Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream

Update Reviews, August 2024 Visits

Another year, another free birthday scoop at Baskin-Robbins, and more disappointment at the quality of the ice cream (at least in scoop shops).

Cherries Jubilee.

"This dreamy, classic flavor features Cherry Pieces packed in lush Cherry flavored Ice Cream with a Hint of Rum flavor."

I was drawn in by the rum promise of this, and the fact that I do like cherries.  I'm glad I asked for a sample though. The flavor was fine, I guess cherry flavored, not too medicinal, although a bit like maraschino cherries.  But ... it was icy and freezer burnt.  Like basically any Baskin-Robbins I've ever gotten from a scoop shop.  Sigh.  Flavor? **+, but due to the freezer burn, *+.

Jamoca Almond Fudge. Single. $4.49.

"Jamoca® ice cream with roasted almonds and a chocolate flavoured ribbon."

I wanted to like this ice cream much more than I actually did.  So many elements were just not great.

First, like seemingly every scoop of ice cream from Baskin-Robbins, it was freezer burnt.  That is to be expected at this point really.

Next, I didn't taste any mocha really, no coffee notes, just fairly plain (icy) ice cream.  The base really let me down.

Next, the almonds were soft, as if they were soggy.  How were they soft inside frozen ice cream?  I have no idea, but the texture was not pleasant.  There were plenty of them.

The chocolate ribbon was decent.

Overall, lacking coffee flavor, soggy almonds, hard pass. *.

Rum Raisin.  Single.  Cake Cone.

"Rum flavoured ice cream with raisins."

This was pretty average rum raisin ice cream.  Decently boozy.  Fairly plump raisins.  Met expectations.  Made me want walnuts in it though.  Low ***.

Update Reviews, August 2023 Visits

Every month, Baskin-Robbins has a special flavor of the month.  They run from the start of the month, until they run out.  Depending on popularity, sometimes this means you can find a flavor months later.  I like to try these flavors, as they are generally more interesting than the standard lineup.

August: Game Night.

"Salted Caramel Ice Cream stacked with M&M'S® MINIS Milk Chocolate Candies, Buttered Popcorn flavored Clusters, and a game-winning Caramel Pretzel flavored Swirl."

This sounded great to me.  Not because I care about, well, watching any game, but, because it was full of goodies I love to snack on.    Sweet and salty, and with *popcorn*?!!  Yes, yes, yes.

I'm glad I asked to sample it first, because, it turned out, I really didn't like it.  The salted caramel base was just far too sweet, and the popcorn pieces were soft and soggy.  Meh.  **.  

March: Chick’n & Waffles.

"Buttermilk waffle flavored ice cream with plenty of crispy chick’n* and waffle flavored bites drizzled in a decadent bourbon maple syrup flavored swirl."

The shop I visited still had this March flavor in August, which generally isn't the sign of a winner, but, it really did sound pretty interesting, so I gave it a try.  I didn't taste buttermilk.  I didn't taste chicken.  I didn't taste waffle.  Mostly, I tasted sweet, which I guess was the maple syrup swirl, but came across like generic caramel.  There was some textural bits that I guess were waffle?  Overall, too sweet and didn't deliver in the interesting flavors.  **.

April:  PB ‘n J. 

"This fresh take on your childhood favorite offers smooth peanut butter ice cream with sticky and sweet grape jelly swirls smeared into brown butter flavored ice cream."

Next, they also had April's flavor still available: PB 'n J.  This was actually pretty good, although fairly heavy.  Rich, strongly peanut butter flavored base, lots of fruity sweet jelly.  It definitely tasted like PB&J, but was just a bit too rich for my mood, a full scoop would have been a bit much, but, it was an enjoyable flavor that lived up to the description.  ***.

Icing on the Cake.

"It’s your birthday everyday when you can indulge in this cake flavored ice cream with cake pieces, frosting bits and candy confetti ribbon. Now you can eat ice cream and have your cake too!"

Since it was my birthday, I was tempted by the "Icing on the Cake" flavor, which I also sampled, and it too let me down.  Just sweet.  Meh.  ***.

Old Fashioned Butter Pecan.
Single, 4oz. $4.95.

Pralines 'n Cream: "Vanilla flavored Ice Cream with Southern-inspired Praline Pecans & a gooey Caramel Swirl."

Butter Pecan: "Butter-Roasted Pecans folded into Butter Pecan flavored Ice Cream."

I don't actually remember if I asked for butter pecan, or pralines 'n cream ... both feature pecans, both feature a high fat dairy product ... I *think* it was butter pecan I randomly picked in the end, selected as it was a fresh tub, whereas most were on the last dregs.  I hoped that would mean less freezer burnt ice cream, which seems to commonly be a problem at their shops.

It was ... ok.  It was sweet, it had nice hunks of pecans, but, it wasn't particularly creamy, and didn't really draw me in.  It did melt nicely, but even then, I wasn't left with a feeling of really wanting more of it.  Highly mediocre, decent flavor, but lower end ice cream base.  **+.

Jamoca Almond Fudge.
Single, 4oz, Cone. $4.85.

"Baskin-Robbins' Jamoca® Coffee Ice Cream with Roasted Almonds & a Chocolate flavored Swirl."

I've heard good things about the Jamoca Almond Fudge flavor, so I got a cone without trying it (after sampling, and ruling out, the monthly flavors).  The ice cream base was more mildly chocolate flavored to me than coffee, I was definitely expecting a stronger coffee flavor.  It was nicely loaded with goodies, crispy roasted almond flakes and chocolate swirl.  

This seems like it could be an enjoyable flavor, however, mine was very freezer burnt.  It just tasted stale, like the inside of a freezer.  Decent enough pedigree (although I wanted stronger coffee flavor), but alas, the lack of proper storage totally ruined it.  **.

I asked for it in a cone, wanting a cake cone, and was given a sugar cone, and then charged an additional fee for it.  I explained that I wanted a cake cone, and she just shrugged and took away the fee, not offering a cake cone, or bowl, or anything.  I've literally never had good service at any Baskin-Robbins location, the staff are always just so grumpy.

Update Reviews, 2019 Visits

A few more visits, and I found a new flavor I do like!

Nutty Coconut & Peppermint. Small (split scoop).

Did you know you can get a split scoop at Baskin-Robbins, even for a small?  YES!

I was thrilled when my server suggested this, as I really was torn between 3 flavors: the Nutty Coconut and two different peppermint ice creams (this one, and the York Peppermint Pattie).  I only had to rule out one, and decided on the regular Peppermint, rather than Peppermint Pattie, but it was a close call.

Nutty Coconut:
"Feeling crazy? So will your senses when they feel the chill of coconut flavored ice cream mixed with almonds, pecans, and walnuts."

This is one of Baskin Robbins "Classic" flavors, that has been around ~forever, yet somehow, I hadn't ever tried it before.

It turned out to be rather awesome.  I *think* my favorite flavor so far!

The base is coconut ice cream, great coconut flavor, and I think some texture from shredded coconut as well.  But the real texture comes from the plentiful nut mix-ins, bits of almond, pecan, and walnut, all of which are chopped up and give this ice cream a ton to look forward to.  The nuts and coconut worked together surprisingly well!

Peppermint Stick:

This is another classic flavor, but I believe it has been discontinued.  But my shop still had it, and I actually tried it accidentally - I asked to sample the Peppermint Pattie, and she gave me this instead.  Good mistake on her part, as I liked it *slightly* more than the Peppermint Pattie!

It was a ridiculous fake pink color, but besides that, it was just simple peppermint goodness.  Far more minty than any of their other mint offerings, and enhanced with bits of peppermint stick.  For mint lovers, no question.

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YORK® Peppermint Pattie -  December 2017 Flavor of the Month

"Mini York peppermint patties and a rich dark chocolate mint flavored ribbon swirled in mint flavored ice cream."

This was a "returning favorite", last offered in December 2014.

It was good.  The mint base was slightly minty, a white base not a silly pink peppermint.  The ribbon and mini York patties gave it plenty of interesting bits.  But I actually preferred the regular Peppermint slightly, as it was a more intense mint, and didn't have the chocolate to take away from the minty experience.  But chocolate and mint are a great combo, and this worked, for sure.

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Bobsled Brownie® - January 2018 Flavor of the Month.

"A combination of Butter Caramel-flavored ice cream and Milk Chocolate Mousse-flavored ice cream with blonde brownie pieces and a fudge crackle swirl throughout."

This certainly sounded interesting, butter caramel ice cream, chocolate mousse ice cream, blondies, fudge crackle ... but, it was all blended together too much, so all you could really taste was some chocolate with a bit of cakey texture.  Not for me.

Also: why was my scoop shop still selling in April when I tried it?  This is more evidence that half my dislike of Baskin-Robbins comes from their low turn around and freezer burn!

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Golden OREO® ‘N Churro

"This innovative new flavor features cinnamon caramel-flavored ice cream with crispy churro pieces and Golden OREO® cookie pieces all wrapped together with a fried dough-flavored ribbon!"

Discontinued flavor.

This one caught my eye, amusingly.  I don't like Oreos (golden or not), and I don't really like churros, so, why this?  Well, I do like cinnamon flavored ice creams, and, uh, the promise of a "fried dough" ribbon was just too much to pass up.

I'm glad I asked to sample first though.  Because I did not like this.  It did taste like fried dough, but, not in a good way.  It tasted like fried oil.  Greasy, old, stale, carnival oil.  Somewhat like the June Flavor of the Month in 2015, Dunkin’ Donuts® Coffee ‘N Donut, that tasted like stale donuts.

Not good.  No wonder this was discontinued (and yet still in stock at my location ...)

Update Review, 2017

Another year, a few more flavors tried ...

Icing on the Cake, Regular (4 ounce). (July) $3.25.

"Have your cake and lick it too! Cake flavored ice cream with cake pieces, frosting bits, and a candy confetti ribbon."

I loved the sound of this one.  I don't like cake exactly, so the cake pieces aren't what drew me in, but I adore frosting, and, "candy confetti ribbon" sounded awesome.  Plus, I could see sprinkles!

The base was sweet, but didn't actually taste like cake, just like the when I had it in the America's Birthday Cake flavor.  Just sweet, not very high end ice cream, not very creamy.  But I wasn't here for the base.

The cake pieces, also unremarkable, also just like in America's Birthday Cake.  Texture, sure, and not stale, but, not special.

So what about the good stuff?  The "frosting bits", for example?  Well ... I'm not quite sure where those were.  I didn't find them really, and the ingredient listing never has a component for frosting bits, but instead has "cookie pieces" listed, in addition to the "cake pieces".  Uh ... what?  Not that I found cookie pieces either.  I find this puzzling.

But that ribbon.  I was there for the ribbon.  "Candy confetti ribbon", according to the description, or, "Confetti Swirl Ribbon", per the ingredients.  Whatever you call it, it was pretty great.  Sweet, full of texture from the sprinkles and sugar bits.

So, overall, not bad.  The ice cream quality still isn't high, but this had lots of mix-ins that worked together well to provide textures I enjoyed.  I still wonder if my local Baskin-Robbins just has low turn-around (because, really, San Francisco isn't known for ice cream weather, and, when people want ice cream, we have too many artisan ice cream shops to ever actually pick Baskin ...), or if they just don't keep their freezers well calibrated or something, because the ice cream is always so icy, and I just don't see how that could be normal.

No Sugar Added Peanut Buttery Bar Blast Ice Cream. Kid's Size (2.5 ounce). (August) $2.79.

"Go nuts for no sugar added peanut, caramel, and nougat flavored ice cream, chocolate chips, and a buttery peanut butter ribbon running throughout!"

This sounded great.  I like peanuts and caramel.  A crunchy peanut butter ribbon sounded awesome.  Chocolate chips would add some texture.  Sure!

I tried a sample of if, and I was drawn in by the crunch ribbon.  It didn't actually taste like peanut butter, it was basically like crunched up Butterfinger, but, I liked it.  So, I got a scoop.

It wasn't until I had the full scoop in front of me that I realized I had selected a No Sugar Added flavor.  "Hmm, well, if I didn't notice, great!", I thought.  And then I had a few bites.  Doh.  It tasted like sweetener.  I wasn't ever able to stop tasting it after that, and it left a particularly bad aftertaste.  Note to self: do not get the No Sugar Added flavors.

The ice cream base was described as "peanut, caramel, and nougat flavored ice cream", and, well, it just tasted like sweet (fake sweet, that is).  I did not taste peanuts, nor caramel, nor I guess nougat.  It also just wasn't creamy.  At least this time it wasn't icy like most of my Baskin Robbins visits, but, creamy it was not.  Not as it melted either.  I think their ice cream just isn't very good.

I did still like the crunch ribbon, although I didn't get much of it.  The "chocolate chips" were very confusing.  I had no chips.  But, there were bits of chocolate.  When I read the ingredients later, I found the reason why.  The ingredient listing said "No Sugar Added Chocolate Liquid Chip".  Aha.  Not real chocolate chips.  Still, they added flecks of chocolate and some texture, which is why I wanted them.

The ingredients also listed pretzel pieces, which weren't in the flavor description, and I don't think I ever really found either.  Odd.

Overall, just not very high quality ice cream, and I'm really not a fan of the No Sugar Added base.  Whoops.

Others

Wild ‘N Reckless Sherbet

"A green apple, blue raspberry, and fruit punch flavored sherbet party. Fruit has never had so much fun."

The colors in this were quite vibrant, and although I'm totally not a sherbet person, I did like Baskin Robbins Splish Splash Sherbet, so I gave this one a chance.

Woah, sweet.  Soooo sweet.  I did like the tartness of one of the flavors, but wow.

Peach of Cake
"Peach and butter cake flavored ice creams combine with blonde brownie pieces and a caramel ribbon for a flavor that is far more than just peachy!"

This was actually quite good.  The peach flavor was vibrant.  It was quite refreshing.  I only tried a sample, so I didn't get any of the blond brownie pieces, but, I almost ordered it.  Next time ...

Update Review, August 2016

Yadda, yadda,  start with my original review, then the update, and then come back here, if you want more context for Baskin-Robbins.

For my birthday, I of course went to Baskin-Robbins to get my free birthday scoop.  I had a hard time picking a flavor, since, I don't actually think their ice cream is all that good.  I sampled a couple, and in the end, decided to just go for the special Flavor of the Month, OREO® Milk 'n Cereal Ice Cream, since it was, well, special.  This was an interesting choice for me given that I don't really care for OREO (sorry, Dad).  I was drawn in by the promise of the crunchy frosted corn flake ribbon.  Ben & Jerry's always does such a great job with ribbons, and my pick last year had an insanely good cookie dough batter flavored ribbon, so, I knew Baskin-Robbins could pull off the ribbon.

OREO® Milk 'n Cereal Ice Cream, Child Size.

"It's breakfast with Baskin! Cereal milk flavored ice cream swimming with OREO® cookie pieces, frosted corn flake cereal pieces, and a crunchy frosted corn flake cereal ribbon."

This was actually pretty good.  And I admit, I was pretty skeptical about this flavor, as it sounded rather confused.  Cereal and OREO?  How do those go together?

The base ice cream was apparently cereal milk flavored, which, to be honest, I didn't really taste.  I assumed it was a vanilla base until I copied the description from the website here.  It was loaded up with goodes though, so the base didn't really matter.  Chunks of OREO cookie were as expected, assorted sizes, and, well, they were OREO.  Since I'm not an OREO lover, these were what they were, and were not particularly interesting.  But, everything else was.

I didn't necessarily find distinct "frosted corn flake cereal pieces" and "crunchy frosted corn flake cereal ribbon", but, there was plenty of light brown stuff in there that had a slight crunch to it.  The texture was pretty strange, sorta like what you'd expect peanut butter to be like if it were made of corn flakes.  It wasn't bad though.  If you got a bite of it, it was also sorta like cookie dough with a bit of crispy crunch to it.  Pretty fascinating actually, and there was plenty of this too.

So, overall, a decent flavor.  The base ice cream wasn't flavorful nor particularly creamy quality ice cream, and the OREO cookie pieces I could do without, but the corn flake components were interesting enough that I enjoyed my scoop.   I'd likely try something new next time though.

Update Review, August 2015

If you didn't read my original Baskin-Robbins reviews, I suggest you start there, and then return to this update, since I'm skipping the background this time around.  See "Original Review: August 2014" below.

This year's visit was inspired by, you guess it, a birthday freebie.  I can't resist free treats!  My birthday rolled around, and, just like clockwork, Baskin-Robbins sent me an e-mail offering up a free scoop.  I eagerly headed there to pick a new flavor.  Spoiler: I found a winner.

Mom’s Makin’ Cookies™, Child Size.

"Mom’s secret recipe of brown sugar flavored ice cream filled with chocolate chip cookie pieces, chocolate flavored chips, and a delicious cookie dough batter flavored ribbon."

Ok, this was just downright delicious.  It was like everything you always want chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream to be.  All the flavors and textures, just amped up another notch.

So, stepping back.  The base was a sweet base, apparently brown sugar.  I'm not quite sure I'd identify it as brown sugar, but it was clearly more interesting than vanilla and not cloying sweet like cake batter.  It was creamy, and it melted perfectly on the hot day.

But the mix ins are where the magic was. First, the cookie dough batter ribbon.  This was really interesting, it wasn't thick like cookie dough gobs, or the flavored ribbons you find in Ben & Jerry's ice cream; it was more like a caramel, albeit a cookie dough flavored one.  Yup, it tasted like cookie dough, buttery and sweet.  Kinda awesome.

Next came the chocolate chip cookie pieces.  This is where I was a bit skeptical.  I didn't want chunks of cookie in my ice cream, I wanted cookie dough!  Except, these were soft, just like gobs of cookie dough, perhaps just a bit grittier?  Big, sizable chunks, perfect for some texture.

And finally, little chocolate chips, which added more crunch.

This was definitely awesome.  It was sweet, creamy, had a fun cookie dough batter swirl to keep discovering, and chunks to dig for.  It reminded me of Ben & Jerry's Milk & Cookies, just with the chocolate cookie swirl replaced with the cookie dough one, and a more interesting base swapped in.  Similar concept, but I think Baskin-Robbins had a slight edge here.

I'd definitely get this again.

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June Flavor of the Month, Dunkin’ Donuts® Coffee ‘N Donut

"Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and donut-flavored ice creams dunked with donut pieces and a chocolate flavored icing ribbon."  

Before settling on the Mom's Makin' Cookies, I also tried another tempting sounding option, inspired by their partnership with Dunkin' Donuts.  You know my fondness for Dunkin' Donuts, as I am originally from the east coast ...

I'm glad I tried it.  Because, well, wow, it was exactly as advertised.  It tasted like donuts.  Like greasy, sorta stale, cake donuts.  I didn't taste any coffee, but wow, donuts.  I can't imagine eating a scoop of this, unless maybe used in an affogado?  It was fun to try, and I'm glad I asked to sample before committing to a full scoop.

Original Review, August 2014

I grew up without a Baskin-Robbins nearby, and we always got our ice cream at home from Schwans delivery, so I somehow made it to my 30s without ever having Baskin-Robbins.  But, I love ice cream, and I'm always interested in trying out new places, so I finally checked it out.

My first visit was when I had a very sore throat, and I was on a quest to eat soft, cold things, using my GoPago credits as inspiration on where to go (yes, this was a few years ago, since GoPago is no longer active in San Francisco).  I'd just spent a couple weeks on the east coast, eating tons of soft serve ice cream, so even though it was still freezing out and totally not ice cream weather, I headed for the one place on GoPago that had soft serve: Baskin-Robbins.  (Yes, soft serve.  No it is not normal for them, they clearly specialize in hard ice cream)/

My second visit was prompted by joining their e-club, which gave me a certificate for a free scoop of ice cream for my birthday, so I went to cash in on it.  I looked up all of the flavors online beforehand so I wouldn't be too slow to decide, and had picked out a slew of flavors that I wanted.  I thought choosing one would be impossible!  Unfortunately for me, it turned out to be quite easy, as they didn't have ANY of the flavors I wanted to try!  Out of my list of 8 flavors, they didn't have a single one I wanted!  Not quite sure how that was possible.  They also didn't have the monthly special flavor.

My third visit was due to my realization that Togos was on LevelUp, with a $2 credit.  Sure, I could use my free credits to get some chips or a drink, but Baskin-Robbins is attached to Togos, and they use the same checkout.  Thus, I could use my credits to get a mini sundae!  Way better than chips or drinks :)

My next visit came from Togos running another LevelUp promotion, with a whopping $10 credit.  I think the idea was that you could get a full meal at Togos, but again, I didn't really want Togos, and that could get me quite a bit of ice cream.  And ... since Ojan wasn't going to use his credit either, I could fetch some for him too!

So, over the course of the past few years, I've tried a lot of their ice cream.  And for the most part, I'm highly unimpressed.  Maybe I'd go back for another freebee, but I certainly wouldn't pay for this ice cream.

The service at the SF location was varied.  As I mentioned, it is adjacent to a Togos, with the same staff running both places, running back and forth between them.  They are attached, but not exactly right next to each other, so this seems a little crazy.  It means you can stand there for a very long time with no one paying any attention, since they are all on the Togos side.  One staff member was also completely unfriendly, never smiling, never seeming remotely interested in her job, and generally annoyed that I was there getting ice cream.  I'll call her Ms. Surly for the rest of this review.  Another staff member was less friendly on my first visit, but was more informative and personable on subsequent visits, even striking up random conversation with me the last time I was there.  The third, I think a manager, gave decent standard service.

Soft Serve

The menu was advertising a new item: mini soft serve parfaits.  They had several varieties, each with a sauce in the bottom, then the soft serve, and then a candy topping.  Since I wanted soft serve, and a sundae is far more fun than just a cone or cup, I eagerly tried a few.

The soft serve just wasn't very good, and the form factor of these mini parfaits was far from ideal, making it impossible to get to the sauce until the end.  Why was the sauce on the bottom?

Reese's Mini Soft Serve Parfait.  $2.

I have a thing for peanut butter, so the Reese's one immediately called out to me.  Peanut butter sauce in the bottom, vanilla soft serve, peanut butter cup crumbles on top.

It was ... basically exactly as advertised.  The soft serve is a newer item for Baskin Robbins, and they only have vanilla flavor.  It wasn't very good.  It had a strange sourness to it, not tart like frozen yogurt, just ... sour.  It was creamy and a decent consistency.  It also wasn't really vanilla flavored.  Very, very mediocre soft serve.  The peanut sauce in the bottom was basically just generic creamy peanut butter.  It was hard to get to, since it was only in the bottom, and thus even though I wanted some to mix into my initial bites, I couldn't really without spilling the whole thing.  And at the end, I wound up with just a ton of peanut butter left over.  The pb sauce also got really hard from having the cold ice cream on top, making it difficult to scoop up.  The peanut butter cup crumbles were exactly what you'd expect.

I wanted this to come together better, being more than a sum of its parts, but it really wasn't.  Mediocre soft serve, pb cups, and hard to get to low end peanut butter.  Meh.

But for $2, it really did seem like a bargain, particularly compared to anything else on the menu.  I don't really understand why it was so cheap (as in, cheaper than just a bowl or cone of soft serve, even though it was bigger and had toppings ...).

Hot Fudge and Almonds Mini Parfait.  $2.

On my next visit, I tried a parfait again, since it is the only ice cream item that tell within my LevelUp budget.  I wasn't a fan of the peanut butter last time, so I went for one with hot fudge.  Even mediocre hot fudge is usually pretty good, right?

This parfait suffered from exactly the same issues as the first, namely, that you couldn't get to the sauce in the bottom, until the end, when you are left with only sauce.  Unlike the first one however, I didn't have the problem of spilling the parfait as I tried to dig for the sauce, as this one was tiny.  I thought it seemed like it had much less ice cream than the first one, and looking at the photos afterwards confirmed it.  This one barely extended above the top of the rim, whereas my first one had a nice swirl on top.  I'm not sure which one was correct, I'm guessing the first, as this looked pretty sad.  This one was made by Ms. Surly.

Anyway, the ice cream was the same mediocre soft serve, decently creamy, but not very vanilla, and with a slight sourness.  The nuts were just generic little bits of almond.  The fudge wasn't actually hot, and it wasn't particularly chocolatey.

This would have been a very boring parfait, but being the pro I am, I brought along a banana and a peanut butter cup, and turned it into a real sundae.  My final product was pretty good, but that wasn't exactly what they were offering.

I certainly would not order this plain parfait again, as it offered nothing flavor-wise.

Build-your-own Mini Parfait, hot fudge and cookie dough.  $2.

My third and final attempt at a parfait.  I kept trying, because $2 for a parfait really does sound like a great deal, if I could come up with a combo I liked.  And Ojan didn't want his $2 credit, so I might as well try again if it was free ...

On my last visit, I saw that they had the standard parfaits listed (chocolate with M&Ms, Oreos, or nuts, caramel with Snickers, peanut butter with Reece's, or strawberry with nuts).  But then it also said "or, build your own".  When I asked about it, Ms. Surly  told me that was only for the 31 Below Mix Ins, not the soft serve parfaits.  I was skeptical, since it was listed under the parfait section, but she was so grumpy and clearly unwilling to entertain this idea, that I gave up on it and picked the simple hot fudge and nuts, since I had my extra toppings with me anyway.

On this visit, I had the nicer employee, and I asked him about it.  He told me you can pick any sauce and any dry topping.  The dry toppings available were the standard candy toppings (M&Ms, Oreo, Snickers, Butterfinger, Reece's, gummy bears, sprinkles, nuts) or ... cookie dough!  This seemed like the clear winner, as it was more likely to be good than a generic candy topping.  Plus, cookie dough can be so good!  For sauces, there was the peanut butter, hot fudge, caramel, or chocolate sauce.  I didn't care for the peanut butter the first time, and thought the hot fudge was pretty mediocre, but it was the only one that seemed to go with the cookie dough, so I selected it again.  I guess the chocolate sauce would have as well, but why pick chocolate sauce when there is hot fudge?

As you can see, the nicer employee again made a much bigger parfait.  He even layered it a little, so there was the hot fudge in the bottom, then the soft serve, then some cookie dough, then he added even more soft serve, and more cookie dough!  Surly employee certainly did not do that.  Then, he asked if I wanted chocolate sauce on top too.  Such a difference!

The chocolate sauce on top was standard chocolate sauce, indistinguishable from Hershey's.  It didn't have a lot of flavor, but I appreciated that there was something on top, since, like every time, the hot fudge was trapped in the bottom.  The fudge was the same as last time, except that it was luke warm this time.  But like always, I had a very hard time getting any until  the end.

The ice cream was actually better this time, it still didn't have any vanilla flavor to it, but it didn't have the strange sourness.

But ... the cookie dough.  It was, quite literally, the worst cookie dough I have ever tasted in my life.  It was dried out beyond belief.  It tasted stale.  It just tasted ... awful.  I don't know how to describe it really, just beyond horrible.  I tried a couple pieces, and then picked them all out.  Or so I thought, forgetting that they nice employee had layered it throughout, so I accidentally got more later on.  Ugh.  It was truly foul!

Would never, ever, ever get this again.  Luckily, in my bag of tricks, I had a banana and other assorted toppings, and turned it into a proper sundae, which I enjoyed.

Hard Ice Cream/Sherbet/Frozen Yogurt

I've tried quite a few flavors of the regular ice cream, and several frozen yogurts.  Most were pretty standard, a few were kinda bad, and a few I really liked.

Mint Chocolate Chip, sugar cone.  $2.19.

For your birthday, you get a free kids size cup or cone.  I went with the mint chocolate chip, without sampling it first, because Ms. Surly looked like she wanted to kill me when I asked to sample one.  Rookie mistake.  It really wasn't very good.  Not creamy, no real mint flavor, even the chocolate bits weren't flavorful.  Really, really mediocre.

The sugar cone was also pretty generic.  Not much to say here.

The ice cream was just plopped on top of the cone.  It would have fallen off with my first lick if I hadn't secured it more properly.

Would not get again, and would have been very sad if I'd paid for this.

America's Birthday Cake, single scoop.  $2.19.

"Strawberries, cake-flavored ice cream, confetti topped cake pieces and blue whipped cream".

Another year, another birthday. I started this post over a year ago, which is crazy!  I returned this year to get my birthday scoop, and this time, went for America's Birthday Cake.  I'd probably never normally get such a silly flavor, but hey, it was free, and it seemed like the most fitting choice, given the circumstance.

Cake and ice cream, very festive, and quite colorful.

Like most of their ice cream, it wasn't creamy, was a bit icy, and kinda tasted stale.  I still don't know if that is just Baskin-Robbins in general, or if it is just this location.  Really just not good ice cream at all.

The "cake" flavored ice cream I actually thought was just plain vanilla, it wasn't until I looked up the description online that I saw it was supposed to taste like cake.  Very unremarkable.  The "strawberries" seemed to just be strawberry ice cream, fake tasting strawberry at that.

There were a few small chunks of vanilla cake mixed in.  I didn't see any promised confetti topping.  The cake wasn't stale tasting, or too hard, but was pretty unremarkable.

The "blue whipped cream" was my favorite component, and the real reason I picked this flavor.  It was sweet, fluffier than the ice cream base, which improved the overall texture.  It reminded me of the whipped cream style icing on Carvel ice cream cakes, which I always had growing up, and still have a weakness for.

Premium Churned Light Orange 'N Crème Ice Cream. $2.19.

"Soak up the sun with this orange light ice cream with a whipped cream flavored ribbon for a new twist on a frozen favorite!"

I didn't actually realize this was a Light version, but the flavor sounded somewhat interesting, at least, compared to my other options.  Baskin Robbins does have some really interesting flavors, but for some reason, my local shop never seems to carry them.  I hoped this would be somewhat like a creamsicle.

It was ridiculously sweet.  I'm not sure if they try to make up for the Light version by adding artificial sweetener or something?  Just way too sweet.  There was very little of the whipped cream ribbon, which is too bad, as I actually liked that, and it helped combat the sweetness of the orange ice cream.

The ice cream itself was fairly fluffy and light, but it was loaded with ice chunks.  Not just ice crystals, but actual chunks.  Sad for a scoop shop to not properly store their ice cream, as the result was just not appealing.

I ordered a single scoop, and got a very large multi scoop serving, which would have been quite nice, if I liked it.

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• Apple Cinnamon Crisp Ice Cream: "Cinnamon flavored ice cream topped with a sticky brown betty ribbon and packed with tasty apple and oat chunks."  Tasting notes: This was decently creamy, seemed fresh, and had a ton of cinnamon flavor.  There was even little chunks of mushy apple in it. Not bad, but not great. [ This is really quite good.  Its like apple pie and ice cream, all in one!  Great cinnamon flavor, ridiculously sweet brown betty ribbon, but quite good. ] [ Loving this!  Yes, it is very sweet, but it is apple pie in ice cream form!  Kinda amazing.  Love the cinnamon flavor and the brown betty ribbon, oat chunks give some good texture. ] [ So sweet.  Love the gooey caramel swirl. ] [ My favorite of their flavors, by far.  Would gladly get again. ]
• Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream: "A little bit blue, a lotta bit delicious. Creamy cheesecake flavored ice cream packed with cheesecake bits and swirled around with a blueberry ribbon."  Tasting notes: I didn't taste cheesecake at all, the base seemed pretty plain vanilla.  I also didn't find any cheesecake bits.  The "blueberry ribbon" however was quite generous, which was not a good thing, as it was just sweet and didn't really taste like blueberry.  I really didn't care for this.
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream: "Vanilla flavored ice cream with cookie dough and chocolate flavored chips".  Tasting notes: Standard vanilla ice cream, with chunks of cookie dough.  This cookie dough was much, much better than the inedible stuff from the parfait.  It had a decent buttery flavor and wasn't all dried out.  Pretty standard cookie dough ice cream. [ Something tastes a little stale about this. ] [ Just not interesting.  Vanilla ice cream doesn't have much flavor, it isn't creamy.  There are little chocolate chips and some stale tasting dough.  I don't like this much at all. ]  [ Not creamy, base ice cream very generic, cookie dough bits not that great.  Would not get again. ] [ Just really not very good.  I've had a lot of different cookie dough ice creams, and this one just offers nothing.  The ice cream itself isn't very good, the cookie dough are just tiny chunks and not flavorful.  Meh. ]
• Nutty Ice Creams
• Nutty Coconut Ice Cream: "Coconut ice cream mixed with almonds, pecans, and walnuts." Tasting notes: Good coconut flavor, fair amount of nuts.
• Old Fashioned Butter Pecan Ice Cream: "Butter pecan flavored ice cream with, yep, butter-roasted pecans.".  Tasting notes: Somewhat generic tasting base ice cream, with plentiful whole pecans.  Not particularly remarkable.  Decently creamy.  [ Ok creaminess  I like the whole pecans, ok buttery flavor, not really standout though. Could be any old butter pecan ice cream. ]
• Pralines 'N Cream Ice Cream: "Praline-coated pecan pieces and caramel in vanilla flavored ice cream."  Tasting notes: Nice sweetness, thick swirl of caramel, pretty good.  Better than Butter Pecan.
• Black Walnut Ice Cream: "Walnut flavored ice cream with a black walnut explosion." Tasting notes: Decent walnut flavor, but not particularly interesting.
• Chocolate Ice Creams
• World Class Chocolate Ice Cream: "Rich white chocolate flavored mousse ice cream swirled with even richer milk chocolate flavored mousse ice cream."  Tasting notes:  Not really sure I get the whole mousse part here.  Nor the white chocolate, mostly just seemed like generic chocolate ice cream and some white ice cream.
• German Chocolate Cake Ice Cream: "Swiss chocolate ice cream with coconut, walnut pieces, and milk chocolate brownie. Oh and let's not forget the caramel swirl!" Tasting notes: the caramel swirl was nice, good sweetness.  Chocolate ice cream was pretty generic.  Liked the chunks of brownie. [ Big chunks of brownie, nice walnuts.  Yum! ] [ Love the nuts, love the texture from the coconut, great flavors. ] [ Nice coconut flavor, good rich chunks of brownie.  My second favorite of their ice creams. ]  [ Good creamy chocolate ice cream, nice flavor from coconut, plentiful brownie bites. ] [ I like this.  Fairly creamy, mellow chocolate ice cream, with good coconut flavor.  I love discovering the generous chunks of brownie and nuts throughout.  And the caramel swirl adds a little bit of gooeyness to it.  Second favorite flavor. ]
• Splish Splash Sherbet: "Blue raspberry sherbet and a splash of blueberry sorbet".  Tasting notes: This was really quite good!  It was icy, but in the way that sorbet is.  Overly sweet, but fruity and refreshing.  I love, love, loved blue raspberry Slush Puppies when I was a kid, and it reminds me exactly of that. [ The blue colored one is way too sweet, so if you get some without the other swirl, it can be pretty cloying ] [ You need to be in the mood for sweet with this, but it is somehow refreshing at the same time.  Quite good. ]
• Frozen Yogurt
• Raspberry Cheese Louis: "Cheesecake flavored frozen yogurt is sprinkled with raspberry cheesecake pieces and graham crackers with a sweet raspberry ribbon.".  Tasting notes: I didn't taste cheesecake in any way.  Very icy.  Raspberry swirl just sweet.  Didn't like.
• Sweet N' Salty Frozen Yogurt: "Super smooth salted caramel frozen yogurt and caramel pretzel balls tied up in a salted caramel ribbon bow."  Tasting notes: Just sweet, didn't really get any salt, my sample didn't have any pretzel in it either.

Novelties

Praline Caramel Ice Cream Cake Bite: Pralines 'n Cream ice cream over white cake, white coating, finished with caramel drizzle and crushed praline pecans.  $2.99.

This is one of their "novelty" items, small versions of their cakes, called cake bites.  Since I wasn't about to buy a whole cake for myself, this seemed like a good way to try out their ice cream cakes.  I grew up having Carvel ice cream cakes for every birthday, so ice cream cake has a special place in my heart.  Of course, Carvel cake is all about the crunchies and the frosting, of which this had neither.

The white cake was not good.  Kinda dry, and very flavorless, with a horrible aftertaste.  Cakes made from boxed cake mix come out better than this.  Not a good base layer.  The ice cream was just their standard Pralines 'n Cream ice cream, good enough I guess, but not really special.  It was covered in "white coating", which I give them credit for not even trying to call white chocolate.  It was kinda just sweet and there.  On top of that was a fairly tasty caramel drizzle and some bits of pecans.  The toppings were the best part.

Yes, this was cake and ice cream, which should be good together, but honestly, it didn't have much going for it.  Wouldn't get again.

Shakes

Very Berry Strawberry Shake, mini, $3.49.

I've went through a serious milkshake craze.  It had been years since I'd had one, and then I just got hooked.   I had just about every type of shake possible, ranging from ones made in real blenders (like the one at Roxy Cafe that started the trend), to those from shake dispensers at fast food joints (like my free birthday shake from Del Taco), to something in-between (like my shake from Bistro Burger).  But the best was from Holy Grill, made with Mitchel's vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries.  Even though that one didn't have whipped cream, which I consider to be an important element, it was still the best one I've had flavor-wise.  Quality ice cream and fresh fruit really just makes a big difference!   Every time I've seen strawberry shakes since, I've gotten it, even though I never would normally pick strawberry, hoping to replicate my experience from Holy Grill.  The last one I had was the least successful shake ever, from McDonald's (yes, I should have known better).  That was horrendous.

This one wasn't nearly as bad as the McDonald's shake, but really wasn't very good.  There was no offer of whipped cream, even though I know they have it for making sundaes.  I wish I'd gone out of my way to ask for it, because once I left with it and tried it, it was obvious that it would have really helped out.

It was made in some sort of blender/mixer combo device.  Not quite a classic blender, nor a classic milkshake maker.  The result was not a good consistency.  Mostly, it was just milk, with a few bits that were too thick to suck up.  And then a ton of froth.  The high powered mixer thing just really destroyed the ice cream.  The small amount that stayed frozen melted far too fast.  It wasn't exactly hot out, as I was in San Francisco after all, and I had basically no ice cream or iciness remaining after about 2 minutes.  Very poor execution.  I was really surprised, since I think they sell a lot of shakes, and the machine seemed custom.

Flavor-wise there wasn't much going on.  Slight strawberry flavor, not even in the same ballpark as the one from Holy Grill, but not fake and horrible like the one from McDonald's.  It was at least made with real ice cream, with some bits of strawberry in it, but the addition of all the milk just watered it down.

On the plus side, I had the nicer employee this time.  I also ordered a hand packed pint, which he thoughtfully stashed in a freezer while he made the shake and rang me up.  I really appreciated that extra effort, as it helped my pint not melt as fast for my trip home.

I got the mini size, which was "only" 12 ounces.  $3.49 was actually kinda pricy for this size, more than the 12 ounce mini I got from Bistro Burger for $2.99 and just slightly less than the $3.99 large sizes I got many other places.  Certainly not worth the price, would no get again.

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Nestlé Ice Cream

When I was in elementary school, we had "ice cream day" on Fridays, where you could order ice cream in the morning, and it would be delivered in the mid-afternoon as a special treat.  The selection was all of the standard Good Humor ice creams, ranging from ice cream sandwiches, to strawberry shortcakes or chocolate eclairs, to the classic vanilla ice cream coated in milk chocolate.  There were also generic fudgicles and creamsicles, but who ever picked those?  As you can imagine, being so very fond of ice cream, I loved ice cream day.

After elementary school, I stopped having these products.  Not that I stopped having ice cream, we just stopped having them at school, and my family always had a plethora of other ice cream options in the house.  I hadn't had any of this sort of frozen dairy treat in years, but then I spent a summer working in Sydney, and my office there had an ice cream freezer stocked with their brand of classic childhood treats.  I loved exploring the entire product line, as they were totally different than anything we had here.  (I think theirs are way better!  Pine Lime Splices are awesome!)  Anyway, I was curious how I'd feel about my old favorites now, so when I saw that a number of merchants on LevelUp or GoPago had ice creams, I started trying them all again.

US Reviews, 2013

I really didn't like many of them, and they didn't live up to my memories.  I originally thought it was just a result of nostalgia, and changing preferences, but when I went to write up this post I discovered something ... I was trying Nestlé products, not Good Humor!  Both make basically the same type of items, but I definitely had the Good Humor ones growing up.  Whoops!

I'm starting to think I really just don't like anything from Nestlé, as I was pretty disappointed with their candy line too!

Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bar.  $1.79.

"Creamy vanilla with a sweet strawberry center, dipped in a strawberry shortcake crumb coating." 

Note that the word "ice cream" doesn't appear in the description anywhere.  I think that is because it isn't really ice cream!

The "sweet strawberry center" was icy and not very strawberry flavored, although it was indeed very sweet.  I hated it.  The "creamy vanilla" wasn't creamy at all, was icy, and not very ice cream-like at all.  The consistency was all off.  The only part I enjoyed was the coating, the little bits of "strawberry shortcake crumb" which were basically just little bits of cake-like crumbles.  They were sorta crunchy.

Would not get again!

Cookies N' Cream Ice Cream Bar.  $0.99.

"Creamy vanilla swirled with rich cookie bits dipped in a chocolatey cookie crumb coating."

This was actually kinda good.  The ice cream was again not creamy or really vanilla-y, but it was loaded up with cookie bits.  It tasted like an Oreo.  Coated in a milk chocolate shell that also had cookie bits in it.

No real reason to get one again, but overall, not bad.

Vanilla Classic.

"A classy choice, yet cheeky with roasted peanut overtones. Creamy vanilla and a surprising chocolatey finish charm the pickiest of taste buds."

Now this is a classic!  It was pretty much as I remembered.  I enjoyed the crunch from the slew of peanuts on the outside, and they combined well with the plentiful chocolate coating.  The chocolate had a nice snap to it.

The "ice cream" was, like in all their other products, not very creamy, not very vanilla-y, not particularly good, but, it was what it was.  It melted decently.

The cone was really soggy and gross.  I remarked on this, and my companion just said "isn't that how it always is?"  I guess I had forgotten that part.  Meh.  It did have a ton of chocolate in it though, the chocolate tip is always a winner.

Overall, it was pretty much what I expected.  Classic, simple, not exactly high end nor fancy.  I don't feel compelled to have another.  My companion enjoyed his much more than I did!

Vanilla Caramel Classic Drumstick.

"Creamy vanilla with a caramel center, rich chocolatey coating topped with roasted peanuts and a crispy, chocolatey-lined sugar cone with a chocolatey surprise."

Next up, the classic, but with a slight twist: a caramel core!

The caramel was sweet and gooey, and again, plentiful.  They do not skimp on the toppings/add-ins.

Otherwise, this was very much the same as the classic: I again liked the chocolate coating and peanuts, tolerated the ice cream, and hated the cone.  Better than the classic, but not something I felt myself wanting more of.

Triple Chocolate Kingsize Drumstick.

"A king-size helping of creamy milk chocolate, white chocolate and dark chocolate topped with chocolate chips and a rich chocolatey sauce—all in a crispy, chocolatey-lined sugar cone with a chocolatey surprise."

The cone size of the Kingsize Drumstick was the same as a standard Drumstick, but what changed is the amount of ice cream on top.  There was easily more ice cream than cone.  The cone was exactly like the original Drumstick; totally stale and soggy.  I hated it.

The vanilla ice cream dairy product was also exactly like the the standard Drumstick, and all of their other creations, that is, flavorless, icy, and really not good.  The description doesn't actually mention vanilla, so perhaps that was actually the white chocolate layer?

The chocolate ice milk product was better, a bit more creamy, with decent chocolate flavor.  It wasn't good, but it wasn't nearly as bad as any of the other ice cream-like stuff I tried from Nestlé.  The "rich chocolate sauce" was a hard chocolate shell, that like the chocolate chips, added an additional crunch and a bit of fun.

This was better than the other Drumstick and most of their other products, but I certainly don't want another.

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Nestlé Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwich

"Creamy vanilla scooped between two thick, chewy chocolate chip cookies."  

This was one that I'd never had before, but I remember always wanting it as a child.  It always looked sooo good.  Two giant chocolate chip cookies AND ice cream, all together?  Yes!  And Toll House cookies are such a classic.  I thought this was going to be amazing.

I should have known better.  Did it live up to my expectations?  No.  The cookies were very soft, buttery, loaded with classic Toll House chocolate chips.  But the cookies were a little mushy and strange from being frozen.  The vanilla ice cream, like all of these products, left something to be desired.  At least in this case, there was so much cookie that it didn't matter as much.

I wouldn't get one again.  I'd take any fresh cookies filled with actual ice cream over this any day.

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Vanilla with Nestlé Crunch Dibs

"Yummy bites of creamy vanilla, covered in a crunchy, chocolatey coating."

These were basically little chocolate covered ice cream nuggets.  As you may have guessed by now, the ice cream was icy, flavorless, and certainly not creamy.  The chocolate coating was low quality, mostly just waxy.  I liked the crunch in it at least?

International Reviews

UK

You know how it goes.  I don't really seek these things out when I travel, but, when I travel for work, my local office often has an ice cream freezer, and I am always rather overjoyed to try out the ice cream novelties for each country I visit.

So when I was in London, along with checking out the local offerings, like The Great British Ice Cream Company (not so "great" to me), and Jude's (also nothing to rave about), I took the opportunity to try an item from Nestlé I had never seen before: the Fab bar.

Strawberry Fab.

"Real strawberry and vanilla flavour ice lolly with a chocolate flavour coating and sugar strands."

Well, this wasn't good.  Likely because, well, I don't really like ice lolly's? (or, as you may know them, "popsicles" ...)

The Fab was basically a strawberry popsicle, with a vanilla ice coating (not ice cream, but ice), a little strange tasting chocolate on top, and "sugar strands", aka, sprinkles ... that tasted super weird.

Everything about this was just not what I want.  I like ice cream, not ice, and I know this said ice lolly, but I somehow expected something different.  The chocolate and sugar strands also did not meet my expectations - how did they make something that looked like normal sprinkles taste so ... odd?

Not impressed.

Germany 2022

Another visit to an international office, another chance to try some of their ice cream novelties.

Extrême Nuss.

"Nutty. Creamy. Crispy. Extremely delicious."

Behold, the "extrême" nut cone.

This actually wasn't bad.  Two kinds of ice cream, I think one was just vanilla and one was hazelnut. Both were smooth and creamy, melted nicely, but clearly weren't premium ice cream.  Pretty standard "novelty" ice cream quality.

On top was hard chocolate shell and bits of hazelnut, which made for nice texture and some additional nutty goodness.  The inside was the part I was most surprised by, as it had a solid core of chocolate (possibly chocolate hazelnut?).  The cone was crisp and not soggy, standard quality cone.

Overall, not bad, not amazing.  More "Nutella" inspired than the extreme nut branding sounded though, this was equally chocolately as it was hazelnutty.

***.

Extrême Caramel.

"Caramel. Trendy. Crispy. Extremely delicious."

I also tried the caramel version.  It also had two kinds of ice cream (caramel and white chocolate), both of which were creamy and melted nicely, but were very, very sweet.  It too had a core I wasn't expecting, this time, salted caramel sauce.  On top, more caramel sauce and white chocolate.

This was just too sweet for me.  Extreme caramel indeed.  If you want super sweet caramel, go for it, but for me, it was too much.

**.

Big Sandwich.

"Big, Bigger, Big Sandwich! The ice cream combination made of chocolate ice cream, vanilla ice cream and strawberry ice cream between crispy waffles."

The "Big Sandwich" is apparently a classic in Germany, around since the 1950's.  It is, indeed, fairly big, at least double the size of our classic American ice cream sandwiches, and rather than chocolate cookies like we have for ice cream sandwiches in the US, it uses thin waffle-like plain wafers.

I was excited about the wafers as I don't really like the soft chocolate biscuits we have, but alas, these were not crispy as described, and were quite soggy.  So much promise here, but soggy/soft wafers were not enjoyable.

Big Sandwich: Side.

"Do I want vanilla ice cream today? Or chocolate? Mmh ... strawberries would be delicious again. If you can't decide between the three classic types of ice cream, just grab the sandwich ice cream. Creamy bourbon vanilla ice cream, fine chocolate ice cream and fruity strawberry ice cream are all combined in one. And to make it easy to eat, the ice cream is sandwiched between two cones so your fingers stay clean. Made with a lot of love and care, it invites you to put your feet up and remember how we felt back in our childhood."

The ice cream however was quite good.  It was smooth and creamy, melted nicely.  I don't care for strawberry ice cream in general, so that layer I could do without, but the chocolate and vanilla were both good.

I was glad to try the classic item, and I did enjoy my vanilla/chocolate ice cream, but overall, this was a dud for me.

***.

Canada, 2015 Reviews

See separate posting.

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Sugar Cafe

Sugar Cafe was a unique concept in SF.  Cafe by day, bar by night.  And ... it really, truly did transform fairly dramatically.

I discovered Sugar Cafe back during LevelUp's rise to popularity in SF, when I had fun checking out new places I found on there, drawn in of course by freebies.  Their LevelUp system was flaky at best, working less than half the time I visited, and when it *did* work, the staff always seemed quite surprised and amazed.

Anyway, I visited during the day for the cafe concept, on my neverending quest to find some decent decaf coffee.  I was rewarded for my efforts, as the coffee, from local Bicycle Coffee really was quite good.

White Chocolate Mocha, decaf.  $2.95.

My first visit, since I was trying a new place, and getting decaf, I figured it was safest to get something loaded up with sugar in case the coffee tasted horrible.  The staff also seemed like they were barely paying attention to anything they were doing, be it making the drinks or toasting the bagels, so I wasn't all that hopeful that the execution on this would be good.  Plus, hey, "Sugar Cafe" should be good at, uh, sugar drinks right?

But ... it was exactly what I wanted.  Warm, sweet, and honestly, quite delicious.  The coffee was from Bicycle Coffee, and didn't have a weird decaf funk to it.  The milk was really nicely foamed.  A good value for $2.95. ****.

Update Review:
I liked this the first time, so on another cold day when I wanted a sweet treat, I got another.  It had a really great foam layer on top, along with a chocolate drizzle.  The flavor wasn't very strong however, and it wasn't as sweet as the first one.  Not bad, but didn't really hit the spot in the same way the previous one had.  Good, but not great, consistency seems to be an issue here.  ***.

Americano, decaf.  $2.

Since I enjoyed the white chocolate mocha, and the decaf espresso didn't seem awful, on my next visit I decided to take the risk and go for the "real" coffee drink, a simple Americano.

It was again pretty good.  The espresso had some depth to it, no strange decaf funk.  I did end up adding some soy milk and sugar to it, but it would have been ok without it, although not particularly interesting.

Another good value for $2.  ***+.

Iced Americano, decaf.  $2.50.

On a hot day, I went for a classic iced drink.  I wanted an iced coffee, but they only brew iced regular, and it was afternoon, so I wanted decaf.  (Boo, since the iced coffee was $1.75 and the iced americano $2.50!  I was a little surprised that it was 50 cents more than the hot version).

Anyway, this was another decent drink.  The coffee was again fairly complex and balanced.  I added some milk since I like my iced coffee that way, but this decaf really can stand on its own.

***+.

Americano, decaf, with pumpkin spice syrup.  $2.50.

I went for a classic americano again, but this time, decided to be festive and added a squirt of pumpkin spice syrup, for an additional $0.50.

I ordered a decaf, and I was a little concerned when she handed it to me and said "pumpkin spice americano" and didn't say "decaf", but I was in a rush, so I didn't question it.  It was pretty clear to me 10 minutes later that it was not decaf.  Grumble.

Interestingly, I thought the espresso in this was worse than in my previous drinks.  Perhaps their decaf is better than their regular!  I added a bunch of soy milk to cover up the taste and make it creamier.  The pumpkin spice syrup jazzed it up a little, but wasn't particularly interesting.

**+.

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