, lychee, and coconut jelly (with mango as a nice thought, but I wasn't sure about the taro/mango combo, and rainbow sprinkles were hard to look past ...). From there, I couldn't do mochi as a mix-in (not allowed), and I didn't want red bean throughout in case I didn't like it (and I worried it would take away from the taro flavor), so that was out. So, coconut jelly or lychee it was, and, when I thought about which one I'd prefer as a topping, that was clear, I wanted the coconut jellies on top, not just a whole lychee. So, the lychee went as my mix-in, the others on top.
My drizzle choice was easy, since caramel and chocolate would clash with taro, and I don't really like strawberry syrup. Sweet condensed milk goes great with taro, and I knew it.
And of course I opted for whipped cream.
The result? Well, it was pretty great. I was fairly grumpy after my 45 minute wait (I'm not exaggerating), and was ready to *hate* it, but ...
The ice cream base was smooth. The taro flavor was strong. The bits of lychee were a fantastic mix-in, just little pops of a really pleasant complimentary sweetness. The texture remained great as it melted. Everything about this base just ... worked. Go me.
My toppings were all fine choices too. The mochi were soft, the coconut jellies more fruity bursts and a bit of texture. The red bean I'd probably leave off in the future, just because it was a bit too strong of a flavor, and I wanted to taste everything else more. I'd consider mango or lychee (or jackfruit if they'd let me, since I know they have it for a pre-made one), or perhaps a toasted marshmallow in the future instead. Or just more coconut jellies.
The condensed milk was my only losing selection. It was fine, standard condensed milk, but ... it made the whole thing sweeter than I wanted. The taro base was already fairly sweet, and with the lychee in there too, it was just a bit more than I wanted.
Whipped cream was standard from a can.
Overall though, this was lovely, and I would get another but ... sigh, the wait.
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